TPIC44L01, TPIC44L02, TPIC44L03

4CHANNEL SERIAL AND PARALLEL LOW SIDE PREFET DRIVER

17

POST OFFICE BOX 655303

PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION

inductive voltage transients

A typical application for the predriver/power FET circuit is to switch inductive loads. When an inductive load is

FET and damage the device when the proper protection is not in place. The FET can be protected from these

transients through a variety of methods using external components. The TPIC44L01, TPIC44L02, and

TPIC44L03 offer that protection in the form of a Zener diode stack connected between the DRAIN input and

GATE output (see Figure 18). Zener diode Z1 turns the FET on to dissipate the transient energy. GATE diode

Z2 is provided to prevent the gate voltage from exceeding 13 V during normal operation and transient protection.

DRAIN

GATE

LOAD

55 V

Z1

Z2

13 V

Power FET

VBAT

TPIC44L01/L02/L03

External

T1

Figure 18