Thermoelectric Cooler Drivers Work Without Large FETs And Heatsinks

By delivering two high-efficiency pulse-width modulation (PWM) power drivers and an H-bridge, the DRV59x family of thermoelectric cooler (TEC) drivers eliminates the large MOSFETs and heatsinks usually required for such devices. Designed for driving TEC elements and biasing laser diodes in optical neworking applications, the new drivers come in a QFP package having a footprint of just 9 mm x 9 mm. This is said to result in a real estate savings of some 80% compared to discrete implementations of the drivers. And in the near future, the size of these devices is expected to be squeezed into 4-mm x 4-mm and 5-mm x 5-mm MicroStar Jr. BGA packages. The DRV59x familyÕs first members include the ±1.2A DRV590 and ±3A DRV591 PWM power drivers, featuring a 2.8V to 5.5V voltage supply range, and the ±3A DRV592 H-bridge that can be driven from any external PWM generator with TTL logic, such as a DSP or FPGA. The DRV590, DRV591 and DRV592 drivers come in PowerPAD, 20-pin SOIC packages costing $6.87, $12.34 and $11.89 each/1,000, respectively. Parts 591 and 592 are also available in 32-pin PQFPs. TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC., Semiconductor Group, SC-01210, Dallas, TX. (800) 477-8924, ext. 4500.