Integrated Power Modules Bring Multiple Advantages

Designers of high voltage industrial applications can now take advantage of that option with Fairchild’s 1200V Motion SPM® 2 Smart Power Modules . These compact modules combine a 1200V, 10A 3-phase IGBT inverter with control ICs for gate drive and multiple protection circuits to offer a fully-featured, high performance inverter output stage for AC induction, BLDC and PMSM motors. The integration of critical power management components helps reduce board space and heatsink size in designs up to 7.5 kW. By replacing a discrete implementation the SPM® 2 modules can eliminate more than half a dozen components depending on the original design. And by using the same Direct Bonding Copper (DBC) packaging technologies originally developed for space applications, the new parts offer a 15 percent lower junction-to-case thermal resistance than competing solutions.

Moreover, by optimizing gate drive of the built-in IGBTs, the SPM® 2 modules eliminate one of the more challenging aspects of a discrete design and minimize EMI. The modules also feature a wide array of protection features including undervoltage lockouts, over-current shutdown, temperature sensing and fault reporting. And a built-in Bootstrap Diode and dedicated VS pins simplify PCB design.

In most applications less design complexity brings higher reliability, a key consideration in large, expensive, industrial-grade heating, ventilation, AC and factory automation systems. But some features integrated into the SPM® 2 help extend that advantage. One example is an integrated NTC thermistor for temperature monitoring and management of power chips on the same substrate.

This capability becomes increasingly important in higher voltage applications where customers want to track the temperature of power chips to measure the impact of higher operating temperatures on product reliability and longevity. Designers using competitive power modules typically cannot sense the temperature of the power chips directly. Instead, they use an external NTC thermistor to sense the temperature of the module or heat sink. This approach doesn’t accurately reflect the temperature of the power components, however. By integrating the NTC thermistor on the same ceramic substrate, the SPM® 2 offers a more accurate way to track the temperature of the power components.

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