Toshiba and MIKROE develop a safety-focused automotive gate driver board for brushless motors

Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH (“Toshiba”) has partnered with MIKROE to integrate its robust TB9083FTG gate-driver IC into the Brushless 30 Click, a compact add-on board for precise and reliable control of brushless DC (BLDC) motors in automotive applications.

Toshiba’s TB9083FTG has been designed in accordance with ISO 26262 (2^nd edition) and integrates 9 gate drivers, including 6 for driving MOSFETs to control BLDC motors in the 1000 W range or below. Additionally, it includes 3 drivers for driving external MOSFETs which can be used either for system control or safety relays thus enabling the TB9083FTG to support ASIL-D, the highest level of functional safety for automotive applications. The TB9083FTG also incorporates a built-in charge pump, adjustable current sense amplifiers for each motor phase oscillator circuit and an SPI communication interface for configuration via a host microcontroller unit (MCU).

The Brushless 30 Click board is designed to operate from a wide range of external power supplies ranging from 4.5V to 28V and can deliver a peak output current of up to 10A. It also features a comprehensive suite of error detection capabilities including undervoltage, overvoltage, over-temperature and an external MOSFET V_DS detector making it ideal for demanding automotive applications such as electric power steering (EPS), powered brakes, and automotive pumps where precise motor control is essential.