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Banned on 3/17/2009. Registered Member #487
Joined: Sun Jul 09 2006, 01:22AM
Location:
Posts: 617
Today when I was testing a board I had made and as I probed the power pins of a ucc37321 the chip exploded much like a mosfet does. I think I shorted an output pin to the +15 volt pin. I wonder if the 11,000uF worth of caps I have on the +15VDC line has anything to do with it. Still seems odd that the chip would try and put out enough power to send chunks of plastic into my face.
Registered Member #63
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 06:18AM
Location:
Posts: 1425
What usually happens to me with dying UCCs (I seem to be infamous for pushing them to stupid frequencies, stupid voltages and stupid powers) is smelly brown crap starts bubbling out a little pinhole or crack that forms above the output stage.
Because the outputs are so low impedance, it's easy to latch the chip by shorting one or other output to a rail. If he latches, he's as good as gone... Sometimes if you're quick, though, you can kill the power before they get too hot, and once they cool down again they're good to go.
I sand my multimeter probes down until they're sharp points to alleviate this issue, or solder sewing pins to them. =P
Registered Member #27
Joined: Fri Feb 03 2006, 02:20AM
Location: Hyperborea
Posts: 2058
That happens from time to time. Some MOSFET driver chips seems to fail in that way fairly often. I did the same once with a 7805 regulator that is supposed to be short circuit proof.
When you short pins there can be significant currents, sometimes these currents take paths through the silicon that is not intended and they can cause transistors to latch up and the chip can malfunction in any number of bad ways.
Registered Member #56
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445
But the absolute best way to kill a ucc is to be using it in a topology with no GDT's, (ucc connected directly to the fets) and then get a fet that decides to short out on you. I once had a ucc blow up so violently I thought that an electrolytic cap had exploded! The top 1/2 of the chip completly blew off, and I don't think that the die is doing too well.
Registered Member #103
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 08:16PM
Location: Derby, UK
Posts: 845
I've never blown up a driver chip that badly
In fact so far I've only destroyed one pair of UCCs from the bulk buy, and they just failed with no spectacular result
I noticed the UCCs seem to have what looks like a little hole in them, this really fooled me at first when I was having some problems with a coil; "what? UCCs blown again? And I don't think I even ran the coil this time!"
Registered Member #494
Joined: Thu Nov 09 2006, 02:42AM
Location: Udine, Italy
Posts: 31
place a fast 325 or 400mA fuse on the supply of each gate driver, it will save your gate drivers. allways remember to decouple the output of the drivers with a 0.3 to 1µF cap, depending on the frequency. I've just blown some drivers with my induction heater, next time I'll be much more careful about it!
Banned on 3/17/2009. Registered Member #487
Joined: Sun Jul 09 2006, 01:22AM
Location:
Posts: 617
The chip didnt even have a gate drive transformer attached to it. I guess it must have latched low when my meter probe slipped and shorted the output to the +15V pin. I wonder if it could be pushed hard enough to do that driving a gate drive transformer? Honestly it's kinda of cool when the go violently instead of just heating up and fizzlling out.
Registered Member #56
Joined: Thu Feb 09 2006, 05:02AM
Location: Southern Califorina, USA
Posts: 2445
If you do not put external diodes on the output they can 'latch up' and short out , and if you have enough filter caps on the board that can be decently spectacular ;)
Registered Member #192
Joined: Fri Feb 17 2006, 03:08AM
Location: Canada
Posts: 44
Avalache,
The little hole is for the magic smoke to escape
I was building one of Dan McCulleys Plasmasonic boards and I had an inverting driver that was non-inverting. It took out two of my driver chips and I had to order more samples.
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Exploding driver chip
