OPTO 4 Click
PID: MIKROE‐3337
Weight: 25 g
Opto 4 click is a galvanically isolated power switch, which uses a power
MOSFET in combination with an optocoupler. The power MOSFET can
withstand significant current due to its low ON resistance, allowing this Click
board™ to be used with different kinds of power demanding applications. In
addition, this Click board™ is equipped with the voltage limiting circuit,
which cuts off the power supply when the voltage of the externally
connected power supply suddenly drops. The galvanic isolation of the
optocoupler offers protection of the controller circuit, thus preventing power
surges from the controlled circuit.
Opto 4 click is supported by a mikroSDK compliant library, which includes
functions that simplify software development. This Click board™ comes as a
fully tested product, ready to be used on a system equipped with the
mikroBUS™ socket.
Featuring very good electrical specifications, including high operating
voltage, high current capacity, optical galvanic isolation of the controller
circuit, and undervoltage protection, Opto 4 click is a perfect solution which
can be used for development of a wide range of power demanding
applications, including driving of LED stripes, light bulbs, different types of
DC motors, and other similar applications that require an electronically
controlled high-current switch.
How does it work?
Opto 4 click uses the LTV‐817S, an optocoupler with a high isolation voltage,
by LITEON. This is a single-channel optocoupler which uses the low current
provided by the output pin of the microcontroller (MCU) to activate its
output stage. Besides an internal biasing LED, the MCU drives an additional
external yellow LED, which signalizes that the MCU output is at a HIGH logic
level. This led is labeled as ON, and it is used to indicate the state of the
optocoupler output stage (conductive or non-conductive). The host MCU
uses the CS pin of the mikroBUS™ to drive the input stage of the LTV-817S
optocoupler.
The working principle of an optocoupler is quite simple: A photo-emitting
element - usually an IR LED - is integrated on a die along with the
photosensitive element, usually a photosensitive transistor. The LED and the
photosensitive transistor are isolated galvanically, but not optically: when
the internal LED is powered, it emits light, which biases the base of the
photosensitive transistor at the output stage, allowing the current to flow
through it. In practice, an optocoupler may be equipped with additional
elements such as Schmitt triggers, photo-sensitive Darlington pairs, various
configurations of MOSFETs, etc.
The output stage of the optocoupler is used to drive the gate terminal of the
FDD10AN06A0, an external power MOSFET, manufactured using the
PowerTrench® technology, by ON Semiconductor. This MOSFET allows much
more current to flow through the connected load, due to its extremely low
ON resistance of about 10 mΩ, typically (10V). This MOSFET is designed to
be used in switching circuits and for DC/DC converters, providing a high
efficiency for these applications. As such, it has a very low capacitance on its
gate terminal, allowing it to be driven with reasonably high-frequency PWM
signals.
The output stage of the LTV-817S optocoupler is connected to the VIN
terminal of the external power supply connector, labeled as POWER. When
the output stage of the optocoupler is closed (CS pin of the mikroBUS™ is at
a HIGH logic level), it will connect the gate of the power MOSFET to the VIN
voltage, thus enabling the power MOSFET. When the output stage of the
optocoupler is opened (CS pin is at a LOW logic level), the gate of the
MOSFET will be pulled down to the GND, by a 10K resistor, disabling the
MOSFET. While enabled, the power MOSFET will be able to conduct the
current through an external load, connected to the LOAD terminal. The
output stage of the optocoupler also has a green LED indicator labeled as
OUT, which indicates that there is a valid voltage level across the POWER
terminal.
An undervoltage circuit on the VIN terminal prevents the voltage of the
external power supply to drop under 10V. Ideally, the power supply voltage
should stay above 12V. It is important for the voltage of the power supply to
stay above 10V, since in that case, the ON resistance of the MOSFET is
about 10 mΩ, ensuring that no significant heat dissipation will occur as a
result of high current through the load. As the voltage of the externally
connected power supply drops, it may cause the ON resistance of the power
MOSFET to rise enough even before activating the undervoltage circuit
(depending on the current through the load), resulting in its damaging.
Therefore, the voltage of the external power supply must stay above 10V for
this Click board™ to work reliably.
The undervoltage protection feature can be useful to switch off the load in
the case when the short-circuit condition occurs: the voltage of the power
supply during short circuit event may drop, resulting the undervoltage circuit
to be activated. However, if a reasonably strong power supply is used, the
short-circuit current may be enough to destroy the power MOSFET or the
input terminals.
Specifications
Type
Optocoupler
Applications
Opto 4 click is a perfect solution for development of a wide range
of power demanding applications, including driving of LED
stripes, light bulbs, different types of DC motors, and other
similar applications that require an electronically controlled highcurrent switch.
On-board
modules
LTV-817S, a high isolation voltage optocoupler by LITEON;
FDD10AN06A0, an external power MOSFET, manufactured using
the PowerTrench® technology, by ON Semiconductor.
Key Features
Excellent ON resistance of only 10 mΩ, high current conduction
capability, high maximum voltage, an undervoltage circuit that
ensures the ON resistance of the MOSFET stays within the
specified values, etc.
Interface
GPIO
Input
Voltage
3.3V
Click board
size
M (42.9 x 25.4 mm)
Pinout diagram
This table shows how the pinout on OPTO 4 Click corresponds to the pinout
on the mikroBUS™ socket (the latter shown in the two middle columns).
Notes
Pin
Pin
NC
1
AN
PWM
16
NC
NC
2
RST
INT
15
NC
CS
3
CS
RX
14
NC
NC
4
SCK
TX
13
NC
NC
5
MISO
SCL
12
NC
NC
6
MOSI
SDA
11
NC
Power
Supply
+3V3
7
3.3V
5V
10
NC
Ground
GND
8
GND
GND
9
GND
Optocoupler
IN
Notes
Ground
Onboard settings and indicators
Label
Name
Default
LD1
PWR
-
Description
Power LED indicator
LD2
ON
-
Input stage ON LED indicator
LD3
OUT
-
External power supply LED indicator
Software support
We provide a library for the OPTO 4 Click on our LibStock page, as well as a
demo application (example), developed using MikroElektronika compilers. The
demo can run on all the main MikroElektronika development boards.
Library Description
The library contains a function for enabling or disabling the output voltage.
Key functions:
void opto4_outputEnable(uint8_t enable) - Function for output enable or disable.
Examples description
The application is composed of the three sections :
System Initialization - Sets CS pin as OUTPUT.
Application Initialization - Initialization driver init.
Application Task - (code snippet) - The Output voltage enable and disable every 3 sec.
void applicationTask()
{
opto4_outputEnable(_OPTO4_OUTPUT_ENABLE);
Delay_ms( 3000 );
opto4_outputEnable(_OPTO4_OUTPUT_DISABLE);
Delay_ms( 3000 );
}
The full application code, and ready to use projects can be found on
our LibStock page.
Other mikroE Libraries used in the example:
GPIO
Additional notes and informations
Depending on the development board you are using, you may need USB UART
click, USB UART 2 click or RS232 click to connect to your PC, for development
systems with no UART to USB interface available on the board. The terminal
available in all MikroElektronika compilers, or any other terminal application
of your choice, can be used to read the message.
https://www.mikroe.com/opto‐4‐click/2‐13‐19