Gate drivers
From
Technique: Gate drivers
| Tools: | Soldering irons |
|---|---|
| Parts: | Resistors, Capacitors, Transistors, Printed circuit boards, Solder |
| Techniques: | Soldering |
Introduction
A gate driver is a power amplifier that accepts a low-power input from a controller IC and produces a high-current drive input for the gate of a high-power transistor such as an IGBT or power MOSFET. Gate drivers can be provided either on-chip or as a discrete module. In essence, a gate driver consists of a level shifter in combination with an amplifier. A gate driver IC serves as the interface between control signals (digital or analog controllers) and power switches (IGBTs, MOSFETs, SiC MOSFETs, and GaN HEMTs). An integrated gate-driver solution reduces design complexity, development time, bill of materials (BOM), and board space while improving reliability over discretely-implemented gate-drive solutions.
