News

15 July 2010

 

Avago launches 12kV fiber-optic short-link isolator for renewable energy and medical applications

Avago Technologies has launched the 10 MBd HFBR-3810Z fiber-optic (FO) short-link transmitter/receiver for isolating frequency inverter and power converter applications common in renewable energy installations.

In power-generating wind and solar farms, fiber-optics technology is widely considered to be the preferred isolation technology to interface between low-voltage control logic or microprocessors and high-voltage power inverters and switching circuits, says Avago.

The FO short-link technology pin-to-pin distance of 24.96mm provides transient voltage suppression of 12kV according IEC 60664-1. Avago’s 650nm-wavelength FO short-link technology allows galvanic isolation on one PCB where previously separate transmitter/receiver pairs on two PCBs were linked by plastic optical fiber for isolation. The HFBR-3810Z (which has a 13mm x 33.56mm PCB footprint of 4.36cm 2) allows much more compact designs, the firm says. The extended temperature range is –40°C to +85°C.

FO short-link devices have creepage and clearance specifications greater than existing optocoupler devices and offer superior galvanic isolation than transformer-based technology, Avago claims.

Fiber technology also has excellent EMI resistance and EMC characteristics (with a HFBR-3810MSZ metal shield version also available). The HFBR-3810Z short-link transmitter/receiver operates reliably in high-noise environments common in high-voltage switching and motor control equipment and systems. The DC-coupled data link does not require data encoding or digitizing circuitry. The FO receiver has a CMOS/TTL output for easy interface design (with no data encoding or digitizing circuitry required).

Avago also offers a wide range of fiber-optic transmitters, receivers, and transceivers, and IGBT/Power MOSFET gate drivers, and optocoupler isolation products for wind turbine, wind farm and solar electric power generation applications.

Pricing in 20-piece quantities is $8.60 each for the HFBR-3810Z and $9.82 each for the HFBR-3810MSZ.

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Visit: www.avagotech.com