Power conversion solutions at PCIM

Partner program yields turnkey solutions
Analog Devices has established an ecosystem with partner companies, specifically to assist its customers in developing innovative power-management solutions in areas such as battery management systems (BMS). Visitors to the ADI stand will be able to see designs created by industrial partner Stercom Power Solutions, offering expertise in advanced battery management systems tailored for energy storage applications.

Also shown on the stand will be innovative open platforms from the Fraunhofer IISB, an applied research institute in Erlangen, Germany, which has created the foxBMS. This has been conceived as the ultimate open source development platform for battery management, applicable to industrial systems such as energy storage and guided vehicles (ESS/AGVs) and automotive applications (EV/HEVs).

A demonstration will highlight ADI’s offering for system integrators and designers working in the field of energy storage in high power systems, where they are challenged to deliver ever-higher levels of conversion efficiency. The demonstration will feature a reference design for a 30kW DC/DC charger for high power energy storage, developed by ADI’s partner Stercom Power Solutions.

The power converter is a high voltage, high frequency design employing silicon carbide (SiC) technology that targets both static energy storage and electric vehicles, yielding 99% power conversion efficiency resulting in a 30% smaller charging unit.

Drivers optimise SiC/GaN MOSFET performance
Power conversion designers making the transition to using wide band-gap semiconductor power transistors are employing both SiC devices and those fabricated in gallium nitride (GaN). ADI is ready to provide solutions and design support, as will be evident in a demonstration featuring a DC/DC optimiser sub-system.

This design employs ADI’s half-bridge gate drivers that control GaN transistors at very high switching frequencies beyond 2 MHz. The demonstration will reveal how this enables extremely compact designs, with highest power conversion efficiencies, for space-constrained applications.

Comprehensive control boosts battery lifetimes
Focusing in on the specific challenges of battery management systems, a live demonstration will illustrate how ADI products span the entire signal chain for this key function. Precision control of state-of-charge of every cell in a battery stack is understood to be essential to maximising performance from technologies such as lithium-ion, boosting duration and lifetime by as much as 25%.

This demonstration will reveal ADI’s capabilities in battery stack voltage monitoring, in active cell balancing, and in isolated communication to safely transmit measurement and control data in the BMS architecture.

ADI specialists will be available to engage in discussions around today’s power conversion technology challenges, at all levels. The company’s partner program offers a route to efficient turnkey solutions while, for designers seeking to optimise high voltage, high frequency power converter circuit topologies, ADI staff will be available for in-depth discussions.

Areas of special interest include isolated gate driving, and power management ICs (PMICs). ADI can offer a high-performance combination of parts that will optimise the output of chargers and inverters based on SiC and GaN power MOSFETs. Pairing digital iCoupler technology with innovative PMICs results in designs with lowest EMI and highest efficiency. ADI’s product family offers a fully characterised route to fastest time-to-market, with lowest R&D risks.

Forum presentation: battery management systems
Analog Devices will participate in the Exhibitor Forum series of technical presentations at PCIM 2019. At 13:40 on 7th May, ADI’s Stefano Gallinaro will deliver a talk entitled ‘Battery Management for Energy Storage Systems: innovations in the ecosystem’. The Forum is located in Hall 7/507.