High-Performance Gate Drivers Bring Economical Edge to BLDC Motors
The STDRIVE102H and STDRIVE102BH integrated gate drivers for three-phase brushless motors, developed by STMicroelectronics, support operating voltages from 6 to 50 V while delivering excellent performance, efficiency, and economy in consumer and industrial equipment.
The STDRIVE102H (for single-shunt control) and STDRIVE102BH (for three-shunt control) can support various drive schemes, including field-oriented control (FOC) and six-step motion control. Both devices’ drive current parameters can be easily configured through two analog pins using a simple resistor divider without the need for gate resistors. They also feature extensive protection against electrical and thermal hazards as well as a low-current standby mode that helps preserve battery life of cordless consumer and industrial products.
Each gate driver integrates charge-pump circuitry capable of sustaining unlimited on-time of the high-side MOSFETs to support applications that require a PWM duty cycle of 100%. The charge pump’s high- and low-side output MOSFETs are driven with identical gate-source voltage circuits to ensure tightly balanced operation. The low-dropout regulators (LDOs), which provide 12 V and 3.3 V for the drivers’ low-side circuitry and analog front end, can be used to power external components.
Developers can take advantage of ST’s EVLDRIVE102H and EVLDRIVE102BH evaluation boards and -CUBE-MCSDK STM32 motor-control software development kit (MCSDK) to accelerate development of systems. The kits feature motor back-EMF sensing as well as inputs for motors equipped with position sensors for extra precision.
The STDRIVE102H and STDRIVE102BH are available now in 5- × 5-mm or 6- × 6-mm QFN packages, priced from $1.20 for orders of 1,000 pieces.
