Texas Instruments expands DRV8x motor driver series

Texas Instruments Inc. (www.ti.com) has added three new low-voltage devices to its DRV8x motor driver portfolio.

Ideally suited for stepper and brushed DC motors, the DRV8834, DRV8835 and DRV8836 motor drivers offer a wide, low-voltage operating range, ultra-low sleep currents and low RDS(ON), effectively reducing power consumption by as much as 80 percent. This improves thermal performance, extend battery life and increase system reliability. Unlike discrete implementations, the ultra-small device reduces board space by up to 95 percent.

The advanced motion control features of the motor drivers include an on-chip 32-step microstepping indexer that helps minimize torque ripple to deliver quiet and ultra-smooth motion for various applications like security video cameras, office automation and medical equipment.

With an ultra-low sleep current of 10 nA and low RDS(ON) of as low as 305 milliohms, the new devices extend battery life while improving thermal performance in applications such as e-locks, toys, point-of-sale printers, cameras and smart meters.

In addition, high level of integrations, such as current control loops and on-chip indexer, offers the device with greater intelligence, enabling it to reduce design complexity and minimize MCU (microcontroller) MIPS requirements as well as software development.

For a reduced board space, the DRV8835 and DRV8836 motor driver variants comes with an optional two mm x three mm package.

The new devices also feature advanced on-chip protection with over-temperature, over-current, shoot though as well as under-voltage lock-out optimize manufacturing yields and reliability.