ROHM's Fan Motor Driver Integrates Hall Sensor And Digital AGC Function

The increasing complexity and speeds of electronic devices increase the demand and applicability of cooling fan motor drivers. However, due to motor characteristics such as signal detection accuracy it has become commonplace up to now to utilize a discrete 2-chip configuration consisting of a separate Hall IC and motor driver. But the trend towards decreased size and greater miniaturization requires smaller, thinner components and fewer external parts, making it necessary to develop a driver IC that integrates a Hall element.



In response, ROHM utilized CMOS processes and original circuit technology to minimize the chip size. In addition, the drivers, which incorporate a Hall element that eliminates the need for a separate Hall device, are equivalent in size and thickness with conventional Hall ICs, reducing mounting area considerably. An digital AGC function is included – an industry first, along with linear Hall signal detection combined with PWM soft switching drive minimizes Hall signal waveform fluctuations for improved circuit efficiency and noise characteristics.



Key Features



1) The industry’s first driver with integrated Hall element and digital AGC function (AGC-based gain correction improves noise characteristics)

Hall signals are susceptible to environmental changes within the fan motor, which can result in amplitude variations. For example, when the rotor in the fan motor rotates the amplitude moves up or down by a certain amount. Unsurprisingly, when the distance is close the sensitivity goes up, along with the Hall amplitude. In addition, differences in the strength of the magnet’s magnetic field can affect the temperature characteristics of the Hall element. The built-in AGC function corrects the amplitude for optimal performance and noise characteristics.



① Large Hall amplitude (Root Cause(s): Short rotor distance, strong magnet)

##IMAGE_3_C##



② Small Hall amplitude (Root Cause(s): Far rotor distance, weak magnet)

##IMAGE_4_C##



2) PWM soft switching drive improves circuit efficiency and noise characteristics



3) Thin, compact package contributes to a smaller motor unit