3 Functional description
1EDNx550 is a fast single-channel non-isolated gate driver. However, compared with standard drivers, this new
gate driver family extends the range of possible applications into fields usually reserved for isolated drivers,
thereby generating significant system cost benefits.
The key to make this possible, is moving from the standard ground related to a true dierential input with very
high common-mode rejection. The required symmetry of the input circuitry is achieved by on-chip trimming; it
finally allows to deal with peak common-mode voltages of up to ± 150 V between driver reference (GND) and
system ground (SGND). 1EDNx550 is not only ideally suited for any application with unwanted shis between
driver and system ground, but may also be utilized as a high-side driver within the allowed common-mode
range. Besides, switches requiring a bipolar driving voltage can be operated very easily.
3.1 Dierential input
Figure 4 depicts the signal path from the controller’s PWM output to the logic gate driver signal as implemented
on 1EDNx550.
IN+
IN-
Differential
Schmitt
Trigger
Av = 4.5
12 MHz
2nd order
Lowpass
Controller
PWM
SGND
0Rin1
Rin2
2kW
2kW
1kW
1kW
15pF
15pF
1EDNx550
GND
Pulse
Extender
Cp2
Cp1
VS
DVRin DVRin / k
k = (Rin [kW] + 3) / 3
Figure 4 1EDNx550 input signal path
The controller output signal, switching between controller supply VS and zero, is applied at the one leg of a
dierential voltage divider, while the other is connected to the controller ground SGND. The divider ratio has to
be adapted to VS to allow a fixed Schmitt-Trigger threshold voltage. For VS = 3.3 V, Rin1 and Rin2 are chosen to be
33 kΩ, resulting in a static divider ratio of k = 12 at the driver inputs and 36 at the internal voltage amplifier. With
VS other than 3.3 V, Rin has to fulfil the relation: Rin1 =Rin2 = 10.9 VS −3 kΩ
Amplified by a factor of 4.5, the signal is filtered by a 2nd order low-pass filter. Taking into account the RC filter in
front of the amplifier, the overall input path exhibits the frequency behavior of a 3rd order low-pass filter with a
corner frequency around 12 MHz. The suppression of high frequencies is important for two reasons. Inductive
common-mode ringing in fast-switching power systems is typically in the 100 MHz and above range and thus is
eectively damped. The high-frequency symmetry of the voltage divider is influenced by parasitic capacitances,
particularly Cp1 and Cp2, the parallel capacitances of Rin1 and Rin2. They are typically in the 50 to 100 fF range,
rather independent of resistor size. Without filtering, any asymmetry would translate high-frequency common-
mode into dierential signals.
The filtered signal is then applied to a dierential Schmitt-Trigger with accurate trimmed threshold levels and
converted to the logic switch control signal. The subsequent pulse extender function guarantees that no pulses
shorter than 25 ns are transmitted to the output, thereby further improving noise immunity.
Due to the filtering requirements the input-to-output propagation delay is slightly increased to around 45 ns. By
means of on-chip trimming, however, the usually more relevant propagation delay variation can still be kept
low at +10 / -7 ns.
1EDN7550 and 1EDN8550
Single-channel EiceDRIVER™ with true dierential inputs
Functional description
Datasheet 5 Rev. 2.0
2018-05-14