This paper shows through examples that microelectronics plays an important role in modern power electronics devices. The main requirements of power electronics designers are reliability, performances, easy maintenance, user friendly interface, ruggedness to electromagnetic, mechanical and thermal constraints. Besides the development of new types of power semicondfuctors and the improvement of existing ones, integrated circuits have increased the performance and reliability of the control of power equipments. Ana&log integrated circuits are used for simple, but high speed functions like controlling switched mode power supplies. Microprocessors have brought the versatility of programmed logic, the ability to implement complex control algorithms, and to handle communications with the operator and with different parts of an equipment. To avoid the saturation of a microprocessor by the more and more nbumerous tasks they have to perform, one can resort to multiprocessor systems, to Digital Signal Processors (DSP) or to wired logic. Those solutions are rather complex and increase the volume. An interesting alternative is the resort to Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC). The design effort and cost to develop an ASIC are now affordable for every power electronics manufacturer. Using ASIC considerably reduces the number of chips, boards, connectors, testing operations and hence increases reliability, noise immunity, speed, temperature range and mechanical strength.
| Filename: | EPE Journal - 01-1 - 7 - Paper Van Eck |
| Filesize: | 907.6 KB |
