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onsemi looks to redefine brushless DC motor control

onsemi has announced the introduction of the ecoSpin family of brushless DC (BLDC) motor controllers.

By combining the control and driver functions in a complete system-in-package (SiP) solution, onsemi has looked to simplify the development of high-voltage motor control systems in applications such as HVAC, refrigeration and robotics.

The first member of the ecoSpin family to be launched is the ECS640A, a three-phase brushless DC (BLDC) motor controller designed for reliable high-voltage operation up to 600 V. The small-form-factor ECS640A features a trusted gate driver, Arm Cortex-M0+ microcontroller, three sense amplifiers, three bootstrap diodes and can support either sensored or sensorless motor control architectures.

The integration in a single IC package (10 by 13 mm) redefines BLDC motor control performance by optimising power stage placement and reducing noise. This allows rapid reuse in alternative platforms by simply changing the discrete power devices and updating the software.

The reduction in BOM also simplifies sourcing challenges stemming from having many different discrete devices.

To optimise performance, the ECS640A supports traditional motor control techniques including trapezoidal and vector control. Advanced commutation algorithms are available on the Cortex M0 platform. These techniques allow for improved control over the motor’s flux and torque over a wide speed range, with as much as a three to five percent improvement in power efficiency.

With a compact system design and user-friendly tools to accelerate the design process, the ECS640A brings new levels of ease-of-use to BLDC motor control.