Single-chip brushless dc (BLDC) driver extends runtime off batteries

STSPIN233 low-voltage motor drivers from STMicroelectronics excel in single-shunt and three-shunt brushless-motor driving. They include  a 200mΩ 1.3A_rms power stage, in a slim and compact 3mm x 3mm package.

The STSPIN233 also has the industry’s lowest standby current, at less than 80nA. What’s more, it can be put into standby mode under logic control, making it suitable for extending operation from batteries in equipment like drone-camera gimbals, educational robots, toothbrushes, shavers, medical syringe pumps, or small drives in Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices.

Powering the STSPIN233 is easy and uncomplicated. Its input-voltage range of 1.8V-10V allows use with a power source as basic as a single Li-ion cell. Built-in safety features more simplify system design, including over-current, short-circuit, and over-temperature protection, UVLO, and interlocking.

A development ecosystem comprising a Nucleo expansion board (X-NUCLEO-IHM17M1) and related software tools (X-CUBE-SPN17 for STM32Cube) is available for the STSPIN233, to jump-start evaluation and prototyping leveraging the easy-to-use STM32Cube software environment that includes tools, middleware, and application-code examples.

With the arrival of the STSPIN233, ST now offers a complete portfolio of miniature monolithic low-voltage drivers for stepping, brush, or brushless motors in small battery-powered devices. The complete family, comprising STSPIN220, STSPIN230, STSPIN233, STSPIN240, and STSPIN250, each with a dedicated Nucleo evaluation board and X-CUBE software package, offers flexible choices including single, dual, or high-current (2.6A_rms) brush motor control, and sensed or sensorless BLDC control.

The STSPIN233 is available now as a compact 3mm x 3mm QFN, priced from $0.95 for orders of 1,000 pieces.  For more information, visit www.st.com/stspin.