STMicroelectronics has introduced a new family of motor drive ICs targeting industrial drives and 48V power-based equipment. The key feature of the new series is that it expands voltage and current ranges and increases circuit integration, making it easier for developers to scale designs according to motor types and power specifications.

ST announced the 'STSPIN9P' series of 75V motor drive ICs on the 26th. This product family consists of 12 models, including the half-bridge type 'STSPIN9P1' and the full-bridge type 'STSPIN9P2', and is designed for use in common bus voltage environments such as 48V. The company stated that this will support the development of industrial drives capable of handling power ranges up to 500W.

Applications include industrial automation and robotics, as well as home appliances, stage lighting, pumps, fans, and textile machinery. The product operates on main bus voltages from 7V to 75V and supports a maximum rated output current of 10A. To reduce the need for separate power supply configurations, the control logic and the regulator for the gate driver were placed internally, and a charge pump for high-side driving was used to enable 100% duty cycle operation.

Current sensing and protection functions are also integrated into the chip. It features a current sensing amplifier coupled with an external shunt resistor and a comparator-based analog front-end that activates when a set threshold is reached; some products also support internal current limiting. Users can select attenuation methods, such as fixed off-time or PWM trimming, via external pins, and balance electromagnetic emissions with power efficiency through the gate driver's turn-on slew rate adjustment function.

Safety and inspection functions have also been enhanced. Each MOSFET is equipped with a built-in thermal sensor, and undervoltage, overvoltage, overcurrent, and overheating protection functions have been integrated. An open load detection function has also been included to check the motor connection status when the power supply is turned off, allowing for verification of wiring abnormalities before power is applied.

ST also provides boards for development support. For the evaluation of 3-phase drivers for BLDC and PMSM motors, they have prepared the 'EVLSPIN9P1-3PH' reference design, which combines three half-bridge drivers, and have also prepared a separate demo board featuring single shunt current sensing. The half-bridge products are pin-compatible in 7mm x 7mm QFN packages, while the full-bridge products come in 9mm x 7mm QFN packages. Prices start at $2.10 for orders of 1,000 units.