Toshiba Corporation's Storage and Electronic Device Solutions Company announced that it will begin mass production of the bipolar 2-channel stepping motor driver "TC78S122FNG" with a maximum output withstand voltage of 40V and output current of 2.0A on August 5.

The company also plans to add the 'TC78S122FTG', a package variant using a smaller QFN package, to its stepping motor driver lineup and begin mass production at the end of August.

Printers, surveillance cameras, office automation equipment, financial terminals like automated teller machines (ATMs), banknote validators, entertainment devices, and home appliances require high-speed, high-performance motor drives. Furthermore, customer demand for space-saving products with superior design is accelerating the miniaturization of equipment. Furthermore, reducing internal heat generation and reducing overall power consumption across the entire unit are becoming increasingly important.

Toshiba's new motor driver features dual-channel drive capability, integrating two drivers into a single chip, enabling simultaneous driving of two stepping motors. Integrating two electronic components into a single chip saves board space.

In previous products, the heat generated by the IC (integrated circuit) itself could not be used to continuously operate the motor with a drive current range of 2.0A, which is used in many applications including office equipment. However, the new product can drive two channels simultaneously by reducing heat generation by lowering the output resistance by up to 50%*1.

While previous products had the IC's internal logic regulator circuit operating in standby mode, the new motor driver incorporates a sleep function that suspends the circuit's operation during standby, reducing IC power consumption.

In addition to driving stepper motors, the new motor driver also provides an interface for driving brushed DC motors, allowing for a variety of combinations of stepper and brushed DC motors. For example, one stepper motor channel can be combined with two brushed DC motor channels.

Toshiba is enhancing the capabilities of its product lineup to meet the diverse needs of motor drive applications.