iC-GE
PWM RELAY/SOLENOID DRIVER
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Rev A2, Page 2/14
DESCRIPTION
iC-GE is a PWM driver for inductive loads, such as
relay coils, solenoid valves and other inductive loads.
The setpoints for the coil’s energising and hold cur-
rent are preset by means of external resistors RACT
and RHOLD. These currents can be set in a range
from 100 mA to 1 A. The iC-GE intrinsically switches
from energising to hold mode after 50 ms provided
that the set energising current has been reached. A
capacitor at TACT prolongs the time before the switch
to hold mode occurs.
The changeover between energising and hold modes
is suitable for typical relay drives which require a
powerful initial energising current which can then be
reduced after closing the air gap in a magnetic cir-
cuit. The quadratic dependence on the current inten-
sity means that cutting the current by half reduces
the power dissipation by ca. 75%.
Using PWM the output current is controlled to the
values set at RACT and RHOLD. The internal fly-
back diode maintains the current during the switch-
ing pauses. The switching frequency of ca. 80 kHz
is provided by the internal oscillator. Varying this fre-
quency between 70 kHz and 90 kHz reduces the EMI.
The device is shutdown by a Low signal at input EN
or the removal of the power supply; the current re-
duction in the coil is supported by the changeover of
the free-wheeling circuit. The Zener diode now ac-
tive permits higher free-wheeling voltages and thus a
quicker demagnetising of the coil.
The status indicator LED is constantly ON when hold
mode is functioning correctly and flashes with low
voltage, excessive temperature or when the coil cur-
rent in energise mode has not reached the setpoint.
The driver output is shutdown with low voltage or ex-
cessive temperature. Alternatively to using an LED
output DIAG signals the correct operating by out-
putting a high signal.
The input signal at EN can be synchronised with the
zero crossing at input SYNC. Thus by using an ex-
ternal R/C network, the switching of the coil can be
synchronised with the load current of e.g. the relay.
PACKAGING INFORMATION QFN16 4 mm x 4 mm
PIN CONFIGURATION QFN16 4 mm x 4 mm
PIN FUNCTIONS
No. Name Function
Enable Input
Ground
Ground
Ground
PWM Output
PWM Output
PWM Output
+10...36 V Supply Voltage
+10...36 V Supply Voltage
+10...36 V Supply Voltage
Status Output
Sync Input
Reference Ground for RACT and
RHOLD
14 TACT Energising Time Prolongation
15 IHOLD Hold Current Setup
16 IACT Energising Current Setup
GE label and coding is subject
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
EN
GND
GND
GND
SW
SW
SW
VB
VB
VB
DIAG
SYNC
RM
16
1
2
3
4
5
15 14 13
12
11
10
9
6
7
8
The
Thermal Pad
is to be connected to a Ground Plane (GND) on the PCB.
Only pin 1 marking on top or bottom defines the package orientation (
to change).
ICHAUS [ IC-HAUS GMBH ]
