Allegro MicroSystems Inc. (Worcester, MA) announced the release of the A3946, a new power MOSFET, pre-driver IC designed to drive brush dc motors; three-phase, brushless dc motors; switched reluctance motors; and other large inductive loads. With fault reporting, extended operating voltages (7V to 60V) and extended temperature ratings (-40°C to +135°C), the A3946 is suitable for driving automotive loads.
The A3946 provides two high-current, gate-drive outputs capable of driving a wide variety of n-channel MOSFETs. The two outputs are configured to drive a classic half-bridge. An externally supplied pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal to the input of the A3946 switches the high-side, gate-driver output. The low-side, gate-driver output can be configured to automatically switch on during the PWM off-time, acting as a synchronous rectifier.
The A3946 is manufactured using Allegro’s Allegro Bipolar CMOS DMOS 3rd generation (ABCD3) process, and is supplied in a batwing, 16-lead SOIC. The A3946 has a 10 to 12 week lead time to market and is priced at $1.45 per part for quantities of 5,000.
