STMicroelectronics introduces integrated high-voltage power stages and space-saving evaluation boards

     To accelerate the development of compact and reliable fans and pumps, ST introduces the PWD5T60 three-phase motor driver and ready-to-use evaluation board that supports flexible control strategies. The driver uses a wide voltage input power supply from 9V to 20V, giving developers high design flexibility, while CMOS/ TTL-compatible logic input voltages as low as 3.3V simplify the driver's connection to the main controller.

     Operating at up to 500V, the PWD5T60 integrates a gate driver and six RDS(ON) 1.38Ω power MOSFET switching tubes for an excellent energy area ratio. The module also has a built-in zero-voltage drop bootstrap diode, and the entire drive circuit requires few external components, while occupying only 30% of the board area of an equivalent driver using discrete devices. The propagation delay matching of the high-low MOSFET switch tube is accurate, which completely solves the distortion problem of the switching cycle, and maximizes the flexibility of the operating frequency setting, which can achieve better response performance and energy efficiency.

     In conjunction with the new product announcement, ST also released the EVLPWD-FAN-PUMP evaluation board, which allows developers to quickly explore the value of this drive in projects up to 100W. The board integrates the PWD5T60 driver with the STM32G0 microcontroller (MCU). The STM32G0 can handle vector control (FOC) or 6-step control algorithms to drive permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) and brushless direct current (BLDC) motors. The evaluation board's single - or three-resistance current detection function can be configured, and the PWD5T60's high functional integration enables compact circular circuits, making it particularly suitable for driving fans and electric pumps. The evaluation board is also equipped with a power supply stage that provides 12V and 3.3V supply voltages to the driver and a full AC filter at the input.

     The EVLPWD-FAN-PUMP on-board bus voltage detection feature helps developers leverage the PWD5T60's safety design to design undervoltage lock (UVLO) protection for each bootstrap circuit to prevent the driver from operating under dangerous or inefficient conditions.the PWD5T60 uses a robust design approach with interlocking and a preset default dead-time approach for cross-on-protection, ensuring that fail-safe features prevent breakdown currents. In addition, the negative transient voltage tolerance is excellent, ensuring trouble-free drive operation.

     The smart shutdown function of the PWD5T60 uses the comparator to quickly enable overcurrent protection. When a fault is detected, the output is turned off immediately. The output disable time can be set by connecting capacitors and optional pull-up resistors on dedicated pins. These components do not affect turn-off response performance, allowing product developers to optimize the disabling time to allow sufficient time to clear the fault, while always ensuring that the output is turned off immediately.