Allegro Expands Three Phase Non Inductive BLDC Grid Driver for Data Center Cooling Systems

     Allegro MicroSystems announced the expansion of the three-phase non inductive BLDC grid driver product portfolio. The new A89,332 and A89,332-1 are designed to meet the changing needs of today's data center cooling systems and provide designers with more flexible options. These drives feature innovative integrated power down braking (PLB) (A89332) and AC power down (A89332-1), enabling a more compact, high airflow fan design that improves thermal efficiency, reduces power consumption, and reduces data center costs.

     When the server fans fail or are damaged, the air return will cause them to rotate in the opposite direction. Other normal fans must work twice to compensate for the resulting return airflow, which will increase power consumption. The traditional solution to prevent reverse rotation is to add external circuits and components as power off brakes, but these components are not suitable for 1U fans. Moreover, this traditional method requires software coding, increases the bill of materials (BoM) and system volume, and delays the speed of listing.

     For these pain points, the integrated power off braking function of A89332 can apply braking to the fan that does not work properly and prevent its reverse rotation. The braking performance is four times that of the discrete scheme, thus reducing unnecessary power consumption and improving thermal efficiency, and ultimately reducing the cost of the data center. By combining the AC power off logic of A89332-1, Allegro can now serve the high-end server market with a grid driver packaged with 4mm x 4mm QFN and 36% smaller than similar products, which is very suitable for the design of "donut" circuit boards.

     Allegro can provide the industry's more advanced server cooling fan code free solution. The company's innovative embedded algorithm and graphical user interface (GUI) do not require additional Hall effect position sensors, motor control units (MCU), or additional software development, which helps system designers reduce research and development costs, simplify motor debugging, and shorten the time to market. As the demand for external components decreases, it helps to further optimize the system cost and improve reliability, while integrated functions can provide higher flexibility when customers face strict design requirements.

     Both A89332 and A89332-1 grid drivers are based on Allegro's long history and rich experience in developing unique motor control devices for the automotive and industrial markets. Allegro's reliable and trusted motor drives have shipped more than 3 billion in the past decade, helping manufacturers create safer and more powerful motor drive solutions and improve system reliability. From electric vehicles to cordless electric tools driven by batteries to vacuum cleaners, Allegro's motor drivers have been widely used in automotive, industrial and consumer fields.

     Andy Wang, Director of Allegro Motor (Industrial) Product Line, said: "The industry's demand for data centers that operate more sustainably and consume less power is accelerating. This is not only the need to build low maintenance 'lights out' facilities, but also the need for server and related equipment designers to find new ways to reduce heat and power consumption, in which fans play an important role. For some time, we have been focusing on the data center market. With the introduction of A89332 and A89332-1, The control of the cooling system will be greatly improved to achieve greater efficiency. "