Isolation Solutions

What is isolation?

Isolation is a means of transporting data & power between a high voltage and a low voltage circuit while preventing hazardous DC or uncontrolled transient current from flowing in between the two. TI offers both Basic and Reinforced isolation.

• Basic isolation: Regulation-based minimum isolation barrier strength provided by digital isolators or optocouplers. Safety standards state basic insulators must be supplemented with another basic-equivalent or supplemental passive barrier to protect any human-machine interface in the case of failures.
• Reinforced isolation: Widely used in high-voltage systems because it combines the equivalent of double isolation into one barrier. The isolated sensing systems that reinforced isolation provides can reduce power consumption and increase efficiency due to their high-precision, and isolated front-ends optimized for power-consumption.

Definitions and methodologies white paper

When to isolate?

Isolation is required when:

• To protect from and safely withstand high voltage surges that would damage equipment or harm humans
• To tolerate large ground potential differences and disruptive ground loops in circuits that have high energy or are separated by large distance
• To communicate reliably with high side components in high-voltage motor/inverter drive systems, switches, and metrology applications

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