VNH2SP30 — 30A Full-Bridge Automotive Motor Driver IC

Overview

The VNH2SP30 (VNH2SP30-E) is an automotive-grade, monolithic full-bridge DC motor driver IC manufactured by STMicroelectronics. Packaged in a specialized MultiPowerSO-30 power package with dual high-side and low-side power MOSFET stages, it is famed in robotics for powering the widely used SparkFun Monster Moto Shield and dual-motor robotics platforms.

Designed to drive automotive actuators and heavy DC motors from a nominal $5.5\text{ V}$ to $16.0\text{ V}$ supply (with transient survival up to $41\text{ V}$ load dump), it provides up to $30\text{ A}$ peak stall current ( $14\text{ A}$ continuous with heatsinking) with a low combined total on-resistance of $34\text{ m}\Omega$ . It includes linear current sense feedback (CS), dual diagnostic status outputs (ENA/DIAGA, ENB/DIAGB), overtemperature shutdown, undervoltage/overvoltage protection, and PWM speed control up to $20\text{ kHz}$ .

Quick reference


Driver Type	Full-Bridge Automotive DC Motor Driver IC
Package	MultiPowerSO-30 / Monster Moto Shield / Pololu Carrier
Operating Voltage ( $V_{CC}$ )	$5.5\text{ V}$ to $16.0\text{ V}$ DC (Load dump protected up to $41\text{V}$ )
Peak Current Limit	$30.0\text{ A}$ minimum (typically $45.0\text{ A}$ trip)
Continuous Current Rating	$14.0\text{ A}$ continuous (with adequate heatsink)
Total Bridge On-Resistance ( $R_{ON}$ )	$34\text{ m}\Omega$ typical ( $18\text{ m}\Omega$ high-side + $16\text{ m}\Omega$ low-side)
PWM Switching Frequency	Up to $20\text{ kHz}$ (DC to 20 kHz)
Logic Supply ( $V_{DD}$ )	$5.0\text{ V}$ compatible ( $3.3\text{V}$ logic compatible inputs)
Diagnostics & Sensing	Real-time current sensing proportional output (`CS`) + Dual Diagnostic flags

MultiPowerSO-30 Pin Configuration

text

         ┌──────────────────┐
    OUTA ─│ 1             30 │─ OUTB
    OUTA ─│ 2             29 │─ OUTB
     VCC ─│ 3             28 │─ VCC
    INA  ─│ 4     TAB     27 │─ INB
   ENA/  ─│ 5    (GND)    26 │─ ENB/
   DIAGA  │                  │  DIAGB
     PWM ─│ 6             25 │─ CS
     GND ─│ 7             24 │─ GND
         └──────────────────┘
   (Additional pins connect to internal power legs & heat slug)

Pin	Name	Description
1, 2	`OUTA`	H-Bridge Motor Output A
3, 28	`VCC`	Main battery/motor power supply input (+5.5V to +16.0V DC)
4	`INA`	Direction control logic input for Leg A
5	`ENA/DIAGA`	Leg A Enable input and open-drain Diagnostic Output
6	`PWM`	Logic PWM input for motor speed regulation (Active-HIGH)
7, 24	`GND`	Ground return for logic and power stages (connected to exposed Tab)
25	`CS`	Analog current sense output (Generates current proportional to motor load)
26	`ENB/DIAGB`	Leg B Enable input and open-drain Diagnostic Output
27	`INB`	Direction control logic input for Leg B
29, 30	`OUTB`	H-Bridge Motor Output B

Control Logic Truth Table

To operate the motor, both ENA/DIAGA and ENB/DIAGB must be held HIGH:

`INA`	`INB`	`ENA/DIAGA`	`ENB/DIAGB`	`PWM`	`OUTA`	`OUTB`	Motor State
`1`	`0`	`1`	`1`	`1`	High	Low	Clockwise (CW / Forward)
`1`	`0`	`1`	`1`	`0`	Low	Low	Brake to Ground (Slow decay during PWM)
`0`	`1`	`1`	`1`	`1`	Low	High	Counter-Clockwise (CCW / Reverse)
`0`	`1`	`1`	`1`	`0`	Low	Low	Brake to Ground (Slow decay during PWM)
`0`	`0`	`1`	`1`	X	Low	Low	Brake to Ground
`1`	`1`	`1`	`1`	X	High	High	Brake to VCC
X	X	`0`	X	X	High-Z	High-Z	Disabled / Coast (High-Z)
X	X	X	`0`	X	High-Z	High-Z	Disabled / Coast (High-Z)

Specifications

Parameter	Symbol	Min	Typ	Max	Unit	Conditions
Motor Supply Voltage	$V_{CC}$	5.5	13.5	16.0	V	Operating range
Undervoltage Shutdown	$V_{USD}$	—	4.5	5.5	V	$V_{CC}$ falling
Overvoltage Shutdown	$V_{OV}$	16.0	19.0	22.0	V	$V_{CC}$ rising
Continuous Output Current	$I_{OUT}$	—	14.0	—	A	$T_C = 85^\circ\text{C}$ with heatsink
Current Limit Trip Threshold	$I_{LIM}$	30.0	45.0	—	A	Short-circuit trip
High-Side On-Resistance	$R_{ON(HS)}$	—	18.0	34.0	$\text{m}\Omega$	$I_{OUT} = 12\text{A}, T_J = 25^\circ\text{C}$
Low-Side On-Resistance	$R_{ON(LS)}$	—	16.0	30.0	$\text{m}\Omega$	$I_{OUT} = 12\text{A}, T_J = 25^\circ\text{C}$
Current Sense Ratio ( $I_{OUT} / I_{CS}$ )	$K$	—	11300	—	—	$I_{OUT} = 5\text{A} \dots 15\text{A}$
Thermal Shutdown Temp	$T_{TSD}$	150	175	200	°C	Junction temperature

Common mistakes

Leaving ENA/DIAGA or ENB/DIAGB low or floating: These pins are bidirectional enable/diagnostic pins. They must be actively pulled HIGH (via MCU output or a $10\text{ k}\Omega$ pull-up resistor to $5\text{V}$ ) for the bridge to enable. If a thermal or electrical fault occurs, the internal pull-down will drag the pin LOW.
Exceeding 16V operating supply: Unlike 24V-rated drivers (like BTS7960), the VNH2SP30 has an overvoltage shutdown mechanism that triggers at $\approx 19\text{V}$ . Operating from an unregulated 4S LiPo battery (16.8V max) can trigger overvoltage shutdown. It is strictly optimized for 12V automotive and 3S LiPo battery systems.
Inadequate heatsinking at loads $> 6\text{A}$ : While capable of handling 30A in short bursts, sustained loads without a dedicated aluminum heatsink on the exposed thermal pad will cause thermal throttling within seconds.

Notes

Current Sensing Formula: Pin 25 (CS) outputs a current $I_{CS} = I_{OUT} / 11300$ . Placing a $1.5\text{ k}\Omega$ resistor between CS and GND generates: $V_{CS} = I_{OUT} \times \frac{1500}{11300} \approx 0.133\text{ V per Ampere}$ allowing an Arduino ADC to directly measure motor stall current.

Interface	Direction Inputs (INA, INB), PWM Speed Input (PWM), Enable / Diagnostics (ENA/DIAGA, ENB/DIAGB), Current Sense (CS)
Supply	5.5–16 V
Package	MultiPowerSO-30 / SparkFun Monster Moto Shield / Pololu VNH2SP30 Carrier