Texas Instruments (TI) Incorporated today introduced a smart bypass diode in a standard surface-mount package with 15-ampere (A) current handling capability and low power dissipation. In a typical application, each SM74611 lowers power dissipation by 80% and reduces the operating temperature inside the junction box by 50°C (122°F).
TI will demonstrate the SM74611 at the Applied Power Electronics Conference and Expo (APEC) on 18-20 March 2013 at the Long Beach Convention Centre (booth 109) in Long Beach, California (US). TI will also present a seminar at APEC, called “Smart Bypass Diodes Enable Electronics in the PV Junction Box,” on Tuesday, 19 March, at 2:15 p.m. in meeting room 102B.
When a photovoltaic (PV) solar panel is shaded, the SM74611 active diode provides an alternate low-resistance path for string current to prevent hot spots that can damage the panel. The SM74611 protects the panel and improves PV solar panel reliability by boosting efficiency and the reduced thermal dissipation enables more compact junction boxes with smaller heat-sinks.
According to Jörg Schmidt, director of sales for PV-Connecting Systems at Kostal Industrial Electronics, “TI’s SM74611 smart bypass diode enables us to … increase the current rating of our line of Samko junction boxes from 10A to 13A without changing the physical design.”
The SM74611 joins TI’s family of solar products that includes the UCD3138 digital power controller for solar microinverters, SM72441 maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller and SM72295 full bridge driver.
Key features and benefits of the SM74611 smart bypass diode:
• 80% lower power dissipation reduces ambient temperature inside the junction box by 50°C, improving the current rating of existing junction boxes, as well as enabling smaller boxes with improved current rating.
• Current handling up to 15A with no avalanche effect.
• Reduced leakage current in both forward and reverse operation increases energy harvesting yield in PV arrays.
• D2PAK package is a drop-in replacement for conventional surface-mount diodes.
The SM74611 smart bypass diode is available in volume now from TI and its authorised distributors.
Back to Products
