NEC Electronics Europe Announces New High-Speed Optocouplers

Dramatically Reduced Footprints

DÜSSELDORF (Germany), May 07, 2008 — NEC Electronics Europe today announced five new high-performance optocouplers for industrial and motor control applications. The PS9301 insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) gate drive coupler with output of 0.6 amperes and the high-speed PS8302, PS9303, PS9313 and PS9317 couplers are packaged in a 6-pin shrink dual inline package (SDIP) that reduces the on-board footprint to half of a conventional 8-pin DIP.

The high-speed PS8302 and PS9313 couplers mark an industry first by offering a communication speed of 1 megabit per second (Mbps) and guaranteed operation at temperatures up to 110 degrees Celsius (°C). The PS9317 is even faster, offering a bit rate of 10 Mbps. All five optocouplers comply with common international safety standards, making them ideally suited for applications ranging from factory automation equipment to environmentally friendly home appliances.

The principal features of the new optocouplers are as follows.
(1) Compact package—footprint one-half the size of previous 8-pin DIP
A new package configuration and the use of materials with higher heat resistance enabled the development of a 6-pin SDIP that is roughly half the size of the previous 8-pin DIP and offers comparable stability under high-temperature soldering. Thanks to an integrated electrical shield, a common mode transient immunity (CMR) of at least 15 kilovolts per microsecond (kV/µs) is achieved, making the new optocouplers ideal for use in noisy environments.

(2) Compliance with international safety standards
Despite the smaller package size, innovations of the package design have made it possible to maintain an outer creepage distance of 8 millimeters (mm) along the package surface and an insulation thickness of 0.4 mm between the LED and light-receiving element. These dimensions, the same as those of 8-pin DIP products, allow the new optocouplers to satisfy the requirements of most international safety standards.

(3) Industry first—guaranteed maximum operating temperature of 110°C (PS8302 and PS9313 only)
Exhaustive testing of highly heat-resistant resin materials in addition to an optimized device configuration have made it possible for two of the new optocouplers to deliver communications speeds of 1 Mbps while guaranteeing increased operating temperatures of 110°C, compared to 100°C of previous products.

(4) Expanded lineup
NEC Electronics believes that the new optocouplers represent a revolutionary advance that will enable safer and more compact factory automation equipment and remains committed to expanding its compound semiconductor business and developing products that meet the requirements of an ever wider range of users.

Availability
Samples of the new optocouplers are available now. Volume production will start in May 2008, and is expected to reach 5 million units per month (all five optocouplers combined) by December 2008.
Additional information about NEC Electronics Europe’s optocouplers can be found at http://www.eu.necel.com/opto.