EL SEGUNDO, Calif.—International Rectifier, IR® (NYSE: IRF), a world leader in power management technology, today announced that two innovations from its iMOTION™ integrated design platform family have won “Product of the Year” awards from analogZONE, a premier online publication for analog design engineers.

IR’s IRS2136D, a three-phase analog control IC in the platform developed for air conditioning applications, won the “Best Green Motor Controller” award. “Given the huge slice of the energy pie that air conditioners consume, this is a sure winner for both the environment and the manufacturer’s bottom lines by dramatically increasing their motor’s overall efficiency (94%-95%) while cutting the manufacturer’s total system cost,” said Paul McGoldrick, Editor-in-Chief of analogZONE.

IR’s IRMCF341, a sensorless control IC in the iMOTION platform developed for direct-drive washing machines, took honors as “Best Consumer Product Innovation.” McGoldrick said, “If the story of the iMOTION platform solution for air-conditioning can be described as compelling, then their solution for washing machines can be described as liberating.” He added, “The IRMCF341 is a great solution for the modern appliance and right on the money for the industry.”

International Rectifier’s CEO Alex Lidow said, “Saving energy is an important mission that drives our technology and product development at International Rectifier. We’re honored to receive this recognition from analogZONE and even more gratified with the growing popularity of iMOTION with systems designers.”

About the IRS2136D – Best Green Motor Controller

The IRS2136D forms part of the analog block in the iMOTION platform developed for air conditioners. This analog block consists of the IRS2136D family of three-phase analog driver and protection ICs. These ICs incorporate three independent 600V half-bridge inverter gate drivers with built-in bootstrap diodes. The protection functions include inverter over-current trip and under-voltage lockout with an automatic fault clear function. These analog gate drivers deliver parameter stability during product lifetime and parameter matching, such as propagation delay for high- and low-side channels, as well as deadtime insertion. Separate power and signal ground connections enable a single DC line configuration on the low-side IGBTs for current sensing. Cross-conduction protection prevents accidental shoot-through to increase inverter reliability.

About the IRMCF341 – Best Consumer Product Innovation

The high-performance IRMCF341 washer control IC integrates all the control and analog interface functions required for sensorless speed control of PMS motors using DC link current measurements. The analog functions on the IC include differential amplifier, dual sample and hold circuits and a 12-bit A/D converter to sample the low-voltage signal across the DC link shunt. The digital control IC features IR’s patented Motor Control Engine (MCE(tm)) that eliminates software coding from the Motor Control algorithm development process. A co-integrated 60MIPS, 8-bit, 8051 microcontroller enables application layer software development, operating almost independently of the MCE and does not compete for system resources such as interrupts or internal registers. This streamlines application software debugging since the MCE can be treated very much like hardware peripheral with a set of input and output registers. The embedded Analog Signal Engine (ASE) integrates all the signal conditioning and conversion circuits required for single current shunt, sensorless control of a PMS motor. The IRMCF341 control IC is available in a 64-pin QFP package with all the required analog inputs and PWM outputs to control the washing machine motor.

Both of these product innovations are part of International Rectifier's iMOTION integrated design platforms for energy-efficient, variable speed motor control. Each platform consists of a development system, mixed-signal analog chipsets and power stages, which when co-designed together, simplify motor control designs and bring energy-efficient, cost-effective solutions to market faster. More details on the iMOTION platform, as well as links to design assistance, are posted on the iMOTION Web page.

About analogZONE

analogZONE is the premier source for electronics design engineers working in the fields of power management, audio/video, acquisition, connectivity, networking, wireless applications and green engineering. sub-ZONEs covering these specific areas enable the designer to focus directly on products of interest, with timely and insightful reviews. News headlines and a calendar of events keep readers current, knowledgeable and informed, while companion ZONEs providing detailed technical notes and guest columns -- along with the usual trenchant commentary by Editor-in-Chief Paul McGoldrick and other ZONE editors -- offer a wealth of information in an independent arena free from the limitations of print publication.

About International Rectifier

International Rectifier (NYSE:IRF) is a world leader in power management technology. IR's analog, digital and mixed signal ICs, advanced circuit devices, integrated power systems and components enable high performance computing and eliminate energy waste from motors, the world's single largest consumer of electricity. Leading manufacturers of computers, energy efficient appliances, lighting, automobiles, satellites, aircraft and defense systems rely on IR's power management benchmarks to power their next-generation products.