Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation (“Toshiba”) today announced the launch of the TLX9165T, an automotive photorelay[1] that supports 1800V (maximum) output voltage for high-voltage automotive batteries in a 10-pin SO16L-T package.
Shorter charging times and longer driving range are critical to the development and adoption of electric vehicles, and both require more efficient operation of battery systems. Battery management systems (BMS) monitor the battery charge status to achieve efficient system operation, while also monitoring the insulation between the battery and the vehicle body to ensure the safe use of high-voltage batteries. BMSs that need to handle high voltages are using electrically isolated photorelays.
Energy storage systems (ESS) also use a similar configuration to BMSs to ensure efficient operation of renewable energy. Since energy storage systems also handle high voltages like electric vehicles, they are also an important application market for electrically isolated photorelays.
Although 400V battery systems are currently the mainstream in electric vehicles, the growing demand for longer driving range and faster charging speeds will accelerate the transition to 800V battery systems. Photorelays used in these battery systems must have a withstand voltage of approximately twice the system voltage, so for 800V battery systems, the withstand voltage value needs to be above 1600V. Toshiba's new photorelay uses its high-voltage MOSFET and has an output withstand voltage of 1800V (maximum), suitable for 800V battery systems.
The photorelay's 10-pin SO16L-T package uses a resin with a comparative tracking index (CTI)[2] of 600 or more, which is a Class I[3] material in the IEC 60664-1[4] international standard, and its pin configuration ensures a creepage distance of 7.5mm or more on the optical receiver side[5]. These characteristics comply with the IEC 60664-1 standard and provide an operating voltage of 1500V.
Going forward, Toshiba will continue to expand its photorelay products for battery systems for automotive applications and energy storage systems for industrial equipment, contributing to the safe operation of equipment.