Servo - August 2016

Brushless DC Motors with Two New Motor Drivers

Texas Instruments (TI) introduces two new motor drivers that support high performance powertrain applications.

The DRV8305-Q1 — a highly integrated three-phase brushless DC gate driver — and the UCC27211A-Q1 — a high current half-bridge gate driver — improve system performance and provide design flexibility to meet a diverse range of automotive system requirements.

For powertrain applications such as transmission pumps or engine cooling fans, the DRV8305-Q1 features a smart gate-drive architecture with programmable slew-rate control that allows easy optimization of MOSFET electromagnetic compliance (EMC). With an operating ambient temperature range of - 40°C to 150°C, the DRV8305-Q1 meets the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC)-Q100 Grade 0 automotive temperature specification.

Other features and benefits include the following:

Start-stop support: The device operates down to 4.4V to support start-stop functionality, which enables car manufacturers to meet strict fuel efficiency and carbon-dioxide emission standards.

Reduced board space: The DRV8305-Q1’s integrated 3.3V or 5V linear regulator, three current-sense amplifiers, and smart gate-drive architecture reduces board size and eliminates up to 20 external components.

Fault protection: Advanced on-chip protection with detailed fault diagnostics guard against overtemperature, undervoltage lockout, MOSFET shoot-through, and overcurrent events.

For designers looking for design flexibility, the 100V UCC27211A-Q1 half-bridge gate driver supports both brushed and brushless DC motor applications. Designing with individual half-bridges allows placement of the gate driver close to the MOSFETs, minimizing parasitic inductances and simplifying overall board layout.

Additionally, it offers the following benefits:

Leading per formance: With the industry’s fastest propagation delays at 15 ns, fast rise and fall times of 7 ns, and a 4A peak gate drive, the device packs high performance into a small 4.89 mm by 3. 9 mm package size.

Robust protection: The UCC27211A-Q1’s negative voltage rating of -12V protects the driver from potentially damaging voltage spikes.

The DRV8305-Q1 and UCC27211A-Q1 expand TI’s robust portfolio of motor drivers that offer designers integrated flexible solutions across a broad range of voltage, current, interface, integration, and control options.

The 9 mm by 9 mm DRV8305-Q1 is available in a 48- pin thermally enhanced thin-quad flat pack (HTQFP) package. It is priced at $2.65 in 1,000 unit quantities. The DRV8305-Q1 evaluation module is available for $99 for designers looking to create and configure a three-phase motor drive and control system.

The UCC27211A-Q1 is available as an eight-pin small outline integrated circuit (SOIC) package with PowerPAD™ packaging and is priced at $1.77 in 1,000 unit quantities.