Agileswitch
AgileSwitch developed digital SiC and IGBT gate drivers in Philadelphia until its 2019 acquisition by Microchip Technology.
Founded
2010AgileSwitch developed digital SiC and IGBT gate drivers in Philadelphia until its 2019 acquisition by Microchip Technology.
AgileSwitch's distinguishing technology was patented Augmented Turn-Off switching, a technique covered by allowed patent claims that reduces turn-off voltage spikes and ringing under both normal and short-circuit conditions, enabling higher switching frequency and greater power-conversion density. The company cited reduced electromagnetic interference and faster short-circuit response as the reasons customers selected its drivers over competing technology.
Its plug-and-play, software-configurable drivers were designed to cut IGBT gate-driver design complexity and to be customizable per application, with digital monitoring and programmable settings intended to shorten development cycles for power-system builders. Ben Franklin Technology Partners, an early participant in the company, described the drivers as designed from the ground up for ease of integration in industrial power systems.
Source: eepower.com
AgileSwitch operated in power electronics segments that its chief executive described in 2019 as being reshaped by wide-bandgap devices: silicon carbide and gallium nitride were taking transportation, string solar and radio-frequency applications from silicon, while silicon IGBTs and MOSFETs kept cost-sensitive volume applications. The company positioned its digital programmable gate drivers as a way to accelerate adoption of early-stage SiC MOSFETs.
Renewable-energy and high-efficiency power markets grew rapidly during the company's operating years, prompting IGBT module makers to upgrade their product lines and creating demand for configurable gate drivers across industrial and transportation platforms. Demand for the product family outlasted the company's independence, with the gate-driver line continuing inside Microchip's silicon carbide business after the 2019 acquisition.
Source: eepower.com
AgileSwitch produced digital programmable gate drivers for power semiconductors rated from 600 V to 3,300 V, organized in three product types: gate driver ICs, gate driver cores, and plug-and-play gate drivers. Its drivers were software configurable through Intelligent Configuration Tools with preloaded settings for common SiC modules, and versions were produced for industry-standard EconoDUAL, PrimePACK and HPM IGBT modules.
Applications included solar and photovoltaic inverters, wind turbines, motor drives, uninterruptible power supplies, traction, hybrid and electric vehicles, industrial machines, and power distribution. The drivers used the company's patented Augmented Turn-Off switching technique to dampen turn-off voltage overshoots, and the product line continued to be carried by distributors under Microchip's branding after the 2019 acquisition.
Source: eepower.com