Texas Instruments' newest six-bit shift-register MOSFET driver provides serial interface and diagnostics to control six low-side power DMOS transistors. With its fault detection and reporting capabilities, the TPIC2603 is well-suited for automotive powertrain applications such as engine controls, transmission, and emission controls. Other applications where diagnostics are prevalent are high-end automated industrial systems. The TPIC2603 is designed to control inductive and resistive loads such as relays, valves, solenoids, and lamps.
The application diagram shows a typical engine control unit with the controller, interface circuits, and various loads. The TPIC2603 provides fault protection and diagnostics to effectively control the solenoids and lamps with no additional discrete components.
The on-board diagnostics of the TPIC2603 can efficiently identify load problems for improved fault isolation resulting in shorter system down time and smoother operation. The six drivers integrated in the TPIC2603 are actively clamped, low-side power FETs withthe following protection:
Because the TPIC2603 provides serial interface to control the output channels, interconnects to the system controller are minimized to reduce costs. Control information is transferred into the TPIC2603 via the serial interface which consists of serial clock, chip select, and serial data input. Fault information is transferred out of the TPIC2603 via the serial data output. For increased flexibility, the device accepts either an 8-bit or a 16-bit string of data.
The TPIC2603 controller with on-board diagnostics is an integrated solution in surface-mount packaging for increased system reliability and decreased printed board-space requirements over discrete implementations. Available in a thermally-enhanced 20-pin DIP or 24-pin SO packaging.
TPIC2603
Vol 17, June, 1996
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