What types of technologies have been used to provide isolation?
• Optical • Transformer • Capactitive Each has benefits and disadvantages related to price, performance, reliability, size, features and functionality. Historically, optocoupler and transformer technologies have been the most commonly used methods. What are optocouplers? What is optical isolation? Optocouplers are a form of optical isolation that employs light to transmit information across an isolation barrier. Typically, a light emitting diode (LED) transmits information to a light sensitive receiver (e.g., a transistor). Optical isolation’s primary benefit is that it is widely used and accepted as a low-cost isolation solution for transmission of slower digital signals; high-speed, digital optocouplers tend to be expensive. Optocoupler-based methods are commonly used in applications in which the DC state of a signal is important. Because LEDs may wear out over time, optical isolation typically requires compensation and guardbanding to guarantee application operability over life. Wha
