Capacitive Isolation Concept Board Passes UL Testing

IRVINE, Calif. -- Fabless power semiconductor company Helix Semiconductors announced that its patent-pending approach to capacitive isolation, implemented in the company’s capacitive isolation concept board, has passed UL testing required under the IEC 60950-1:2005 standard. The successful completion of UL testing furthers Helix Semiconductors’ mission to enable industry-leading power density power solutions by replacing transformers with capacitors in AC-DC power supplies. According to Bud Courville, Helix Semiconductors VP of business development, “This represents a critical step in making transformerless chipsets a reality.”

As an ever-growing number of electronic devices demand more power, new solutions are needed that offer higher power density, higher efficiency and significantly smaller form factors. Traditional power conversion approaches, such as transformer-based voltage reduction, just don’t cut it and a different approach is needed. By eliminating transformers and transferring power across a capacitive isolation barrier, transformerless AC-DC power supply products can be created that result in more than 10x power density improvement with average efficiencies greater than 94 percent. These products will also have a significantly smaller footprint, making them ideal for potentially eliminating that bulky “brick” and integrating the power module into the appliance being powered.

UL standards are recognized as some of the highest safety benchmarks in the world, and Helix Semiconductors’ concept board was reviewed for everything from SELV to touch current, overcurrent, overvoltage, and electric strength. The concept board uses chips based on Helix Semicondictors’ core energy-efficiency technology, MuxCapacitor, on the primary and secondary sides.

For more information about Helix Semiconductors’ products and technology, please visit the company website at www.helixsemiconductors.com.