This Week's Focus: Analog & Power
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Motor Drivers Provide Solution for 
Low- to Mid-Power Applications

STMicroelectronics has released the STSPIN830 and STSPIN840 single-chip drivers that simplify the design of low-to-mid-power motor controls in the 7 V to 45 V range.  The devices contain flexible control logic and low Rds(on) power switches for industrial applications, medical technology and home appliances.
The STSPIN830 for driving 3-phase brushless DC motors has a mode-setting pin that lets users control the three half bridges of the integrated power stage with direct U, V and W pulse-width modulated (PWM) inputs, or by applying signals to each gate individually for higher control flexibility. A dedicated sense pin for each inverter leg simplifies setting up three-shunt or single-shunt current sensing for field-oriented control.

The STSPIN840 can drive two brushed DC motors or one larger motor leveraging ST's paralleling concept. This approach enables the integrated full bridges to be configured as two separate bridges or as a single bridge using the two sets of MOSFETs in parallel for lower Rds(on) and higher current rating. 


 

Fuel-Gauge ICs Target Mobile 
and Portable Devices

Maxim Integrated Products has announced the MAX17262 single-cell and MAX17263 single-/multi-cell fuel-gauge ICs. The MAX17262 features just 5.2 µA quiescent current, along with integrated current sensing. The MAX17263 features just 8.2 µA quiescent current and drives 3 to 12 LEDs to indicate battery or system status. Such LEDs are useful in rugged applications that do not feature a display.
According to the company, electronic products powered by small Li-ion batteries struggle to extend device run-times to meet user expectations. Factors such as cycling, aging and temperature can degrade Li-ion battery performance over time. Inaccurate state of charge (SOC) data from an unreliable fuel gauge forces the designer to increase the battery size or compromise the run-time by prematurely shutting the system down, even if there is usable energy available. Such inaccuracies can contribute to a poor user experience due to abrupt shutdown or an increase in device charging frequency.

The MAX17262 and MAX17263 combine traditional coulomb counting with the novel ModelGauge m5 EZ algorithm for high battery SOC accuracy without requiring battery characterization. With their low quiescent current, both fuel-gauge ICs prevent current loss during long periods of device standby time, extending battery life in the process.

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The 950 V CoolMOS P7 attributes include outstanding DPAK 
R-DS(on) enabling higher density designs. In addition, the excellent 
V-GS(th) and lowest V-GS(th) tolerance make the MOSFET easy to drive and design in. Similar to the other members of the P7 family from Infineon, this component comes with integrated Zener diode ESD protection. This results in better assembly yields and therefore less cost, and fewer ESD-related production issues.

The 950 V CoolMOS P7 enables up to a 1% efficiency increase and from 2˚C to 10˚C lower MOSFET temperature for more efficient designs. This component offers also up to 58% lower switching losses compared to previous generations of the CoolMOS family. Compared to competing technologies in the market the improvement is more than 50%, according to the company.