Overview

The DRV8301 (DRV8301DCAR) is an integrated 3-phase gate driver IC manufactured by Texas Instruments. It is famous in open-source hardware communities as the foundational motor gate driver chip powering VESC (Vedder Electronic Speed Controller) electric skateboard motor controllers, high-power drones, combat robotics, and industrial BLDC servo drives.

Operating across a wide supply voltage range of 6.0V to 60.0V DC (2S…14S2\text{S} \dots 14\text{S} LiPo batteries), the DRV8301 drives six external N-channel power MOSFETs arranged in a 3-phase inverter bridge with peak currents up to 1.7A source / 2.3A sink. It incorporates an integrated 1.5A step-down buck regulator (powering the system MCU at 3.3V or 5V), two low-offset current-shunt amplifiers for Field Oriented Control (FOC) current sensing, and an SPI interface for fault diagnostics and configuration.

Quick reference

Power Supply Voltage (PVDD)6.0 V to 60.0 V DC (65V absolute maximum)
Gate Drive Current1.7 A1.7\text{ A} Peak Source / 2.3 A2.3\text{ A} Peak Sink
Integrated Buck ConverterAdjustable 1.5 A1.5\text{ A} output (3.3V or 5.0V step-down LDO supply)
Current Sense Amplifiers2x Independent programmable-gain current-shunt amplifiers
PWM Control Modes6-channel PWM inputs (Independent High/Low side control per phase)
Protection FeaturesOvercurrent Protection (OCP), Overtemperature (OTS), Short-Circuit, UVLO
SPI Interface4-wire SPI slave interface for fault reporting & register programming
Package56-pin HTSSOP (PowerPAD down)

Pinout & System Architecture (HTSSOP-56 Package)

text
       +6V to +60V Power Battery Rail
                  │
        ┌─────────┴─────────┐
        │     DRV8301       │ ──► [Phase A Gate High/Low] ──► 2x N-Channel FETs ──► Motor Phase A
        │  3-Phase Driver   │ ──► [Phase B Gate High/Low] ──► 2x N-Channel FETs ──► Motor Phase B
        │   + Buck Reg      │ ──► [Phase C Gate High/Low] ──► 2x N-Channel FETs ──► Motor Phase C
        └────┬──────────┬───┘
             │          │
   3.3V Power Out   SPI Diagnostics
   (Powers MCU)     & Config (nCS, SCLK, SDI, SDO)

Key Pins

Pin NameFunctionDescription
PVDD1, PVDD2Power SupplyMain battery power supply inputs (6V to 60V DC)
BST_A, BST_B, BST_CBootstrapBootstrap capacitor connections for High-side N-FET driving
GH_A, GL_AGate DrivePhase A High-side (GH_A) & Low-side (GL_A) MOSFET Gate outputs
GH_B, GL_BGate DrivePhase B High-side (GH_B) & Low-side (GL_B) MOSFET Gate outputs
GH_C, GL_CGate DrivePhase C High-side (GH_C) & Low-side (GL_C) MOSFET Gate outputs
PWM_H_A, PWM_L_AControl InputPhase A High/Low PWM inputs from MCU
SO1, SO2Analog OutputCurrent Shunt Amplifier 1 & 2 analog outputs to MCU ADC pins
SCLK, SDI, SDO, nSCSSPI BusSPI communication interface pins for status & register setup
nOCTW, nFAULTFault InterruptOpen-drain fault and overtemperature warning interrupt outputs
VSENSEPowerBuck converter feedback voltage sense pin

Specifications

ParameterSymbolMinTypMaxUnitConditions
Operating Supply VoltageVPVDDV_{PVDD}6.024.0/48.060.0VDC
Gate Drive Source CurrentISOURCEI_{SOURCE}1.01.7—AVBST−VSH=10VV_{BST} - V_{SH} = 10\text{V}
Gate Drive Sink CurrentISINKI_{SINK}1.32.3—AVSH=10VV_{SH} = 10\text{V}
Current Sense Gain OptionsGCSAG_{CSA}102080V/VProgrammable via SPI (10, 20, 40, 80 V/V)
Buck Output VoltageVBUCKV_{BUCK}3.33.35.0VAdjustable via resistor divider
Buck Output CurrentIBUCKI_{BUCK}—1.5—AStep-down converter

Common mistakes

  • Inadequate PCB PowerPAD Thermal Soldering: The thermal pad beneath the 56-pin HTSSOP package dissipates gate drive heat. Incomplete ground plane copper coverage or bad reflow leads to thermal shutdown.
  • Excessive parasitic inductance on current shunt leads: High di/dtdi/dt switching noise can corrupt the current sense amplifier inputs (SP1/SN1 and SP2/SN2). Route current sense traces as tightly matched differential pairs away from high-power switching nodes.

Notes

  • DRV8301 vs DRV8302 vs DRV8323: DRV8301 has SPI interface + 2 current sense amps; DRV8302 uses hardware pins instead of SPI; DRV8323 supports higher voltages (100V100\text{V}) with smart gate drive architecture (IDRIVE).

Assets & downloads