GaN Motor Control Reference Design for Compact High-Power Drives

Gallium-nitride (GaN) power devices are gaining relevance in motor control as designers seek higher efficiency and smaller power electronics for appliances and industrial automation. In this context, STMicroelectronics introduced the EVSTDRVG611MC GaN motor-control reference design for domestic appliances and industrial drives.

GaN platform for appliance motors and industrial drives
The EVSTDRVG611MC reference design targets applications such as washing machines, industrial servo drives, and brushless DC (BLDC) motor systems, where compact electronics and energy efficiency are key design parameters.

The board is designed to handle power levels above 600W without requiring a heatsink when supplied from a DC source, supporting reduced system size and simplified thermal design. Adding a heatsink extends the achievable power range, allowing adaptation to different appliance and industrial motor requirements.

Delivered as a ready-to-evaluate board, the design integrates STDRIVEG611 GaN gate driver ICs, discrete GaN high electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs), and an STM32G431 mixed-signal microcontroller. Design resources including the bill of materials, schematics, and Gerber files for the 108mm × 110mm two-layer PCB are available for engineering evaluation and adaptation.

Hard-switching GaN topology for motor control adoption
GaN HEMT devices and dedicated gate drivers are increasingly used in power conversion applications such as chargers, adapters, and server power supplies due to their switching characteristics and power density advantages over silicon-based devices.

In the EVSTDRVG611MC design, STDRIVEG611 gate drivers are configured for hard-switching operation to support GaN use in motor control topologies. Combined with 650V, 75mΩ GaN transistors, the design enables smaller motor drive electronics and supports energy-efficiency targets in appliance design, while also addressing reliability requirements through reduced component stress and improved switching behaviour.

Microcontroller-based control and development environment
The STM32G431 microcontroller, part of the STM32 family, integrates three analogue amplifiers to support three-shunt current sensing architectures commonly used in motor control. Its Arm^® Cortex^®-M4 core is designed to execute real-time motor-control algorithms at high rotational speeds.

Engineers can evaluate the reference design and develop applications using the ST Motor Control Workbench, which provides motor profiling tools, performance monitoring functions, and automatic firmware generation to support faster development cycles in embedded motor control projects.

The platform supports Field-Oriented Control (FOC) in both sensorless and sensored configurations to enable smooth motor operation. Supported feedback interfaces include Hall sensors as well as incremental and absolute encoders, providing flexibility for different industrial automation and appliance motor control scenarios.

Edited by industrial journalist Aishwarya Mambet, with AI-assistance.

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