Products of the Week: September 23, 2024

Sept. 23, 2024

Here's this week's selection of some of the most interesting new products that have been launched of late.

STMicroelectronics' PWD5T60 three-phase driver integrates a gate driver and six power MOSFETs.

High-Voltage Power Stage Enables Smaller, Tougher Motor Drives

Targeting compact and reliable fans and pumps using energy-efficient motors, STMicroelectronics' PWD5T60 three-phase driver integrates a gate driver and six power MOSFETs. Suited for applications up to 500 V, it has built-in zero-drop bootstrap diodes to reduce the external components needed and significantly reduces the board area required. The propagation delays of high- and low-side MOSFETs are closely matched to eliminate cycle distortion and enable the operating frequency to be set for optimum response and energy efficiency.

Supporting flexible control strategies, the EVLPWD-FAN-PUMP evaluation board helps developers evaluate the driver in projects up to 100 W. The board combines the PWD5T60 with an STM32G0 MCU for field-oriented or 6-step control of permanent-magnet synchronous motors and brushless DC motors. Optimized for use with fans and pumps, the board has a power-supply stage for 12- and 3.3-V supply voltages with an AC line filter at the input. Features include on-board bus-voltage sensing and undervoltage lockout for each bootstrap section. The robust PWD5T60 also has cross-conduction prevention with interlocking and pre-programmed default deadtime for protection against shoot-through currents.

A smart shutdown feature uses a comparator for fast-acting overcurrent prevention, with subsequent output-disable duration programmed by a capacitor and optional pull-up resistor to a dedicated pin. The turnoff response can be optimized for duration to enable faults to clear while always ensuring instant turn-off. The input supply voltage range is from 9 to 20 V, with CMOS/TTL-compatible logic inputs down to 3.3 V to simplify interfacing with a host controller.

Alix Paultre | Editor-at-Large, Microwaves & RF

Alix is Editor-at-Large for Microwaves & RF.

An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the U.S. military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications, most recently as Editor-in-Chief of Power Systems Design.

Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.