RECOM – new RA3 range of DC/DC converters designed for gate drive power

RECOM has added to its range of low-cost, unregulated DC/DC converters with the RA3 series of 3W SMD parts which are designed to provide the optimum voltages for semiconductor switch gate drivers. Variants are available with outputs of single 8V, 9V, or dual +7/-1V, +15/-3V, and +20/-5V. These values cover the requirements of IGBTs, silicon MOSFETs and the latest silicon carbide MOSFETs and GaN HEMT cells. The parts have 5.2kV/ 1 minute functional isolation and hold UL/IEC/EN 62368-1, CAN/CSA-C22.2 No 62368-1 certification, along with EN 61204-3 compliance. EMI EN 55032 class ‘A’ level is met without extra filtering and class ‘B’ requires just a simple LC filter. The 3W available suits not only large IGBTs but also other Si, SiC, and GaN devices when switched at high frequency.

Input voltages available are +5V, +12V, and +24V with +/-10% tolerance, and efficiency is typically better than 80%. Isolation capacitance is less than 10pF for high immunity to the fast, high voltage switching edges seen in high-side drivers, particularly with the wide band-gap technologies of SiC and GaN. Operating temperature range is -40°C to +85°C without derating (80°C for 1V, 8V, and 9V output parts).

The RA3 series is surface-mount with ‘land grid’ style terminations and has dimensions of just 23.4mm x 15mm x 8.5mm, giving 35% reduction in footprint and 60% reduction in volume compared with competitor parts. The surface mount format with wide spacings enables the necessary high isolation to be achieved on a customer’s PCB between the DC/DC output pins and other circuitry, with connection to just the top layer.