HV738

Absolute Maximum Ratings are those values beyond which damage to the device may occur. Functional operation under these conditions is not implied. Continuous operation of the device at the absolute rating level may affect device reliability. All voltages are referenced to device ground.

The Supertex HV738 is a four-channel, monolithic, high voltage, high speed pulse generator. It is designed for portable medical ultrasound applications. This high voltage and high speed integrated circuit can also be used for piezoelectric, capacitive or MEMS sensing in ultrasonic nondestructive detection and sonar ranger applications.

The HV738 consists of a controller logic interface circuit, level translators, MOSFET gate drivers and high current power P-channel and N-channel MOSFETs as the output stage for each channel.

The output stages of each channel are designed to provide peak output currents over ±1.1A for pulsing, when in mode 4, with up to ±65 volt swings. When in mode 1, all the output stages drop the peak current to ±140mA for low-voltage CW mode operation to decrease the power consumption of the HV738. The P and N type of power FETs gate drivers are supplied by two fl oating 8.0VDC power supplies referenced to VPP and VNN. This direct coupling topology of the gate drivers not only eliminates two high voltage capacitors per channel, but also makes the PCB layout easier.