Page 7 - PEN eBook October 2022

COVER STORY — DESIGN Cover Story — Design

permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSM) are becoming the preferred choice for designing
modern battery-powered motor products. The potential applications range from cordless power tools
and gardening products to drones, e-bikes, and automated guided vehicles, just to name a few.

However, controlling these three-phase motors is more complex than traditional brushed DC
motors. BLDC and PMSM motors are sequentially commutated by power switches (i.e., MOSFETs)
rather than using mechanical brushes in contact with the rotor. The stator windings are energized
in a determined sequence to generate a rotating magnetic field, causing the rotor to produce torque
and rotary motion. An important piece of this control scheme is the system’s ability to measure the
rotor’s position. This can be achieved by using Hall-effect switches or latches that are physically
placed into the stator or alternatively by using sensorless hardware and software techniques.
Another key design challenge in these types of applications is the end-customer expectation of

having devices that are smaller and lighter in weight with an extended battery operational time.

To help designers meet end-market objectives, Infineon Technologies has now launched the fully
programmable MOTIX™ IMD700A and IMD701A motor controller ICs. Integrated into a single
Boosting Power Density 9 × 9-mm , 64-pin VQFN package (Figure 1), the MOTIX™ IMD70xA controllers combine all of
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the MOTIX™ 6EDL7141 three-phase gate-driver IC features with an additional 32-bit ARM
®
in Battery-Supplied Cortex -M0–based microcontroller (XMC™ XMC1404 with a 48-MHz main clock), whose
®
peripherals and specifications are optimized for motor control and drives.
BLDC and PMSM

Motor Control Applications

A fully programmable motor control solution

that integrates MCU and gate-driver IC

enables compact, efficient, and

high-performance products.

By Maurizio Acosta, product marketing manager at Infineon Technologies

CONTROL SCHEME CHALLENGES IN THREE-PHASE BLDC OR
PMSM MOTORS

Due to their higher efficiency, compact size, low maintenance cost, high torque-to-weight
ratio, and low operating noise, among other benefits, three-phase brushless DC (BLDC) and Figure 1: MOTIX™ fully programmable motor controller combining microcontroller and gate-driver IC in a compact,
9 × 9-mm 64-pin VQFN package
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