Microchip Technology has announced a new integrated drive power solution

     In an effort to deliver a comprehensive electric drive solution to the aviation industry, Microchip Technology has announced a new integrated drive power solution that combines a matching gate drive plate with an extended hybrid drive (HPD) module for SiC or Is technology in a power range of 5kVA to 20kVA.

     The new integrated drive power solution maintains the same footprint regardless of power output. The matching gate drive panels will be integrated with the company's HPD modules to provide an integrated motor drive solution for the electrification of systems such as flight control, braking and landing gear. Its power solutions can be scaled according to the requirements of the final application, from small drive systems for drones to high-power drive systems for eVTOL aircraft, MEA and all-electric aircraft.

     "We developed a companion gate driver board for our existing HPD modules to bring a plug-and-play power solution to the MEA market," said Leon Gross, vice president of Microchip's Discrete Products Group. "With this solution, customers no longer need to design and develop their own drive circuits, which can reduce design time, resources and costs."

     These highly reliable devices were tested in the DO-160 "Environmental Conditions and Test Procedures for Airborne Equipment". There are several protection features including penetration detection, short circuit protection, desaturation protection, UVLO and active milling machine clamping.

     The grid driver board is driven based on external PWM signals that comply with TIA/EIA-644 low-voltage differential signals (LVDS), with low EMI and good noise resistance. The grid driver board provides differential output for telemetry signals such as DC bus current, phase current, and solenoid current by taking feedback from the HPD module and the shunt in the DC bus voltage. It also provides direct output from the two PT1000 temperature sensors available in the HPD power module.

     The matching grid drive board is a low weight, low profile and compact solution to optimize the size and power efficiency of the drive system. Gate drivers can operate in a temperature range from −55 ° C to +110 ° C, which is critical for aviation applications that are often exposed to harsh environments.

     Isolated matching grid driver boards require only one 15VDC input for control and drive circuits; The required extra voltage is generated on the card. This greatly reduces the number of system components and simplifies system wiring.