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Analog Devices is expanding
its extensive family of digital
isolation products with a series
of four-channel devices that
isolate both data and power.
Each device integrates ADI’s
iCoupler® digital isolation technology
and ADI’s proprietary
isoPower™ dc-to-dc converter,
providing both isolated
power and isolated signal
channels within a single package.
The ADuM540x iCoupler digital
isolators with isoPower are
a better choice over discrete
solutions, such as optocouplers
with external dc-to-dc
converters, because their
small 10 x 10mm surface
mount packages can reduce
board space by up to 70 percent
and cut costs by as
much as 50 percent. In addition,
the ADuM540x devices
come with safety pre-approvals,
allowing designers to
realize faster design times as
compared to discrete-based
solutions, which require timeconsuming
safety approvals
that can delay time-to-market.
The on-board isoPower isolated
dc-to-dc converter provides
up to 500 mW of regulated,
isolated power and can
operate at either 5.0-V or 3.3-
V. A version with two channels
(ADuM520x) and a version
that features only the isoPower
isolated power supply
(ADuM5000) will be released
later this year.
With more than 150 million
channels deployed throughout
the industry, ADI’s proven
iCoupler technology is based
on chipscale transformers,
rather than on the LEDs and
photodiodes found in optocouplers.
Transformers can
support higher data rates and
lower power consumption,
and are more stable over life
as compared to LEDs and
photodiodes. By fabricating
the transformers directly onchip
using wafer-level processing,
iCoupler channels can be
integrated with each other and
other semiconductor functions
at low cost.
iCoupler transformers are
planar structures formed from
CMOS and gold metal layers.
A high breakdown polyimide
layer underneath the gold layer
insulates the top transformer
coil from the bottom. CMOS
circuits connected to the top
coil and bottom coil provide
the interface between each
transformer and its external
signals.
iCoupler digital isolators condition
and drive data across
transformers. ADI’s isoPower
dc-to-dc converter uses the
same chipscale transformer
technology, but instead of
transmitting data, isoPower
employs switches, rectifiers,
and regulators to generate
power that is isolated to the
same degree as the data
channels.
The ADuM540x family of fourchannel
digital isolators is
available now.
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