Insulated signal transfer in a half bridge driver IC based on coreless transformer technology

Signal transmission across an insulation barrier is a technical challenge in many applications. State of the art solutions use either optical devices (opto-couplers; fibre optics) or pulse transformers with a core. By integrating two planar coils on a silicon die, an inexpensive coreless transformer has been developed, that incorporates the advantages of a pulse transformer into an IC. This paper gives information on transmission behaviour, insulation capability and potential fields of application of the new technology.