Each design integrates the motor controller with a three-phase inverter to power the motor, and an offline converter and auxiliary circuitry – a production-ready PCB design and motor-control firmware are also included.
The STEVAL-CTM011V1 targets general industrial compressors up to 250W, while the STEVAL-CTM012V1 meets the stringent eco-design regulations for use in home appliances. The plug-and-play reference designs can be combined with a host system to start driving a motor and allow customers to fine-tune settings for optimal performance. According to ST both ensure average efficiency greater than 96.5%.
At the heart of each design is an Arm Cortex-M0 microcontroller that enables the customisation of the motor control to specific end application needs and a rugged 600V three-phase gate driver for the inverter. The firmware provided includes high-efficiency sensor-less field-oriented control (FOC).
The SiP is a compact and thermally efficient quad flat no-lead (QFN) device that meets high creepage requirements for safety and reliability.
The offline AC/DC converter is a VIPER122 analogue converter that integrates control logic with an 800V avalanche-rugged power section. Frequency jittering prevents interference with other equipment, while inherently low power consumption and support for burst-mode operation at light load help comply with energy-saving regulations.
The inverter stage of the 250W STEVAL-CTM011V1 reference design for industrial and general-purpose applications comprises six rugged STGD5H60DF insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). They have been engineered to maximise efficiency at high switching frequencies, allowing smaller capacitive and magnetic components. In addition, their low package thermal resistance enhances reliability and tight parameter distribution assists safe paralleling in high-power applications.
The STEVAL-CTM012V1 home-appliance reference design contains six STPOWER STD8N60DM2 600V N-channel MDmesh DM2 power MOSFETs. These are intended for high-efficiency converters, including zero-voltage switching (ZVS) phase-shift converters, and combine high-speed, low-loss switching performance and low on-state losses.
These production-ready circuit-board designs save significant development time, avoiding complex layout and signal-routing challenges.
Both reference designs are available on the ST eSTore.
