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IXDP630

IXDP631

tendency to leave it off the schematic.

During the layout process, the engineer

must consider each and every connec-

tion from the standpoint of its contribu-

tion to system operation. How sensitive

is it? What noise producing lines are

routed near it? What transients can

occur between circuits tied to each end

of this trace...? With few exceptions,

modern autorouters cannot deal with

these requirements. If autorouters are

used, they produce layouts that will not

function.

Remember that the IXDP630/631 is the

interface between the control circuits

and the power circuits. Nowhere else

on the PCB are these problems more

likely to occur. Nowhere else will one

need to pay more attention. Fig. 7

illustrates an example layout problem.

The power circuit consists of three

the MOSFET is 6 V), the di/dt at turn-on

will be regulated by the driver/MOSFET/

L

surprise when your circuit requires

500 A/µs to operate correctly.

It is possible to make use of this beha-

vior to create a turn-on or turn-off di/dt

limiter (perhaps to snub the upper

freewheeling diode reverse recovery).

While possible, this is normally not

desirable or practical where two or

more transistors are controlled.

Equalizing the parasitic impedances of

three traces while positioning the

transistors next to their heat sink and

meeting UL/VDE voltage spacings is

just too difficult.

Grounding the gate drive buffer as in

option (a) solves the MOSFET turn on

problem by eliminating L

To eliminate this problem, a ground

level transformation circuit must be

added that rejects this common mode

transient. The simplest is a decoupling

circuit, also illustrated in Fig. 7. The

capacitor voltage (on C

constant while the transient voltage is

dropped across R

detects no input transition, eliminating

the oscillation. This circuit does add

significantly to turn-on and turn-off

delay time, and cannot be used if the

transient lasts as long as these delays

are allowed to extend. Delay times

must be considered in selection of

system deadtime.

It is also important to consider the

layout of the bypass capacitor as well

as the oscillator components in order to

keep these as close to the device as

possible.

Isolation

The most complex (and most effective)

method of eliminating the effects of

transients between grounds is isolation.

Optocouplers and pulse transformers

are the most commonly used isolation

techniques, and work very well in this

case. The IXDP630/631 has been

specifically designed to directly drive a

high speed optocoupler like the Hewlett

Packard HCPL22XX family or the

General Instrument 740L60XX

optologic family. These optos are

especially well suited to motor control

and power conversion equipment due

to their very high common-mode dv/dt

rejection capabilities.

The major problem associated with

using an optocoupler in a power circuit

is its common-mode dv/dt capability.

When a lower transistor is turned on, its

Collector (or Drain) is pulled to ground

very quickly. The optocoupler that

drives the upper transistor has its local

output stage referenced to the Emitter

(Source) of this upper device, which is

tied to the Collector of the lower device.

As this node moves, the dv/dt between

here and input circuit common is im-

pressed across the upper optocoupler.

This causes displacement currents to

flow in sensitive nodes in the optical

receiver circuitry, and may cause false

triggering of the output. Always pay

strict attention to the manufacturer's

recommended dv/dt ratings - exceeding

them could be disastrous.

power transistors (MOSFETs in this

example) controlled by a common

digital IC (the IXDP630). With the gate

drive amplifier (a discrete circuit or

possibly an IC driver like the

IXBD4410) grounded as in option (b),

the communication path from the

IXDP630 will operate without errors.

The PC trace induced voltages are not

common with the digital path so the

input of the gate drive buffer will not

see or respond to them. Unfortunately,

the MOSFET will not operate properly.

The voltage induced across L

Q1 is turned on, acts as source dege-

neration, modifying the turn-on behavior

of the MOSFET. If L

is 12 V (assuming the gate plateau of

Fig. 7. Potential layout problems that create functional problems.

Source feedback loop. Now, unfortuna-

tely, the gate driver will oscillate every

time you turn it on or off. As the

IXDP630 output goes high, the gate

driver output follows (after its propaga-

tion delay) and the MOSFET starts to

conduct. The voltage transient induced

across L

local ground (point a) until it exceeds

V

(after its prop. delay) turns the MOSFET

off. Now the MOSFET current falls,

V(Ls1) drops, point (a) drops to (or

slightly below) system ground, and the

buffer detects a "1" at its input. After its

propagation delay, it again turns the

MOSFET on, continuing the oscillation

for one more cycle.