The MPQ6600LGRE-AEC1 from Monolithic Power Systems is an Automotive-Qualified Stepper Motor Driver IC that has been designed in a space-saving, cost-effective design for bipolar stepper motor drive operations. It requires an input voltage of 4.5-35 V and provides an output current of up to 1.5 A. This driver consists of 8 N-channel MOSFETs arranged as 2 full-bridge configurations, an internal current sensor, and a regulator. It can operate a bipolar stepper motor in full, half, quarter, or eighth-step mode and accepts a series of STEP input pulses that move the motor step by step. During each step, the current of each full bridge is set by the output voltage from a D/A converter, which is in turn controlled by the translator output. The current is regulated based on a constant off-time pulse width modulation (PWM) control mechanism.

This AEC-Q100-qualified motor driver does not require external sense resistors and uses the built-in current sensing function to monitor the current and ensure proper operation. It can be controlled using simple logic interfaces (3.3/5 V supply required). This driver includes protection capabilities such as over-current protection, over-voltage protection, under-voltage lockout, and thermal shutdown for high reliability. It has wettable flanks and is available in a surface-mount package that measures 4 x 4 mm. This motor driver is ideal for bipolar stepper motors and printer applications.