EL SEGUNDO, Calif.— International Rectifier, IR®(NYSE: IRF), a world leader in power management technology, today announced the company has been selected as a finalist in three EDN Innovation Award categories including Innovator of the Year and two Innovation of the Year award categories.

Winning the Nomination for Innovator of the Year, EDN selected IR’s iMOTION™ design team, the innovators who brought to market the IRMCF341 mixed-signal motor control IC for washing machines, one of products short-listed for Innovation of the Year.

Located across the globe, IR’s iMOTION design team consists of a multi-disciplinary team who tackled the complex and intertwined task of field-oriented motor control over the wide shaft-speed and torque ranges that washers require. Team skills, including sequencer-logic, vector-processor, analog, and power-management design, were supplemented by algorithm development, application programming, software tool development, and mixed-signal (digital, analog, and power) IC layout and test. In addition to design wins at top-rated white goods manufacturers, the team produced the control IC in a record time to market with functionality enabling better washing capabilities using less water and electricity.

The resulting IRMCF341 motor-control IC is the finalist in EDN’s Mixed-Signal Application Specific Standard Product (ASSP) category. The device simplifies variable-speed motor-control design for permanent magnet motors in both horizontal- and vertical-axis machines. The IC reduces design risk by shortening design cycles by as much as a full year and reducing motor and drive costs by 30%. Using the chip’s reference design, demo board, and software toolkit, designers can have a motor turning on the bench the same day they open the box, eliminating months of effort otherwise necessary to reach this first milestone. The new control IC, featuring an embedded FOC (Field-Oriented Control) algorithm for excellent dynamic torque control, improves washing cycles—consuming less hot water and saving up to 70% of energy use. The high-speed field-weakening algorithm improves moisture extraction in the spin cycle, providing further energy savings in the dryer.

Winning EDN’s recognition in the Power IC category is the IR1167 SmartRectifier™ IC. The IC simplifies secondary synchronous rectification (SR) for AC-DC power converters and improves power density for high-power flyback and resonant half-bridge converters, enabling smaller, cooler designs. Independent of the primary-side controller, the IR1167 implements a simple, highly efficient method of secondary synchronous rectification (SR) and uses IR’s proprietary HVIC technology for directly sensing and control. In addition to controlling high-power flyback secondary sections, the SmartRectifier is the first commercial IC for resonant half-bridge converters. Compared to discrete current-transformer-based designs, the IR1167 increases power-subsystem efficiency by at least 1% while reducing board area, component count, and system cost.

“We thank EDN for continuing to recognize the advancements unfolding in power management. Our EDN Innovation Award nominees this year exemplify the teamwork going on throughout International Rectifier and our holistic approach in solving fundamental challenges facing our customers today, pulling from a pallet of technologies and techniques to solve their design problems,” said CEO Alex Lidow.

A panel of EDN's technical editors selected the finalists in this year’s 17th annual awards competition. Readers will select the winners through an online ballot available at EDN’s Web site through February 28. To cast your ballot, follow the links to the Innovation Awards site posted at www.edn.com. Finalists will be honored and winners announced at EDN's award ceremony on April 2, in San Jose, CA.

EDN, the premier electronics design magazine, is part of Reed Electronics Group, the electronics industry’s largest global information provider.