Smart power device targeted to educational purposes

This paper presents the tools and methodology used to introduce students to the problem of smart power design, resorting to low cost standard technologies. The theoretical support is envisaged to provide the required knowledge to specify characteristics and performance of the most common blocks used in smart power and to develop skills to implement them in integrated form. Through design, layout, simulation and experimental characterization, the students were able, in 60 hours of one semester course, to experience different steps of a smart power design, from the basic switching cell to the final system prototype. A power integrated circuit embedding digital, analog basic blocks and HV transistor arrays is presented. Based on this PIC, different topologies required by power switches and drives, control and protection, for power electronics systems were implemented. Experimental results for one out of five completed systems implemented by the students are shown and discussed. This methodology was applied with success in a course offered to a small group of graduate students.