IAN POOLE REPORTS ON A NEW DEVICE THAT PROVIDES BOTH CURRENT AND

VOLTAGE CONTROL.

Whilst there are many new
developments taking place in
the field of device technology,
there are also many new and
ingenious developments that
are making use of them. Even
VCC 2
now, different types of circuit
are being devised to enable the
MVC 3
new forms of device technology
to be used to the full in novel
VSS1 4
and exciting ways.
BENISTOR
In one new development
new ideas are being used for
power control circuitry. Using
active circuits it is normally
possible to control either the
voltage or current to the output,
but not both at the same time.
However, an interesting new
device called a Benistor
enables independent control
of voltage and current in
electronic circuits whilst still
obeying Ohm's Law. The name
is derived from the words
Blockade of Electric Network
and transISTOR.
The development of this
device has been undertaken
by the Bensys Corporation,
a private Californian semi-
conductor company founded in
1997. The company was set up
specifically to pursue the
development and commercial-
ization of the new idea.
It is anticipated that this
device will find widespread use
in a number of applications,
including switching power
supplies, power controller
applications, and many other
areas of electronics at a variety
of power levels. The aim is that
the device will enable designers
to devise power control circuits
VIN 1 16 VOUT
CURRENT
SEPARATOR 15
14
VOLTAGE 13 CC
CURRENT CURRENT
THRESHOLD
CONTROLLER
SEPARATOR CONTROLLER
5 12
6 11 ~CC four major circuit blocks. These
7 10 CE separator (CS), a voltage thres-
VSS2 8 9 GND current controller (CC). There
Fig.1. Block diagram of the
BEN35100 Benistor.
that are lower in cost and
simpler than those used at the
moment, and that these circuits
will also perform their function
more efficiently.
FIRST DEVICES
The company has released
the first realization of the idea.
Given the part number
BEN35100, it uses bipolar
technology. The specifications
reveal that the device has a
maximum input voltage of 36V,
a supply current of 3mA, a bias
current of 500nA and a typical
threshold voltage of only 0⋅54V.
Switching times are fast for a
device of this nature with a rise
time of 650ns. Another feature
of the design is that the device
is protected against conditions
of reverse current or voltage.
At the moment the Benistor has
been realized as a hybrid, but
development is under way to
implement it as a fully inte-
grated circuit. This will have
increased performance with
greater variety of supply and
input ratings as well as greater
current capabilities.
INSIDE
VCC
The Benistor consists of
are a power controller, a current
hold controller (VTC), and a
are eight connections that
define the output, as shown
in Fig. 1.
The power controller block
is relatively simple and consists
of power pnp transistor that acts
either as a switch or a variable
resistor between the power
source and the load. It takes its
inputs from the other blocks
within the Benistor.
The current separator uses
three npn transistors that enable
the voltage controller and the
current controller to operate
either together or separately. It
is connected to the common
electrode or CE connection
along with the VTC and current
controller.
The current controller
utilizes two open collector
operational amplifiers that
enable the circuit to act as a
voltage to current converter.
This block of the circuit has two
control inputs: the first detailed
CC in the diagram enables the

Copyright © 1998 Wimborne Publishing Ltd and EPE Online, November 1998 - www.epemag.com - 14
Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc
 block to give a current output
proportional to the input
voltage. The second is via an
inverting input ~CC to give a
current inversely proportional to
the input voltage.
VOLTAGE THRESHOLD
CONVERTER
The voltage threshold con-
verter controls the base current
for the output buffer. It achieves
this using either a switching or
self-switching mode. The two
inputs to this section of the
circuit are the effective voltage
control, EVC, and maximum
voltage control, MVC.
The two inputs accomplish
different functions. The voltage
present at the EVC control input
establishes the threshold volt-
age for switching the output
from off to on, whilst the MVC
affects the on to off transition.
Essentially, these two input
voltages set the output
voltage band.
One final input called the
switching select or SS conn-
ection selects the initial state of
the Benistor. It can be either on
or off at the beginning of the
waveform requiring control.
It can be either at ground or at a
floating level that is higher than
ground.
In operation the CE input
provides the reference voltage
for the device whilst the CC
inputs set the range of the
output current. The VTC pre-
establishes the window in which
the output voltage can fall.
Based on these input
conditions, the device will
deliver the required part of the
input waveform to enable the
voltage and current to fall within
the two preset ranges. In other
words, the device enables the
designer to define a virtually
unlimited variation of output
conditions.
Copyright © 1998 Wimborne Publishing Ltd and
Maxfield & Montrose Interactive Inc
APPLICATIONS
A further advantage is that
the device can accept a wide
variety of waveforms; a.c., d.c.,
and pulse waveforms are all
acceptable. As a result the
designer is given tremendous
flexibility enabling far more
efficient control of power
circuits.
The Benistor is targeted
particularly at applications
including switching power
supplies, battery chargers and
fluorescent light ballasts.
However, its new design
concept means that it can be
used in a wide variety of
different applications in the
power control field.
The feedback mechanism
will prevent voltage and current
overload, enabling the device to
provide a very safe charging
solution. It can also change the
frequency of the charging
pulses thereby providing the
optimum charging time. A
further advantage is that the
same basic design can be
altered to suit a variety of
different battery chemistries.
In a further demonstration
of the Benistor, the Bensys
Corporation compared a circuit
EPE Online, November 1998 - www.epemag.com - 15
using the new Benistor with
another using traditional
techniques. It was found that
the Benistor approach gave
significant improvements in
efficiency.
Not only did this save in
terms of the overall power
consumption, but it meant that
cost savings could be made in
the production of the unit. This
is because smaller components
could be used as lower levels of
power dissipation were
experienced, and heat sinks
were much smaller or not
required.
PRACTICAL USE
Despite the fact that the
Benistor represents a new
development, the cost is
surprisingly low. Currently the
BEN35100 is available at a cost
of $2.75 in large quantities,
making it particularly attractive
for many volume production
items. Even for small quantity
production it will prove to be an
attractive solution.
In view of the benefits
provided by the Benistor, it will
be a powerful tool in the hands
of the power control designer.