Application Notes

The gate driver in a motor system design is an integrated circuit (IC) that primarily deals with enhancing external power MOSFETs to drive current to a electric motor. The gate driver acts as an intermediate stage between the logic-level control inputs and the power MOSFETs. The gate driver must be robust and flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety of external MOSFET selections and external system conditions.

Texas Instrument’s Smart Gate Drive provides an intelligent solution for driving and protecting the external power MOSFETs. This feature lets system designers adjust the MOSFET slew rate, optimize switching and EMI performance, decrease bill of materials (BOM) count, automatically generate dead-time, and provide additional protection for the external power MOSFETs and motor system.

This application report describes the theory and methods behind enhancing a power MOSFET, how the IDRIVE and TDRIVE features are implemented in TI Smart Gate Drivers, and details many of the systemlevel benefits.