High efficiency DC-to-DC converters for space satellite applications
21 April 2004
Power Electronics / Power Management
International Rectifier has introduced the Z Series family of 1,5, 2,5 and 3,3 V, single output DC-to-DC converters for geo-synchronous (GEO) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite power systems.
Satellite power systems must supply proper voltage and current for complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistors and now BiCMOS, a combination of bipolar and CMOS. IR's new Z-family DC-DC converters employ synchronous output rectification and include the Z2801R5S, a 1,5 V, 20 A/30 W device that delivers 79% efficiency. IR says its 'off-the-shelf' solution enables a shorter lead-time than custom designs, streamlining satellite project time-to-market.
The new converters feature high radiation immunity, 100 krad (Si) minimum total ionising dose (TID) and single event effect (SEE) with LET (linear energy transfer) of greater than 80 MeV-mg-cm2.
Surface-mount technology is used for the larger passive and power components, while hybrid devices are used for control circuits to simplify assembly and achieve a small footprint. The components used in the Z Series converters are selected and de-rated per the requirements of MIL-STD-975 and MIL-STD-1547.
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