8-Channel Gate Driver Improves Efficiency of 48-V Mild-Hybrid Vehicles
The L98GD8 gate driver from STMicroelectronics is an integrated solution optimized for driving the gates of NMOS or PMOS FETs in 48-V systems. Its eight fully configurable channels drive MOSFETs in flexible high- and low-side configurations.
Able to operate from a 58-V supply, the L98GD8 provides rich diagnostics and protection for safety and reliability of mild-hybrid systems such as integrated starter-generators, as well as other large 48-V loads like e-compressors, pumps, fans, and valves.
The automotive-qualified driver IC has eight independent, configurable outputs, allowing it to control MOSFETs connected as individual power switches or as high- and low-side switches in up to two H-bridges for DC-motor driving. It features individually programmable gate currents and per-channel diagnostics for short-circuit to battery, open-load, and short-to-ground faults.
Additional diagnostic features include logic built-in self-test (BIST), over/undervoltage monitoring with hardware self-check (HWSC), and a configurable communication check (CC) watchdog timer. The device also includes an ultra-fast overcurrent shutdown with dual-redundant failsafe pins, battery-undervoltage monitoring, an ADC for battery and die temperature monitoring, and H-bridge current limiting.
The L98GD8, housed in a 10- × 10-mm TQFP64 package, is available now. Pricing starts at $3.94 for orders of 1,000 pieces. Click here for information on an evaluation board for the driver.
About the Author
Lee Goldberg
Contributing Editor
Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.
Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.
Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.
Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.
Lee also writes the regular PowerBites series.