BLDC Gate Drivers Elevate Efficiency in Power Tools and Industrial Instruments
The STDRIVE102P and STDRIVE102BP are STMicroelectronics’ latest additions to its STDRIVE102 series of gate-driver IC series for three-phase brushless motors. Able to operate from supply voltages from 6 to 50 V, they help ensure high energy efficiency in battery-operated equipment such as power tools and domestic appliances.
The devices, which can drive six external N-channel power MOSFETs, are programmable via an integrated SPI interface to source up to 1 A and sink up to 2 A as well as provide slew-rate regulation without external resistors. An ultra-low standby current of only 50 nA typ. helps maximize battery life in portable and battery-powered applications.
STDRIVE102 components integrate an advanced charge pump that ensures continuous operation of the high-side driver circuitry, simplifying the design of applications that require a pulse-width-modulated (PWM) duty cycle of 100%. Integrated 12- and 3.3-V linear regulators (LDOs) power the internal low-side drivers and embedded analog front end (AFE).
The STDRIVE102BP’s configurable analog front end (AFE) includes three programmable-gain amplifiers (PGAs) and three comparators for measuring the motor shunt currents. They can be enabled and disabled individually to save energy. The STDRIVE102P has a simplified AFE with one PGA and one comparator.
All STDRIVE102 devices are equipped with a comprehensive set of embedded protection features, including undervoltage lockout, and drain-source voltage (VDS) monitoring on both the high and low side for dual-redundant overcurrent protection.
Evaluation boards for the EVLDRIVE102P and EVLDRIVE102BP , which include a three-phase inverter circuit based on ST’s STL220N6F7 power MOSFETs, are available now. Both are compatible with many of the company’s STM32 MCU-based Nucleo control boards and software ecosystem, such as the X-CUBE-MCSDK motor-control software package.
The STDRIVE102P is housed in a 5- × 5-mm, 40-pin VFQFPN, priced from $1.23. The STDRIVE102BP comes in a 6- × 6-mm, 48-pin VFQFPN, priced from $1.29. Pricing is for orders of 1,000 pieces. They’re currently in production.
About the Author
Lee Goldberg
Contributing Editor
Lee is the author of the popular PowerBites series.
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.