Power Electronics Europe April/May Issue 2022

www.power.com/scale-iflex-lt WIND POWER INVERTER DESIGN 31 P ower Integrations announced its new plug-and-play SCALE-iFlex™ LT dual gate-drivers. The new drivers improve the performance of multiple parallel EconoDUAL modules by 20 %, allowing users to eliminate one of every six modules from power inverters and converter stacks. In addition to saving the cost of the driver and module, this reduces control complexity and costs related to modules, wiring, hardware, and heatsinking. SCALE-iFlex LT targets multiple applications in renewable energy generation and storage, and is particularly applicable to offshore wind turbines in the 3 to 5 MW range. Up to six EconoDUAL 3, or equivalent, power modules can be paralleled from the same Isolated Master Control (IMC) unit which has a more compact outline than conventional products. The Module Adapted Gate drivers (MAGs), which fit the footprint of the EconoDUAL module, each featuring two SCALE-2 ASICs – one per channel – to optimize symmetrical paralleling, efficiency and protection. New gate driver eliminates one in six modules “Dynamic and static current sharing is critical for robust operation of modules arranged in parallel. For the same power output, systems using SCALE-iFlex LT require just five parallel modules whereas competitive approaches need six. This substantial saving of cost and complexity is achieved by guaranteeing less than 20 ns of variance in turn-on and turn-off commands between modules and less than 20 A of variance between modules when conducting the rated 600 A. This allows the modules to operate reliably without current derating, which is obligatory with less advanced driver solutions,” commented Thorsten Schmidt, product marketing manager at Power Integrations. The new SCALE-iFlex LT gate-driver modules reduce switching losses by three to five percent, due to the fast turn-on and turn-off of the SCALE-2 ASIC which features an integrated booster stage. Advanced Active Clamping (AAC) protection enables higher DC link voltages to be achieved. A suite of other protection features, including short-circuit, are provided. Drivers feature reinforced isolation to 1700 V and may be ordered naked or conformally coated. As well as renewable energy, other applications include power quality, commercial air-conditioning units and medium-voltage drives. The new SCALE-iFlex LT gate drivers are available now. Single gate drivers for “New Dual” modules Single gate-drivers for the popular “New Dual” 100 mm x 140 mm IGBT modules are alo available. The compact new drivers support modules up to 3.3 kV and are suited for light-rail, renewable energy generation and other high-reliability applications that demand compact, rugged driver solutions. “SCALE-iFlex Single gate-drivers fit the outline of the latest standard IGBT power modules including the Mitsubishi LV100/HV100, Infineon xHP2 and xHP3, ABB LinPak, Hitachi nHPD 2 and other similar products, “ Schmidt added. New Plug-and-Play Gate Driver Improves IGBT Module Performance by 20 % VISIT US AT PCIM BOOTH #9-453 Kool Mµ ® Hƒ Powder Cores Lowest Losses for High Frequencies Optimized for 200-500 kHz Edge ® Powder Cores Best DC Bias for Cutting Edge Performance and Compact Design www.mag-inc.com DC Bias (Oe) % Initial Permeability µ i 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 10 100 600 60µ Edge 60µ High Flux Flux Density (Tesla) Core Loss (mW/cm 3 ) 1,000 10,000 100 50 0.01 0.1 1 100 kHz Kool Mµ 500 kHz Kool Mµ 500 kHz Kool Mµ Hƒ 100 kHz Kool Mµ Hƒ 60µ Core Loss Density