Toshiba Launches Driver IC for Small Fan Motors

Digital control type sine-wave motor driver for cooling fans of PC servers and home appliances

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502) has launched the industry's first¹ digital- control-type sine-wave driver ICs for single axial fan motors, which are used in products like refrigerators and PCs.

Single axial fans are often used in eco-efficient home appliances requiring low noise and low energy consumption and for cooling PC servers. With recent increases in the capacities of PC servers, as many as 6 to 8 cooling fans are sometimes required in a single unit. In these applications, the motors must offer low power consumption and low-noise operation and be small.

Toshiba's new "TC78B002FTG" controls the current of the motor with a sine wave, using a newly designed digital control circuit to do so. This ensures that the motor rotates more smoothly than a conventional motor with a square-wave drive, resulting in a 30% increase² in motor efficiency and a noise reduction of about 2dB to 3dB², compared to conventional products. In addition, as it is possible to control the amplitude, the phase and the modulation of the output wave-form externally, the motor can be configured to be compatible with various applications.

While using CMOS for the control circuit of the IC and DMOS for the power output circuit, Toshiba has still housed the circuits in a single package by applying the latest mixed process technology. By using a 16-pin leadless QFN type package, the mounting area is reduced by 70% compared to existing Toshiba products³.

1: As a single axial fan motor driver as of April 26, 2013. Toshiba data.

2: Toshiba data.

3: Compared to SSOP16 package product.

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http://www.semicon.toshiba.co.jp/eng/product/new_products/linear/1268679_2398.html

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About Toshiba

Toshiba was founded in 1875, and today operates a global network of more than 550 consolidated companies, with 202,000 employees worldwide and annual sales surpassing 6.1 trillion yen (US$74 billion). Visit Toshiba's web site at www.toshiba.co.jp/index.htm