Toshiba develops PV photocoupler for automotive applications

Japanese electronics manufacturer Toshiba has released a new PV output photocoupler for solid-state relay. The TLX9910 solution is made for automotive equipment, such as battery management systems, onboard chargers, and inverters.

Photovoltaic output photocouplers are electronic components that use light-emitting diodes (LED) and a photovoltaic cell in a single package, allowing two circuits to communicate optically. They provide electrical isolation between the control and load-carrying circuits in solid-state relays. The latter are electronic switches that use semiconductor devices.

“The new TLX9910 is suitable for gating high-voltage power MOSFET (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor) used in solid state relays,” the company said in a statement. “By combining the new product with a high-voltage power MOSFET, high-voltage and high-current switchings that are difficult to achieve with photorelays can be achieved.”

“High voltage power MOSFET tend to require a higher gate-drive voltage as the amount of output voltage, and current are larger,” the company said. “By improving the minimum open voltage of the new product, it is possible to drive the gate of a high voltage power MOSFET with a single product, thereby reducing the number of components mounted on the board.”