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FOD8318 Rev. 1.1.2 25
FOD8318 — 2.5 A Output Current, IGBT Drive Optocoupler with Active Miller Clamp, Desaturation Detection, and Isolated Fault Sensing
2. Gate Driver Output
A pair of PMOS and NMOS comprise the output driver
stage, which facilitates close to rail-to-rail output swing.
This feature allows a tight co ntrol of gate voltage during
on-state and short-circuit condition. The output driver is
typically to sink 2 A and source 2 A at room temperature.
Due to the low RDS(ON) of the MOSFETs, the power dis-
sipation is reduced as compared to those bipolar-type
driver output stages. The absolute maximum rating of
the output peak current, IO(PEAK), is 3 A; therefore the
careful selection of the gate resistor, Rg, is required to
limit the short-circuit current of the IGBT.
As shown in Figure 56, gate driver output is influenced
by signals from the photodetector circuitry, the UVLO
comparator, and the DE SAT signal s. Unde r no-fault
condition, normal operation resumes while the supply
voltage is above the UVLO threshold, the output of the
photodetector drives the MOSFETs of the output stage.
The logic circuitry of the output stage ensures that the
push-pull devices are never “ON” simul taneously. When
the output of the ph otodetector is HIGH, the output, VO,
is pulled to HIGH state by turning on the PMOS. When
the output of the photodetector is LOW, VO is pulled to
LOW state by turning on the NMOS.
When VDD2 supply goes below VUVLO, which is the des-
ignated UVLO thresh old at the comparator, VO is pulled
down to LOW state regardless of photodetector output.
When desaturation is detected, VO turns off slowly as it
is pulled LOW by the NMOS1X device. The input to the
fault sense circuitry is latched to HIGH state and turns on
the LED. When VO goes below 2 V, the NMOS50X device
turns on again, clamping the IGBT gate firmly to VSS.
The Fault Sense signal remains latched in the HIGH
state until the LED of the gate driver circuitry tu rns off.
3. Desaturation Protection, FAUL T Output
Desaturation detection pr otection ensures the prote ction
of the IGBT at short-circuit by monitoring the collector-
emitter voltage of the IGBT in the half bridge . When the
DESAT voltage goes up and reaches above the thresh-
old voltage, a short-circuit condition is detected and the
driver output stage executes a “so ft” IGBT turn-off an d is
eventually driven LOW, as illustrated in Figure 58. The
FAULT open-drain output is triggered active LOW to
report a desaturation error. It is only cleared by activating
active LOW by the external controller to the RESET
input with the input logic is pulled to LOW.
The DESAT fault detector should be disabled for a short
period (blanking ti me) before the IGBT turns on to allow
the collector voltage to fall be low DESAT threshold. This
blanking period protects against false trigger of the
DESAT while the IGBT is turning on.
The blanking time is controlled by the internal DESAT
charge current, the DESAT voltage threshold, and the
external DESAT capacitor (capacitor between DESAT
and VE pin). The nominal blanking time can be calcu-
lated using external capacitance (CBLANK), FAULT
threshold voltage (VDESAT), and DESAT charge current
(ICHG) as:
tBLANK = CBLANK x VDESAT / ICHG
With a recommended 100 pF DESAT capacitor, the
nominal blanking time is:
100 pF x 7 V / 250 µA = 2.8 µs
4. “Soft” Turn-Off
The soft turn-off feature ensures the safe turn off of the
IGBT under fault conditions. This reduces the voltage
spike on the collector of the IGBT. Without this, the IGBT
would see a heavy spike on the collector and result in
permanent damage to the device.
5. Under-Voltage Lockou t
Under-voltage detection prevents the application of
insufficient gate voltage to the IGBT. This could be dan-
gerous, as it would dri ve the IGBT out of saturation and
into the linear operation where the losses are very high
and quickly overhea ted. This feature ensures the proper
operating of the IGBTs. The outpu t voltage, VO, rema ins
LOW regardless of the inp uts as long as the supp ly volt-
age, VDD2 – VE, is less than VUVLO+. When the supply
voltage falls below VUVLO- , VO goes LOW, as illustrated
in Figure 59.
6. Active Miller Clamp Function
An active Miller clamp feature allows the sinking of the
Miller current to the ground or emitter of the IGBT during
a high-dV/dt situation. Instead of driving the IGBT gate to
a negative supply voltage to increase the safe ty margin,
the device has a dedicated VCLAMP pin to control the
Miller current. During turn-off, the gate voltage of the
IGBT is monitored and the VCLAMP output is activated
when the gate voltage goes below 2 V (relative to VSS).
The Miller clamp NMOS transistor is then turned on and
provides a low resistive path for the Miller current.
This helps prevent a self-turn-on due to the parasitic
Miller capacitor in power switch es. The clamp voltage is
VOL + 2.5 V maximum for a Miller current up to 1200 mA.
In this way, the VCLAMP function does not affect the turn-
off characteristic. It helps to clamp the gate to the LOW
level throughout the turn-off time . During turn-on, where
the input of the driver is activated, the VCLAMP function is
disabled or opened.
7. Time to Good Power
At initial power up, the LED is off and the output of the
gate driver should be in the LOW state. Sometimes race
conditions exist that causes the output to follow the VE
(assuming VDD2 and VE are connected externally), until
all of the circuits in the output IC have stabilized. This
condition can result in output transitions or transients
that are coupled to the driven IGBT. These glitches can
cause the high-side and low-side IGBTs to conduct
shoot-through current that may result in destructive
damage to the power semiconductor devices. Fairchild
has introduced a initial turn-on delay, generally called
“time-to-good power”. T his delay, typically 30 µs, is o nly