Renesas Programmable Motor Driver ICs Are First to Enable Full Torque at Zero Speed for Sensorless Brushless DC Motors

Renesas Electronics introduced a family of motor driver ICs for brushless DC (BLDC) motor applications. The devices implement Renesas’ new, patent-pending technologies that enable full torque at zero speed from motors without sensors, an industry first. The new motor driver ICs enable Renesas customers to design sensorless BLDC motor systems with higher horsepower and speed at a given torque. They also improve power consumption and reliability, while reducing cost and board space by lowering the number of components designers need to use.

Renesas is introducing three new motor driver ICs with the new technology. The RAA306012 65V, 3-phase Smart Driver is a standalone device that can be paired with a variety of MCUs from Renesas or from other sources. The RAJ306101 integrates a Renesas RX13T 32-bit MCU with the RAA306012 in a single package, reducing board space and improving cost and reliability. The RAJ306102 integrates a 16-bit Renesas RL78/G1F MCU with the RAA306012, providing similar integration benefits.

The ability to enable full torque at zero speed without sensors is made possible by two Renesas innovations. Enhanced Inductive Sensing (EIS) offers stable position detection when the motor is completely stopped. When the motor is operating at extremely low speed, Motor Rotor position Identification (MRI) is used. At higher speeds, the new motor driver ICs use conventional methods. Both of the new EIS and MRI algorithms include patent-pending technology developed by Renesas (more info).