Efficient single-chip, three-phase and three-sense BLDC driver boosts battery runtime
For batteries in portables and internet of things (IoT) devices, STMicroelectronics’ STSPIN233 is claimed to be the industry’s first low-voltage motor driver suitable for both single-shunt and three-shunt brushless-motor driving. It integrates a 200-mOhm 1.3A rms power stage, in a slim and compact 3.0 x 3.0mm package.
The STSPIN233 is also claimed to have the industry’s lowest standby current, at less than 80nanoA. It can be put into standby mode under logic control, making it suitable for extending operation from batteries in equipment like drone-camera gimbals, educational robots, toothbrushes, shavers, medical syringe pumps, or small drives in IoT devices.
The STSPIN233’s input range of 1.8 to 10V allows use with a power source as basic as a single lithium-ion cell. Built-in safety features include over-current, short-circuit, and over-temperature protection, under-voltage lockout and interlocking.
A development ecosystem comprising a Nucleo expansion board (X-Nuceleo-IHM17M1) and related software tools (X-Cube-SPN17 for STM32Cube) is available for the STSPIN233, to jump-start evaluation and prototyping using the STM32Cube software environment that includes tools, middleware, and application-code examples.
ST Microelectronics offers a portfolio of miniature monolithic low-voltage drivers for stepping, brush, or brushless motors in small battery-powered devices. The complete family, comprising STSPIN220, STSPIN230, STSPIN233, STSPIN240, and STSPIN250, each with a dedicated Nucleo evaluation board and X-Cube software package, offers flexible choices including single, dual, or high-current (2.6A rms) brush motor control, and sensed or sensorless BLDC control.
The STSPIN233 is available now as a 3.0 x 3.0mm QFN.
