Re: Smokin' gate drive chips on DRSSTC-2 board

["Tesla list" <tesla@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Original poster: "Daniel McCauley" <dhmccauley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

The tantalum capacitors were chosen due to size, price, and availability.
For this particular application, there are no concerns.  Remember, the
output waveform of the
gate drivers are AC (not DC) and the polarity of the cap is chosen such that
if any DC bias develops across the core, the cap is in the correct polarity.
Same as if the driver latches up to the high state.

A non-polarized cap would be a more ideal solution, but the tantalum cap was
down out of practicality.  And so far, i have had no problems.
Either cap will work just as well.

Dan


> Here's a related question: Dan has used a pair of 10uF tantalum coupling
> caps (10uF @ 35V, C45 & C46) in series with the gate drive transformer
> primary windings. I'm not sure I understand how a polarized capacitor is
> appropriate for this particular application. Any concerns? Would a
> non-polarized, low-inductance polypropylene film cap be a better choice?
>
> Regards,
> Scott Hanson
>