New MOTIX ICs for smart DC motors in vehicles

16th January 2025

Sheryl Miles

0 0

With the automotive industry continuing to evolve, features that were once considered premium are now becoming standard. As a result, smart low-voltage motors will play an increasingly important role in shaping tomorrow's user experience in the vehicle.

Automotive manufacturers are looking for more reliable, energy-efficient, and cost-effective semiconductor solutions that can work effectively even under the given harsh conditions. To address this demand, Infineon Technologies is expanding its portfolio with the MOTIX Bridge BTM90xx family, a product family of full-bridge/ H-bridge integrated circuits (ICs), specifically designed for brushed DC motor applications. The new BTM90xx full-bridge ICs complement the MOTIX low-voltage motor control IC portfolio spanning from driver ICs to highly integrated system-on-chip (SoC) solutions. BTM90xx devices are not limited to but in particular optimised for automotive applications such as door, mirror, seat, body, and zone control modules. Accompanying safety documentation is available to allow use also in safety relevant applications.

The BTM90xx family is characterised by a high functionality to enable intelligent and tiny motor control solutions. The devices, with a supply voltage range for normal operation of 7V to 18V (extended 4.5V to 40V) offer extensive protection and diagnostic functions such as overtemperature, undervoltage, overcurrent, cross-current, or short-circuit detection. Currents are measured for both the high-side and low-side switches and the devices are suitable for automotive applications with a current limit of at least 10A (BTM901x) or 20A (BTM902x). PWM operation is possible for frequencies up to 20kHz. The BTM9011EP and BTM9021EP are SPI variants and support pin-saving daisy chain function to help reduce overall system costs. BTM9021 in addition features an integrated watchdog. The BTM90xx's tiny TSDSO-14 (4.9 x 6.0mm) package reduces the overall PCB board space required and features a large exposed pad that simultaneously improves the device's thermal performance.

To simplify the evaluation and design-in process for MOTIX BTM90xx, Infineon also provides a comprehensive support package, including technical product documentation, simulation models, a tool for calculating power dissipation, evaluation boards, and Arduino example code. In addition, software (MOTIX BTM90xx Device Driver) and the MOTIX Full Bridge IC Configuration Wizard are available for free at the Infineon Developer Center (IDC).