Abstract

There are many factors to consider when selecting motor drivers, and one of the most important is deciding between integrated FETs or external FETs for the power stage. Integrated FET drivers reduce solution size and number of external components in the bill of materials, but the thermal performance of gate drivers is generally superior. With recent advances in semiconductor technology, integrated FET drivers from Texas Instruments are now able to support higher power requirements than ever before and can replace external FET gate drivers in many applications. This application report serves as a guide to explain the differences between integrated FET drivers and external FET gate drivers, comparing traditional motor driver solutions for high power against few recently released integrated FET drivers from Texas Instruments in regards to solution size, bill of materials, and thermal performance.