Renesas Electronics Corporation, today introduced the RAA227063 Smart Gate Driver for brushless DC (BLDC) motor applications. The new device is programmable via an SPI interface, enabling it to support both motors with rotor position sensors and sensorless applications. It also provides programmable gate drive voltage, offering support for N-channel MOSFETs typically used in motor inverter designs, as well as GaN FETs used where high power density is required. The RAA227063 is scalable to support multiple MCUs, including a wide range of Renesas offerings.
In addition to its unique flexibility, the RAA227063 three-phase FET driver is highly integrated. It includes a 500 mA buck-boost converter that powers low-voltage logic directly from the battery pack with better power efficiency (90%) compared to traditional LDOs (40%). It also includes a 200 mA LDO regulator that can power both an MCU and additional analog peripherals. Three integrated current sense amplifiers with programmable gain enable easy programming for multiple shunt configurations. This high level of integration simplifies design, cuts overall BOM cost, and reduces board space requirements by 30 percent or more.
“Motor control customers around the world have asked us for flexible solutions that enable fast design cycles and high integration to reduce cost and space,” said Davin Lee, Vice President of the Industrial Analog Division in Renesas’ IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit. “The RAA227063 delivers all of these features and complements our industry-leading MCU portfolio.”
Key Features of the RAA227063 Smart Gate Driver
- High integration simplifies inverter design, allows the ability to scale MCUs
- Programmable gate drive voltage drives both N-MOSFETS and GaN FETs
- Supports trapezoidal, 150° drive and vector motor control algorithms
- Back electromotive force (BEMF) sensing simplifies sensor-less control
- Programmable via SPI to support BLDC motors with rotor position sensors such as hall sensors or encoders
- Programmable up to three-phase current sensing
- Scalable to support multiple MCUs
- Extensive fault protection functions protect inverter from catastrophic failure and provides fault warnings for easy troubleshooting
- Adaptive dead time minimizes switching power losses
- Sample and hold allows use of general purpose MCUs with at least three ADCs and three timers to drive BLDC motors
Winning Combinations
Renesas has combined the RAA227063 with complementary components that work together seamlessly to create Winning Combinations for motor control solutions. An example of one of these Winning Combinations is the BLDC Traction Motor Drive design that also includes Renesas’ new RA6T2 MCU optimized for motor control applications. Renesas offers more than 250 Winning Combinations with compatible devices for a wide range of applications and end products.
