Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., has introduced a new Automotive Grade phototransistor optocoupler designed to deliver signal transmission with high galvanic isolation for Electric Vehicles (EV) – including emerging 800 V battery architectures – and industrial automation systems. The Vishay Semiconductor VOLA617A combines an isolation voltage of 5000 VRMS with a VIORM of 1414 Vpeak and VIOTM of 8000 Vpeak in a 4-pin LSOP low profile package.
The device is ideal for grid-connected On-Board Chargers (OBC), DC/DC converters, Battery Management Systems (BMS), isolated wake-up signals, and any system control with galvanic and noise isolation. While most automotive optocouplers can’t be used for battery voltages exceeding 500 V – limiting them to traditional 400 V EV platforms – the ability of the VOLA617A to isolate DC voltages up to 1000 V enables its use in next-generation high voltage EV architectures.
