A  motor driver IC is used to drive the voltage and current of AC & DC motor windings to achieve the desired speed, torque, direction, rotor position (in servo motors), and step angle (in stepper motor). These ICs ensure smooth and effective control of motors. It consists of a gate driver and power driver circuits to drive the motor windings, control logic circuits, PWM generating circuits, serial interface circuits, and has protection features such as under-voltage Lockout (UVLO) protection, over-voltage protection, short circuit protection, over current protection, and thermal protection. 

The in-built gate driver circuits of the motor driver IC get the input signal from the microcontroller which in turn drives the gate terminals of the power electronic switches to start the motor. Since the microcontroller command signals don’t have enough current to drive these power transistors, thus a motor driver acts as an interface between the microcontroller circuit and the motor. 

Motor Driver ICs are ideal for use in printers, scanners, office automation machines, automobiles, gaming machines, factory automation, robotics, industrial equipment, mechatronic applications, elevators, steel mills, rolling mills, surveillance cameras, power tools, cash, and ticket machines, wafer processing, antenna adjustments, CD/DVD players, aircraft, machine tools, metal cutting and forming machines, refrigerator damper, ice maker, washers, dryers, dishwashers, bank ATMs, medical respirators, locking mechanism, and shutter operation in thermal imaging & laser applications.

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A Driver IC (Integrated Circuit) refers to a specialized electronic component designed to control and drive external devices, such as motors, displays, LEDs, relays, and other loads.