Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation has announced the start of engineering sample shipments for its new gate driver IC, TB9104FTG, designed for bridge circuits that drive high-current automotive brushed DC motors. The device targets body system applications such as power back doors, power sliding doors, and power seats, where compact design and efficient wiring are increasingly critical.
The announcement comes amid accelerating electrification of vehicle body functions, a trend that has led to a higher number of motors per vehicle and, in turn, a growing demand for compact and efficient motor driver solutions. Automakers are also under pressure to reduce vehicle weight, making wire harness reduction a key design consideration.
TB9104FTG is housed in a compact VQFN32 package with typical dimensions of 5.0 mm × 5.0 mm. An exposed thermal pad on the underside of the package improves heat dissipation, enabling stable operation in high-current environments. When paired with external MOSFETs, the device supports the design of compact drive circuits suitable for automotive body system motors.
A key feature of the new gate driver is its serial peripheral interface (SPI), which allows communication with a microcontroller for configuration and status monitoring. Motor rotation commands can be issued either through dedicated hardware pins or via the SPI interface. Toshiba notes that multiple gate drivers can be connected to a shared SPI bus, helping reduce wiring complexity and contributing to lighter wire harness designs.
The device also integrates a built-in pulse-width modulation (PWM) drive circuit. In systems with multiple SPI-connected devices, this enables continuous motor operation using a predefined PWM cycle, requiring only a single rotation command from the microcontroller. This approach reduces processing load on the microcontroller and helps mitigate SPI bus congestion.
To address safety requirements associated with high-current operation, TB9104FTG incorporates a high-precision current sense amplifier that monitors motor drive current. The output can be fed back to the microcontroller, allowing precise control and rapid shutdown in the event of abnormal current conditions. Additional fault detection and drive-stop functions are also integrated.
Toshiba stated that it plans to continue expanding its lineup of automotive motor driver ICs, supporting further electrification and enhanced safety across automotive systems.
