1MBd digital optocoupler is 'industry's most energy-efficient'

Paul Boughton
Avago Technologies is introducing what it claims to be the industry's most energy-efficient 1MBd digital optocoupler. Avago's compact low-power ACPL-M50L single-channel optocoupler, which operates on approximately 80 per cent less drive current than today's standard 1MBd digital optocouplers, is targeted at applications such as communication interfaces, microcontroller system interfaces, switching power supplies, and digital isolation for A/D and D/A conversion applications.
 
The ACPL-M50L provides superior high-voltage performance over the lifetime of the product while meeting safe insulation requirements for reinforced applications. Available in a small outline-5 (SO-5) package size, the ACPL-M50L high-speed digital optocoupler supports a wide supply voltage range from 2.7 to 24V and is driven by low forward drive current (IF > 3mA) with a high current transfer ratio (CTR > 80 per cent minimum) to allow direct drive from a microcontroller without the need to add a buffer chip.
 
Separate connections for the photodiode bias and output transistor collector of the ACPL-M50L is said to increase its speed up to one hundred times over that of a conventional photo-transistor by reducing the base-collector capacitance. Additionally, this optocoupler operates over a wide temperature range from -40 to +105 degrees C, which makes it suitable for use in harsh industrial environments.
 
For more information, visit www.avagotech.com