A3955 Datasheet PDF
A3955 Datasheet PDF
A3955 Datasheet PDF
Discontinued Product
This device is no longer in production. The device should not be
purchased for new design applications. Samples are no longer available.
Recommended Substitutions:
For existing customer transition, and for new customers or new appli-
cations, refer to the A4975.
Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. reserves the right to make, from time to time, revisions to the anticipated product life cycle plan
for a product to accommodate changes in production capabilities, alternative product availabilities, or market demand. The
information included herein is believed to be accurate and reliable. However, Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. assumes no respon-
sibility for its use; nor for any infringements of patents or other rights of third parties which may result from its use.
A3955
SUPPLY
LOGIC
OUTA
OUTB
LOAD
6 10 15 16
PHASE VCC
7
VBB
GROUND
4
5
UVLO
12 & TSD
13
D0
D2
CT
RT
Dwg. FP-042
29319.41G
A3955 Full-Bridge PWM Microstepping Motor Driver
Description (continued)
Internal circuit protection includes thermal shutdown with hysteresis, and a 16-lead plastic SOIC with internally fused pins (suffix ‘LB’).
transient-suppression diodes, and crossover-current protection. For both package styles, the thermally enhanced pins are at ground
Special power-up sequencing is not required. potential and need no electrical isolation. Both packages are lead
The A3955 is supplied in a choice of two power packages; a 16-pin (Pb) free, with leadframe plating 100% matte tin.
dual-in-line plastic package with copper heat-sink tabs (suffix ‘B’),
Selection Guide
Part Number Packing Package
A3955SB-T 16-pin DIP with exposed thermal tabs 25 per tube
A3955SLBTR-T 16-pin SOICW with internally fused pins 1000 per reel
Thermal Characteristics
Characteristic Symbol Test Conditions* Value Units
B Package, single-layer PCB, 1 in.2 2-oz. exposed copper 43 ºC/W
Package Thermal Resistance, Junction
RθJA LB Package, 2-layer PCB, 0.3 in.2 2-oz. exposed copper each
to Ambient 67 ºC/W
side
Package Thermal Resistance, Junction
RθJT 6 ºC/W
to Tab
*Additional thermal information available on Allegro website.
ALLOWABLE PACKAGE POWER DISSIPATION (W)
R θJT = 6.0°C/W
0
25 50 75 100 125 150
TEMPERATURE IN °C
Power Outputs
Load Supply Voltage Range VBB Operating, IOUT = ±1.5 A, L = 3 mH VCC — 50 V
Output Leakage Current ICEX VOUT = VBB — <1.0 50 μA
VOUT = 0 V — <-1.0 -50 μA
Control Circuitry
Logic Supply Voltage Range VCC Operating 4.5 5.0 5.5 V
Reference Voltage Range VREF Operating 0.5 — 2.5 V
UVLO Enable Threshold VCC = 0 →5 V 3.35 3.70 4.05 V
UVLO Hysteresis 0.30 0.45 0.60 V
Logic Supply Current ICC(ON) — 42 50 mA
ICC(OFF) D0 = D1 = D2 = 0.8 V — 12 16 mA
Logic Input Voltage VIN(1) 2.0 — — V
VIN(0) — — 0.8 V
Logic Input Current IIN(1) VIN = 2.0 V — <1.0 20 μA
IIN(0) VIN = 0.8 V — <-2.0 -200 μA
Mixed-Decay Comparator VPFD Slow Current-Decay Mode 3.5 — — V
Trip Points Mixed Current-Decay Mode 1.1 — 3.1 V
Fast Current-Decay Mode — — 0.8 V
Mixed-Decay Comparator VIO(PFD) — 0 ±20 mV
Input Offset Voltage
Mixed-Decay Comparator ∆VIO(PFD) 5.0 25 55 mV
Hysteresis
Reference Input Current IREF VREF = 0 V to 2.5 V — — ±5.0 μA
Reference Divider Ratio VREF/VS at trip, D0 = D1 = D2 = 2 V — 3.0 — —
Digital-to-Analog Converter — 1.0 V < VREF 2.5 V — — ±3.0 %
Accuracy*
0.5 V < VREF 1.0 V — — ±4.0 %
Current-Sense Comparator VIO(S) VREF = 0 V — — ±5.0 mV
Input Offset Voltage*
Limits
Characteristic Symbol Test Conditions Min. Typ. Max. Units
AC Timing
PWM RC Fixed Off-time tOFF RC CT = 470 pF, RT= 43 kΩ 18.2 20.2 22.3 μs
PWM Turn-Off Time tPWM(OFF) Current-Sense Comparator Trip — 1.0 1.5 μs
to Source OFF, IOUT = 100 mA
Current-Sense Comparator Trip — 1.4 2.5 μs
to Source OFF, IOUT = 1.5 A
PWM Turn-On Time tPWM(ON) IRC Charge ON to Source ON, — 0.4 0.7 μs
IOUT = 100 mA
IRC Charge ON to Source ON, — 0.55 0.85 μs
IOUT = 1.5 A
PWM Minimum On Time tON(min) VCC = 5.0 V, RT ≥ 43 kΩ, CT = 470 pF 1.0 1.6 2.2 μs
IOUT = 100 mA
Crossover Dead Time tCODT 1 kΩ Load to 25 V 0.3 1.5 3.0 μs
Terminal Functions
Terminal Name Description
1 PFD (Percent Fast Decay) The analog input used to set the current-decay mode.
2 REF (VREF) The voltage at this input (along with the value of RS and the states of DAC inputs
D0, D1, and D2) set the peak output current.
3 RC The parallel combination of external resistor RT and capacitor CT set the off time for the
PWM current regulator. CT also sets the blanking time.
4-5 GROUND Return for the logic supply (VCC) and load supply (VBB); the reference for all voltage
measurements.
6 LOGIC SUPPLY (VCC) Supply voltage for the logic circuitry. Typically = 5 V.
7 PHASE The PHASE input determines the direction of current in the load.
8 D2 (DATA2) One-of-three (MSB) control bits for the internal digital-to-analog converter.
9 D1 (DATA1) One-of-three control bits for the internal digital-to-analog converter.
10 OUTA One-of-two output load connections.
11 SENSE Connection to the sink-transistor emitters. Sense resistor RS is connected between this
point and ground.
12-13 GROUND Return for the logic supply (VCC) and load supply (VBB); the reference for all voltage
measurements.
14 D0 (DATA0) One-of-three (LSB) control bits for the internal digital-to-analog converter.
15 OUTB One-of-two output load connections.
16 LOAD SUPPLY (VBB) Supply voltage for the load.
Functional Description which turns off the source drivers (slow-decay mode) or the sink
and source drivers (fast- or mixed-decay mode).
Two A3955 full-bridge PWM microstepping motor drivers are
needed to drive the windings of a bipolar stepper motor. Internal With the DATA input lines tied to VCC, the maximum value of
pulse width modulated (PWM) control circuitry regulates each current limiting is set by the selection of RS and VREF with a
motor winding current. The peak motor current is set by the transconductance function approximated by:
value of an external current-sense resistor (RS), a reference ITRIP ≈ VREF / 3RS.
voltage (VREF), and the digital-to-analog converter (DAC) data
inputs (D0, D1, and D2). The actual peak load current (IPEAK) will be slightly higher than
ITRIP due to internal logic and switching delays. The driver(s)
To improve motor performance, especially when using remain off for a time period determined by a user-selected
sinusoidal current profiles necessary for microstepping, the external resistor-capacitor combination (RTCT). At the end of
A3955 has three distinct current-decay modes: slow decay, fast the fixed off-time, the driver(s) are re-enabled, allowing the load
decay, and mixed decay. current to increase to ITRIP again, maintaining an average load
PHASE Input. The PHASE input controls the direction of current.
current flow in the load (table 1). An internally generated dead The DAC data input lines are used to provide up to eight levels
time of approximately 1 μs prevents crossover currents that of output current. The internal 3-bit digital-to-analog converter
could occur when switching the PHASE input. reduces the reference input to the current-sense comparator
DAC Data Inputs (D0, D1, D2). A non-linear DAC is used in precise steps (the step reference current ratio or SRCR) to
to digitally control the output current. The output of the DAC is provide half-step, quarter-step, or “microstepping” load-current
used to set the trip point of the current-sense comparator. Table 3 levels.
shows DAC output voltages for each input condition. When D0, ITRIP ≈ SRCR x VREF/3RS
D1, and D2 are all logic low, all of the power output transistors
are turned off. Slow Current-Decay Mode. When VPFD ≥ 3.5 V, the
device is in slow current-decay mode (the source drivers are
Internal PWM Current Control. Each motor driver disabled when the load current reaches ITRIP). During the fixed
contains an internal fixed off-time PWM current-control circuit off-time, the load inductance causes the current to recirculate
that limits the load current to a desired value (ITRIP). Initially, through the motor winding, sink driver, ground clamp diode,
a diagonal pair of source and sink transistors are enabled and and sense resistor (see figure 1). Slow-decay mode produces
current flows through the motor winding and RS (figure 1). When low ripple current for a given fixed off-time (see figure 2).
the voltage across the sense resistor equals the DAC output Low ripple current is desirable because the average current
voltage the current-sense comparator resets the PWM latch, in the motor winding is more nearly equal to the desired
V
BB
I PEAK
SLOW (VPFD ≥ 3.5 V)
RECIRCULATION
(FAST-DECAY MODE)
t OFF
Dwg. WP-031-1
RS
Dwg. EP-006-15
Mixed Current-Decay Mode. If VPFD is between 1.1 V With increasing values of tOFF, switching losses will decrease,
and 3.1 V, the device will be in a mixed current-decay mode. low-level load-current regulation will improve, EMI will be
Mixed-decay mode allows the user to achieve good current reduced, the PWM frequency will decrease, and ripple current
regulation with a minimum amount of ripple current and will increase. A value of tOFF can be chosen for optimization
motor/driver losses by selecting the minimum percentage of fast of these parameters. For applications where audible noise is a
decay required for their application (see also the Stepper Motor concern, typical values of tOFF are chosen to be in the range of
Applications section). 15 to 35 μs.
As in fast current-decay mode, mixed-decay starts with the sink RC Blanking. In addition to determining the fixed off-time of
and source drivers disabled after the load current reaches ITRIP. the PWM control circuit, the CT component sets the comparator
When the voltage at the RC terminal decays to a value below blanking time. This function blanks the output of the current-
VPFD, the sink drivers are re-enabled, placing the device in slow sense comparator when the outputs are switched by the internal
current-decay mode for the remainder of the fixed off-time current-control circuitry (or by the PHASE input, or when the
(figure 2). The percentage of fast decay (PFD) is user determined device is enabled with the DAC data inputs). The comparator
by VPFD or two external resistors. output is blanked to prevent false over-current detections due to
PFD = 100 ln (0.6[R1+R2]/R2) reverse recovery currents of the clamp diodes, and/or switching
transients related to distributed capacitance in the load.
where:
VCC During internal PWM operation, at the end of the tOFF time, the
comparator’s output is blanked and CT begins to be charged
R1 from approximately 0.22VCC by an internal current source of
approximately 1 mA. The comparator output remains blanked
until the voltage on CT reaches approximately 0.6VCC. The
PFD
blanking time, tBLANK, can be calculated as:
Thermal Considerations. Thermal-protection circuitry drive applications (see figures 4 and 5). When the load current
turns off all output transistors when the junction temperature is increasing, the slow current-decay mode is used to limit the
reaches approximately +165°C. This is intended only to protect switching losses in the driver and iron losses in the motor. This
the device from failures due to excessive junction temperatures also improves the maximum rate at which the load current can
and should not imply that output short circuits are permitted. The increase (as compared to fast decay) due to the slow rate of
output transistors are re-enabled when the junction temperature decay during tOFF. When the load current is decreasing, the mixed
cools to approximately +150°C. current-decay mode is used to regulate the load current to the
Stepper Motor Applications. The A3955 is used to desired level. This prevents tailing of the current profile caused
optimize performance in microstepping/sinusoidal stepper-motor by the back-EMF voltage of the stepper motor (see figure 3A).
VBB
BRIDGE A BRIDGE B
V PFD 16
D 1B D2B
1 9 8
47 μF
+
V REF 2 15 10 7 PHASE B
D 0A
3 14 11 6 +5 V
470 pF
0.5 Ω
30 kΩ
4 13 12 5
470 pF
LOGIC LOGIC
30 kΩ
0.5 Ω
5 12 13 4
+5 V 6 11
11 D0B 14 3
PHASE A 7 10 15 2 V REF
47 μF
+
Dwg. EP-047-3
Dwg. WK-004-3
Bridge A Bridge B
Full Half Quarter Eighth
Step Step Step Step PHASEA D2A D1A D0A ILOADA PHASEB D2B D1B D0B ILOADB
1 1 1 1 H H L L 70.7% H H L L 70.7%
2 H L H H 55.5% H H L H 83.1%
2 3 H L H L 38.2% H H H L 92.4%
4 H L L H 19.5% H H H H 100%
2 3 5 X L L L 0% H H H H 100%
6 L L L H -19.5% H H H H 100%
4 7 L L H L -38.2% H H H L 92.4%
8 L L H H -55.5% H H L H 83.1%
2 3 5 9 L H L L -70.7% H H L L 70.7%
10 L H L H -83.1% H L H H 55.5%
6 11 L H H L -92.4% H L H L 38.2%
12 L H H H -100% H L L H 19.5%
4 7 13 L H H H -100% X L L L 0%
14 L H H H -100% L L L H -19.5%
8 15 L H H L -92.4% L L H L -38.2%
16 L H L H -83.1% L L H H -55.5%
3 5 9 17 L H L L -70.7% L H L L -70.7%
18 L L H H -55.5% L H L H -83.1%
10 19 L L H L -38.2% L H H L -92.4%
20 L L L H -19.5% L H H H -100%
6 11 21 X L L L 0% L H H H -100%
22 H L L H 19.5% L H H H -100%
12 23 H L H L 38.2% L H H L -92.4%
24 H L H H 55.5% L H L H -83.1%
4 7 13 25 H H L L 70.7% L H L L -70.7%
26 H H L H 83.1% L L H H -55.5%
14 27 H H H L 92.4% L L H L -38.2%
28 H H H H 100% L L L H -19.5%
8 15 29 H H H H 100% X L L L 0%
30 H H H H 100% H L L H 19.5%
16 31 H H H L 92.4% H L H L 38.2%
32 H H L H 83.1% H L H H 55.5%
A MAXIMUM FULL-STEP
100
TORQUE (141%)
92.4
10
P
83.1
E
0%
1/8 ST
TEP
C
O
N
ST
S
EP
1/4
AN
70.7
ST
T
TO
3/8
CURRENT IN PER CENT
R
Q
EP
U
ST
E
2
55.5
1/ EP
ST
5/8
38.2
P
STE
3/4
19.5 EP
7/8 ST
FULL STEP
B B
Figure 5 —
Current and Displacement Vectors
16
+0.10
0.38 –0.05
+0.76 +0.38
6.35 –0.25 10.92 –0.25 7.62
A
1 2
A
+0.44
0.84 –0.43
2.25
1 2
B PCB Layout Reference View
0.25