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NOVOSENSE Introduces New Automotive-Grade Programmable Stepper Motor Driver NSD8381-Q1

2024/06/03

As intelligent electric vehicles swiftly gain popularity, advanced features such as adaptive headlights, centralized thermal management systems and HUD head-up displays are gradually becoming basic configurations. This trend has also led to a rapid increase in the demand for stepper motor drivers among automotive tiers and OEMs.

Addressing the escalating demand for stepper motor applications in EV, NOVOSENSE has introduced a new automotive-grade programmable stepper motor driver, NSD8381-Q1. The NSD8381 is specially designed for stepper motor driver of headlight stepper motor, HUD adjustment motors, HVAC EXV(Electronic Expansion Valve) and flap motors , with excellent performance and stability.

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Features of NSD8381-Q1

- Wide operating voltage: 4.5V-36V ((maximum 40V)

- Current up to 1.35A, Rdson (HS+LS): 1.2Ω

- Programmable micro-stepping, up to 1/32 micro-stepping mode

- Four programmable decay modes:Slow Decay, Mixed Decay,Auto Decay 1,Auto Decay 2

- IO direct control of clock/direction/hold, or direct half-bridge control

- Integrated current sensor and controller. Support 16-level (4-bit) current configuration for motor running and holding

- Support PWM frequency spread spectrum for EMC performance optimization

- Support slew rate and dead time configuration

- 24-bit, 4Mhz SPI communication

- Ultra-low consumption sleep mode

- Integrated BEMF detection for sensorless stall detection

- Support Vbat undervoltage lockout (VSUV), overcurrent protection (OCP), temperature warning(OTW/UTW) and overtemperature protection (OTSD)

- Support open-circuit diagnosis and protection of load

- Working temperature: Tj=-40°C~150°C

- Package: VQFN40, VQFN32

- AEC-Q100 qualified

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Functional block diagram of NSD8381-Q1 


NSD8381-Q1 is an automotive grade integrated driver for bipolar stepper motors capable of current controlled micro-stepping with programmable amplitude. It features SPI ,PWM frequency spread spectrum, sensorless stall detection ,and temperature warning & shutdown to support for flexible and reliable stepper motor control.

 

Precision Smooth stepper motor control

Highly suitable for high-precision stepper control applications in NEV such as headlight stepper, EXV(Electronic Expansion Valve), HUD adjustment motors and flap motors.

NSD8381-Q1 is optimized for precision and smooth stepper control and EMC issue. covering various aspects such as micro-stepping mode, decay mode, current loop control, PWM frequency adjustment and slew rate configurate of power stage, ensuring motors run smoothly and accurately with excellent EMC performance.

NSD8381-Q1 supports programmable micro-stepping modes, up to 1/32 micro-stepping and offers 4 decay modes (Auto Mixed decay mode 1, Auto mixed decay mode 2, slow decay mode and mixed decay mode), allowing for flexible matching of fast/slow/mixed decay modes within the current rise and fall periods . integrated current detection eliminates sample resistor. 16-step (4-bit) current configurations are available to control hold and running currents separately. PWM frequency spread spectrum and slew rate configuration are supported for optimized EMC performance of motors.


Fully independent 4- Channel half-bridge control

Flexible support for various types of loads

NSD8381-Q1 can be configured as four independent half-bridge enabling the driving of inductive and resistive loads, such as DC motors, LEDs, etc.

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NSD8381-Q1, application diagram of driving stepper motor and 2-DC motors


Sensorless stall detection & protection

Real-time monitoring of stall and speed loss to protect load operation

During stepper motor is running, there is a specific relationship between the BEMF and the phase current, which can reflect the running state of the stepper motor. NSD8381-Q1 equipped with a BEMF detection module for motors, which samples the motor's BEMF at the current zero-crossing in each cycle. By comparing the BEMF voltage with the configurated threshold voltage, the motor's running state can be detected.

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stall - current zero-crossing and BEMF waveform

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running - current zero-crossing and BEMF waveform


Full-Function Protection

Integrated full-featured protection and load detection

NSD8381-Q1 integrates full-featured protection support for bus undervoltage lockout (VSUV), overcurrent protection (OCP), temperature warning (OTW/UTW), and overtemperature protection (OTSD), and supports open-circuit diagnosis and protection of loads. All protection features are not only precisely readable via SPI, but the NSD8381-Q1 is also designed with output pins which can map fault outputs, enabling the MCU to respond to faults efficiently.

 

Compact Package

Highly integrated to save PCBA areaNSD8381-Q1 offers two packag options, VQFN40 (6mm x 6mm) and VQFN32 (5mm x 5mm), with smaller sizes to help customers achieve higher integration of PCBA and BOM costs.

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