Date: 20/05/2012

Photocouplers with 14.5 mm creepage distance are available from Renesas

Renesas Electronics has announced the availability of a long-creepage-distance photocoupler, the PS9905. These photocouplers are useful in inverters in applications such as industrial equipment employing the commercial power supply voltage of 690 V or solar power generation systems employing voltages up to 1,000 V. The new PS9905 device is a photocoupler with an external creepage distance of 14.5 mm, exceeding the 13.8 mm specified in safety standards (IEC 61800) covering insulation to prevent electric shock, etc.

The PS9924 high-speed optocoupler is available that supports internal system communication speeds of 10 Mb/second while providing a long creepage distance of 14.5 mm.

Photocouplers are required to drive power semiconductor devices such as IGBTs while electrically isolating the two circuit blocks.

Features of PS9905 and PS9924:

1. Compliant with safety standards covering inverters for 690 V industrial systems and 1,000 V solar power generation systems (PS9905)
2. Contribute to more compact inverters (PS9905)
3. High-speed respond with IGBT photocoupler at 2.5 A output (PS9905)
4. Low power consumption with a 10 Mb/second high-speed photocoupler (PS9924)

These photocouplers are priced at US$4.0 per unit. Mass production is to reach a scale of 1,000,000 units per month in October 2012.