EL SEGUNDO, CA. August 1999 - International Rectifier (IR^®), the leader in AC Motor Drive ICs, now offers a next generation solution for 600V and 1200V gate drivers with new protection and soft shutdown features that enable the design of more robust IGBT power stages. The new 600V IR2137 and 1200V IR2237 are pin-to-pin and functional equivalent devices for use with 230VAC and 460VAC Motor Drives rated up to 5HP or 3.75kW.

This new generation supplants the 600V IR2133 and 1200V IR2233 Gate Driver ICs that have become the industry standard solution for AC Drives.

Mis-wiring and motor phase insulation breakdown can cause line-to-line short or ground fault. The IR2137 and IR2237 use de-sat detection technique at the high side gate drive locally to sense the short circuit condition of the high side IGBT. Additionally, a soft shutdown feature synchronized for all three phases provides turn-off characteristics tailored to avoid the excessive transient over-voltage spike due to fast short circuit current turn-off.

AC Drives using the new single-chip IR2137 and IR2237 are smaller in size, with the devices replacing up to six discrete opto-coupled gate drivers. The integrated protection features eliminate the need for added discrete components for protection circuit. These features add up to a very compact board layout for the gate drive stage, resulting in reduced EMI.

The 600V IR2137 is housed in a MQFP64 package . Samples are available now and production will start in September. The 1200V IR2237 will sample in September.

Development of the new generation of gate driver products will be coupled with monolithic motor phase current sensing and protection functions. The new chip set will help to further support International Rectifier's Power Conversion Processor architecture for AC motor drives.

For other related information visit the Integrated Circuit web-site.