Sense Power Switch Current Without Increasing Losses Or Parasitics

Focus:

Conventional approaches to current sensing such as the use of current-sense resistors or transformers add power losses and cost to power supply applications. Those drawbacks can be eliminated with the application of a new current-sensing IC, the IR25750. This chip provides a simple and innovative solution for measuring the VDS(ON) of a power MOSFET or the VCE(ON) of an IGBT. Unlike existing current-sensing ICs employing series-connected methods, the IR25750 implements a parallel-connected solution so it does not add to the circuit’s power loss or its parasitic inductance. This article describes the functionality of this new IC, presents simulation and experimental results, and provides helpful guidelines for PCB layout.

What you’ll learn:

• How to sense MOSFET or IGBT current without adding power loss or parasitic inductance

View the Source

Author & Publication:

Tom Ribarich, International Rectifier, El Segundo, Calif, How2Power Today, Nov 15 2014

This article summary appears
in the HOW2POWER Design Guide.

The Design Guide offers
organized access to
hundreds of articles
on dozens of power conversion
and power management topics.

The Design Guide search results
include exclusive summaries
and accurate "how to" analysis
to help you make faster,
more informed decisions.

Search
for more articles