Melexis expands code-free single-coil fan driver for AI GPU applications
Melexis has introduced the MLX90412-D, a 2.2 A single-coil cooling fan driver featuring “plug & drive” simplicity for seamless integration. Expanding the MLX90412 family, it delivers enhanced configurability and smoother motor control for higher-power fans. It is optimised for demanding applications, including data centre supply systems, AI workstation GPUs, UPS, industrial drives, and home appliances.
Increasing power density in modern electronic systems is placing new demands on cooling performance. From industrial power supplies and data centre infrastructure to AI workstations, designers must manage higher thermal loads while maintaining reliability, efficiency, and compact system design. In these environments, larger and higher-power fans must protect more complex electronics, while manufacturers continue to face tight constraints on system cost, design effort, acoustic behaviour, and lifetime stability. The MLX90412-D addresses this need with a carefully balanced approach, delivering advanced motor-control features in a compact, code-free solution.
To simplify system design, the MLX90412-D brings “Plug & Drive” code-free integration to higher-power single-coil fan applications. It provides an all-in-one alternative to MCU-based discrete implementations, reducing software development effort and external-component count while making it easier for customers to replace existing solutions. It enables configuration of key parameters such as speed curves, FG (frequency generator) signal options, and motor-control behaviour, allowing designers to fine-tune fan performance without the need for firmware development. Compared with three-phase approaches in applications where single-coil performance is sufficient, the MLX90412D also offers a more cost-effective route to robust fan control.
With a 2.2 A current limit, the MLX90412-D supports higher-power fan designs, including applications up to approximately 18 W at 12 V and 36 W at 24 V. This makes it ideally suited for industrial power supplies, UPS and data centre supply systems, industrial drives, home-appliance electronics cooling, and higher-power VGA/GPU cooling for AI workstations, where one larger blower fan can be preferred over several smaller fans. A range of protection and diagnostic features, including programmable locked rotor protection (LRP), temperature shutdown (TSD), programmable overvoltage protection (OVP), and over-current protection (OCP), further ensure safe operation.
The MLX90412-D also features an improved motor-control algorithm that delivers smoother start/stop behaviour, reduced acoustic noise, and extended lifetime performance. The revised proportional-integral (PI) regulation enables stable operation even at very low speeds, while multiple start/stop profiles help designers match different application needs.
