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A
b
o
ut
If you are driving inductive loads, whereas it is a brushed or brushless DC motor,
stepper motor, solenoid or a relay, you must have experienced a little bit of a problem in
the form of an unwanted current flowing in the unwanted direction. If you did not take
this fact of the laws of physics into account, chances are you have had the only once
enjoyable experiencing of smoking your transistor. Whether it was a bipolar transistor or
a FET, if a mechanism to overcome this generated current was not put in place, said
3
transistor will not last long. But why does this happen?
D

Lets take a quick look at what is happening with our inductor. Pr


int
It is a known law of physics that inductors will not tolerate abrupt changes in current in
either when they are being charged or when they discharge. This is in essence because g
as you apply a voltage and a current starts to flow through the conducting element, a (2
magnetic field is generated. The magnetic field at the same time generates a current )
that fights the incoming current, making the incoming current needing to fight its way B
into the inductor. Either way, and at the end of this charging ordeal, we can see that the L
energy that went into the inductor will be maintained in the form of a magnetic field. OK, D
enough with the basics. C
(1
)
C
N
C
(5
)
E
m
b
e
d
d

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e
d
S
ys
te
m
s
(5
)
H
Br
id
g
es
(1
1)
M
Case A of our picture shows a current happily flowing into our inductor. I say happily ot
because in essence nothing stops this flow. As soon as the FET is energized, the or
current starts to flow until the inductor saturates. But what happens when the FET is s
disabled? This will eventually happen, right? This may be fine except that all the energy (1
stored inside the inductor will now want to get out of its cage, plus the current can not 7)
change abruptly so whatever was going in, must continue going out. As a result the R
inductor is now the source and the FET the load. But the FET is off!!! This angry o
current, as portrayed on case B, will not care too much about its path not being present. b
A path will be made, one way or the other! And as it is often the case, the voltage goes oti
up in such a way that the FET is damaged. cs
(9
We need to provide a way for this current to find a safe path which not encompasses
)
the destruction of our transistor switch. And the solution often comes in the form of what
St
is called a free wheeling diode. Notice the diode is placed such that while the FET is on,
e
it can not conduct (its voltage from anode to cathode is negative). It is only when the
p
FET is OFF, that the inductor operating as a source makes the voltage across the diode
p
positive, hence making it conduct. In this case, the FET sees no current flow and no
er
negative voltage.
M
But why do we need to bother about this when dealing with H Bridges? The previous ot
example shows a simple single FET driver. Are H Bridges subjected to the same or
problems? Yes and No! In essence the problem still exist because inductive loads will s
still try to conduct through a disabled FET when said switch gets disabled. So an H (9
Bridge would suffer the same fate as the single transistor driver if an alternate path is )
not provided. However, the H Bridge has enough alternate paths, and this is where U

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current recirculation or decay modes come into play. Lets take a look at the H Bridge nc
quickly. at
e
g
or
iz
e
d
(1
)

On an H Bridge you only enable as much as two FETs at any given time. It is
completely forbidden to enable the two FETs on the same side, as this would lead to
Shoot Through (a short circuit from power supply to ground). If you enable the hi side
FET on the left side (AH), and the low side FET on the right side (BL), then the current
flows from left to right. If the inductive load was say a DC motor, then the motor would
spin in one direction, say clockwise. If on the other hand, you enable the high side FET
on the right side (BH), and the low side FET on the left side (AL), then the current would
flow from right to left. This has the desirable effect of turning the motor in the opposite
direction, in this case counterclockwise.

Unfortunatelly, all is good only if we never disable those FETs. Because as soon as
you do, then the current will try to keep on flowing on the same direction, which should
result in flames right? Not necessarily What if we add freewheeling diodes to save the
day? Four of them should do, right? As it turns out, we do not need them! Like I said
before, there is already more than plenty alternate routes and all we have to do is use
the very same FETs we already have and their associated internal body diodes. This
has a few advantages:

1. Since extra diodes are not needed (and as long as the body diodes are used only
for very brief periods of time) we can save on component cost
2. The FETs are considerably much more efficient than diodes anyway, so we can
decrease the amount of power loss in the form of heat.

But how does this work? The first thing we must understand is that Shoot Through must
be avoided at all times. So, if we are going to use some or all of the unused FETs on
the system, it is imperative that we do not turn them ON while the previously active
FETs are still ON. Confused? If AH is ON, we can not let it be ON, while AL is ON, and
so forth.

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In Fast Decay Mode we use the opposing FETs to offer an alternate path for the current
to flow through. Notice that it looks identical to the polarization in which we allowed for
the current to flow in the opposing direction. However, it is very important we remember
current does not tolerate abrupt changes. Hence, long before the current can flow in the
opposite direction, it must decay to zero. Then, it can start flowing as we saw before.

Fast Decay Mode is called as such because this is the fastest the current will die to
zero. Notice you are basically placing a voltage source plus two voltage drops (there is
a voltage drop across each FET given by the current multiplied by the FET RDSon)
across the inductance. Since the inductance voltage can only be as large as the voltage
source, the new voltage we are applying to the inductor is larger and as such will fight
considerably hard for the already existing current to die out.

Below my two H Bridge drawings I am showing a possible way in which we can


disable/enable the FETs. Remember Shoot Through is forbidden, so we must disable
one FET before we enable the other one. It must be a break before make kind of deal.
The speed at which the FETs are turned ON and OFF is in the nanoseconds range.
Often, anywhere in the vecinity of 100 to 200 nano seconds. You may be asking, how
about the current during these 200 nano seconds? Can it damage my already disabled
FET? Luckily, FETs are intrinsically built with a body diode which will easily carry this
current through this brief period of time. Anything longer than the 200 nano seconds,

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and all bets are off. You could of course design the body diodes to be large and
powerful, but whats the point? Shortly after we will be enabling a way better path which
is the opposing FET!

A very important distinction to be made is between asynchronous and synchronouse


current recirculation. If diodes are used (and there are reasons, such as improved
thermal release, in which we will want to use external diodes instead of the FETs, a
good example being the DRV8811), then the current recirculation is said to be
asynchronous. This is because you are not controlling the occurrence of the alternate
path creation. It will happen, but you do not control when this happens. If on the other
hand, the H Bridge control logic has to take care of enabling and disabling FETs in
order to promote an alternate path, then the current recirculation is synchronous. Just
an important note, as both are still commonly used today!

In Slow Decay mode we use the FETs on the same H Bridge segment. Per example
you can use either both high side FETs or both low side FETs. The typical convention is
to use the low side FETs.

The idea behind this method is that current is allowed to decrease through zero as the
inductor recirculates the current through a resistive path. Notice that as both low side
FETs are enabled, the current is basically dissipating a voltage across the two FETs

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RDSon. It is called slow decay because although current eventually decays to zero, it
takes longer than fast decay mode. This makes sense as we are not applying a voltage
opposing the current, which would definitely be the fastest we could fight the existing
current.

How slow the decay mode is depends on the motor inductance and the FETs RDSon.
The smaller the RDSon, the longer it will take for the current to decay to zero.

When it comes to DC motors, however, there is a very interesting effect while using this
decay mode. While on fast decay mode the DC motor rotor coasts down in speed, with
slow decay mode the rotor stops very quickly. This is because as can be seen by the
above picture, you are shorting the DC motor terminals. This in essence implies the
BACK EMF voltage source inside the motor to be shorted. And if there is no BACK
EMF, there can be no speed. One is directly tied to the other. We call this phenomenon
braking the DC motor or the collapse of the Back EMF. Braking is vital when you want
to stop your motor very fast and possibly obtain a particular position. With coasting, this
would not be possible, so be aware that selecting slow decay or fast decay with DC
motors is not a trivial endeavor.

I like to point out, when I discuss slow and fast decay mode, that the names slow and
fast are pertinent to current, not to DC motor speed. They imply a direct relationship
with how fast the current decays through the winding. However, when it comes to how
fast the DC motor speed decays, it is the total opposite. Kind of annoying, but I guess
one thing leads to the other. So be careful not to think that fast decay will stop the motor
very fast, because it is actually the opposite.

There is one third of current decay which we call Mixed Decay Mode because it is
actually a mixture of Slow and Fast Decay modes. By definition, you inccur in Mixed
Decay if through the entire current decay cycle a percentage of it is slow and the
remaining percentage is fast. Why do we need this feature? In DC motors it is pretty
much unused, but when it comes to steppers, specially while microstepping, Mixed
Decay is a must!

This may be a little bit advanced, but what happens is that as you are trying to
synthesize a sine wave across your stepper motor winding, drawing said wave shape
will become harder at some points in time. Per example, when you are charging the
winding (angles of 0 to 90), it is very easy to superimpose the waveshape of a sine
wave. But when you are discharging the winding (angles of 90 to 180), then the motor
inductance will dictate whether you can discharge fast enough or not. If the motor
inductance is too high, chances are you will not be able to superimpose the correct sine

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wave shape and deformation occurs. This is because the decay mode is too slow!

So a solution would be to use fast decay. This will definitely solve the problem, but
another problem occurs. Fast decay mode has the side effect of high current ripple.
Remember the current is swinging considerably more than on slow decay mode. This
poses a few unwanted problems such as EMI magnitude increasing (larger current
peaks are of course gives a stronger radiation) and more audible noise, depending on
the current chopping frequency.

So what we need is an in between. Some decay rate that is not too fast or too slow.
Mixed Decay mode gives us that. Some devices will allow you to control the exact rate

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of the mixed decay mode. The DRV8811 is a good example. Other devices, such as the
DRV8824 and DRV8825, just give you a fixed rate of mixed decay mode. For most
applications, this is enough.

Tags: Current Decay Modes

Avayans CNC Electronics Overview What is a Stepper Motor?

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James
October 10, 2010 at 5:14 pm

Informative and entertaining! Thanks! ^_^

Reply

fenderbirds
October 18, 2010 at 4:56 pm

nice article, keep the posts coming

Reply

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Stepper Driver Avayan's Roboticus Projecteria

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B-nogart
February 3, 2011 at 6:31 pm

Hey! nice article, really interesting :).

I am simulating fast decay, slow decay and mixed decay modes and
I have a doubt.

It wouldnd be faster in fast decay mode if you first turn the AH FET
off, then you turn the BL off, and then you turn AL on and finally BL
on? Becuase I think in this way you avoid some milisiconds in which
the bridege is in slow decay mode (when Al and BL are turned on)
and therefore, the decay could be some milisecond faster.

Maybe my idea is wrong.

Thank you

Reply

Avayan
February 7, 2011 at 12:11 am

Hi B-nogart,

I dont think the H Bridge will ever be in slow decay. And before I
go with my analysis, let me point out that the break and make
connection of switching the FETs is in nano seconds, not micro
seconds or milli seconds. This has to be VERY fast! Otherwise,
the current in the winding would die out through the body diodes.
Just so you have an idea, the DRV88xx devices I use so much
have dead times (the amount of time in which the FETS are off
and the system waits to turn them ON again), is about 500 ns. In
other words, as soon as the first FET turns OFF, a counter starts
to count for 500 ns (more or less) and after this time, the
opposing FETs will be turned ON.

You are right about the order in which things happen. First thing
you do is disable the high side FET. This may take about 100 ns,
which is what is called the fall time. While the FET is turning OFF,
the respective low side body diode will turn ON. In other words,
for a few nano seconds, you will have asynchronous slow decay.

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However, this really does not last too long as you will disable the
low side FET shortly after. Right at this time, the respective high
side body diode will be forward biased, in which case you will now
be in full fledged asynchronous fast decay until the respective
FETs are enabled taking you to synchronous fast decay.

So the duration of slow decay is pretty much negligible and there


is really not much you can do about it. Seems like a good topic to
add to this blog. Thanks for bringing it up!

Reply

Gustavo
February 23, 2012 at 12:53 pm

I would like to know if there is any maths analysis for explaining the
fast decay. I mean some kind of calculation that allows to determine
the decay time as a function of coil paramaters and power supply
voltage, etc.

Reply

avayan
February 24, 2012 at 12:19 am

Hi Gustavo,

Thanks for the question! Yes, there is a math. I am not a


mathematician, so will try to explain it as best as I know,
although there might be a few elements missing. It is pretty
lenghty, though, so I think I will make it into one of my next
posts.

Reply

dzeus
March 21, 2012 at 2:54 pm

Hi Thank you for sharing with us all this valuable informations

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Id like to know if its possible to reverse the logic that drive the dual
H-bridge (bipolar stepper motor) to allow a Fast decay to occur for
exemple going from 1010 to 0101 with two input XOR logic when the
set/reset latch go high (chopper circuit), do we need to add some
delay to avoid a Shoot Through ?

Reply

avayan
March 21, 2012 at 5:20 pm

Hi dzeus,

The devices that I deal with the most (DRV88xx) do this


reversal of phases automatically as part of their logic. In this
case, the shoot-through is avoided through the usage of
special circuitry that ensures each H Bridge half is never
fully enabled at the same time. That is, the High Side FET
cannot be enabled at the same time as its Low Side FET. To
do this, a delay called dead time is induced when you are
switching from 1010 to 0101. This dead time is usually in the
range of 50 ns to 500 ns. It is all dependent on the actual
power FETs being employed, as well as how agressive you
want the switching losses to be, so selecting this time is not
a trivial matter.

On discrete implementations, the controlling circuitry will


need to take this timing constraing under consideration. I do
not even bother with discrete solutions anymore as to be
honest, there is more than enough integrated drivers out
there to tackle any application I can think of (except
humongous drive units which use a DSP, but in this case,
the DSP is more than tailored to administer PWM outputs
with intrinsic dead time generation). In all of these integrated
drivers (at least the ones that I have dealt with), the dead
time is taken into consideration.

Reply

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Dzeus
March 22, 2012 at 2:23 pm

Hi Avayan
Thank you for your quick reply
I used to use Allegro A3977 which is nice IC but like the TI DRV8811
it has 2.5Amp maximum output,now I need more power for nema34
stepper motor (5Amp) so Im thinking using micro-controller and a
power bridge ( starting with Four IR2104 and maybe IRF540
FETs,old stuff but robust combo)to get up to 8Amp with micro-
stepping of course, I have read somewhere that I can turn off the
H-bridge (one coil) and get Fast decay If theres the free whiling
diodes but thats 8 more diode (4 for each coil) and they must sustain
up to 8 Amp (?) so now I should go for a software modification to
reverse the logic that drive the power FET while taking into account
the dead time to avoid Shoot Through unless I found another
discrete solution
unfortunately theres no reliable translator IC in the market TI was
supposed to lunch one but theyre not selling it yet (equivalent to
Allegro A3986)

Reply

avayan
March 22, 2012 at 5:58 pm

Hi Dzeus,

Also want to point out that the DRV8818 came out a few weeks
ago and it has lower RDSon than the DRV8811, so it is easier to
get to the 2.5A sine wave peak.

I dont think TI was trying to do a pin to pin compatible version of


the A3986, although I have heard they will do their own external
FET power stage in the upcoming year or so. What I do know,
however, is that for 8A steppers they offer the DRV8412 or
DRV8432 which can do up to 7A peak or 12.5A peak respectively.
BTW, these two devices are basically the same guy; all that
changes is whether you use the PCB as your heat sink or you
add a hefty heat sink on top of the device. And if you parallel both
H Bridges, you can do up to 25A per phase! Not certain which
stepper would want such an atrocious current through its coil.

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Already sounds like fire to me

Now, talking about your IRF solution First off, the IR2104
already has shoot through protection, so there should be no way
to enable both same side FETs at the same time. So far you are
safe. As you described, if you disable the H Bridge (outputs are
placed in tri state mode while SD* is HI), then the IRF540 FETs
body diodes will take the current. These diodes should be large
enough to take in an 8A current considering the device is rated at
33A (In actuality it can go up to 110A if pulsed!). Hence, I dont
think you need external diodes to accomplish this technique.

I must add, however, that using the body diodes is not the most
efficient thing to do. Since the diode path is not very efficient (you
can not control its impedance), the power losses will haunt you.
The best solution is to use the opposing FETs (lower RDSon
implies lower I^2*R losses and lower heat). This is piece of cake
as all you need to do is invert the H Bridge.

I must also point that only using fast decay is ill fated if wanting to
microstep, and at 8A I am thinking you will need hearing aid after
some time operating the stepper. The problem is that fast decay
will give you horrendous current ripple which in turn translates to
sub harmonic components beating the heck out of your ear canal.
Nobody likes this. To make matters worst, high current ripple also
means lower average current which in turns mean lower torque.
Nothing good can come out of fast decay. Why does it exist then?

The truth is that (as I explaine on some other post) you would
want to use slow decay at all times and maximize current usage.
However, as you microstep and draw your sinewave, slow decay
can only work for so long. In quadrants 1 and 3 (as you are
charging up the winding) to use slow decay is all peachy.
However, as you delve into quadrants 2 and 4 (as you are
discharging the winding), then the sine wave deforms. Remember
it is easier to charge than to discharge when using sloe decay
current regulation.

The solution is to use fast decay on quadrants 2 and 4. BUT


WAIT!!! Fast Decay? That noisy bastard? Could we do something
else? This is why there is mixed decay, or a combination of fast
and slow. Since you are doing your own controller, you should be
able to find the ration of fast and slow which gives you the

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prettiest sine wave shape.

This almost looks like a post in itself! Hope it helps, though.

Reply

Dzeus
March 24, 2012 at 2:38 pm

Hi avayan
thank you so much,you have such a way to explain things thats
everything will look simple

Im continuing learning about stepper motor control and any input will
be full welcome

Concerning the TI DRV8412 I spot them while searching for a good


H-bridge drive IC and I was happy to find such as powerful Fully
integrated power bridge but actually building a complete Driver with
micro-controller and a discrete H-bridge is more like a learning tool I
will try The TI solution too, I should be able to make a very compact
board with them

Concerning IRF driver and Fet, I was thinking to implant a Forced


Fast decay ( synchronouse as you call it) by altering the logic in one
Hbridge instead of just turning it off (Both SD pin of concerned
IR2104s go Hi) so Actually you saying thats its possible without
adding dead time because the IR2104 already has shoot through
protection !
also you said that Fast decay isnt a big deal,now Im thinking adding
this feature only at high RPM where/when Current wont have
enough time to decay
Mixed decay ?user programmable mixed decay ? humm yes sure,
thats the best solution, Ill try to add this in the future, Now I have to
learn how to force Fast and Slow decay at the right time

Cheers

Reply

Marco

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June 6, 2012 at 9:41 pm

Thanks for the article, very clear, interesting and amazing current
pictures!

Reply

Ahmet
February 4, 2013 at 9:22 pm

Thanks for pure and comprehensible information..

Reply

Divya Alok
February 18, 2013 at 6:33 am

Hi Avayan,
Amazing Post.very informative. I have few queries though.
1) I am using DRV8825 to control a stepper motor. If you have used
this IC, please mail me a schematic.
2) If we use..high power diodes on AOUT1/2 BOUT1/2 pins in such a
way that they protect the H Bridge FETs.will the system always
remain in fast decay mode ?
3) I have seen many schematics where they connect Vcc/2 around
1.65V to decay mode pin on the IC. What is the reason for that ?

Reply

avayan
February 18, 2013 at 10:40 am

Hi Divya,

Yes, I have used the DRV8825 in many different projects,


including my CNC Plasma Cutter and my 3D Printer. Great
device! You can find an schematic on
http://www.avayanelectronics.com under many different designs.
For example, here: http://www.avayanelectronics.com/Products
/AE-CNC8825-TP/ae-cnc8825-tp.html

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There is no need to use external FETs with these devices. If you


do, however, the FETs should take precedence when they are
enabled. The diodes will only work during dead time. This is why
you are in essence wasting diodes. The FETs are as protected as
they can be. On any DRV88xx device, you will need to violate Abs
Max to destroy the H Bridge. The FETs are protected against over
current and over temperature.

When they connect the DECAY at half supply, this is like placing
the device on mixed decay mode. On DRV8825 there is no need
to do this as the device will enter mixed decay mode when the pin
is left floating. You can save on the two resistors.

Reply

Divya Alok
February 20, 2013 at 11:42 am

Thanx Avayan!!!
Please answer some more queries
4) Why have nFAULT and nHOME pins been left unconnected ??
5) Why have you used 3.3K pull-ups for the MODEs, STEP, DIR,
nENABLE, nRESET & nSLEEP ??
These input pinshave internal pull-downs and should be directly
interfaced with digital signals.
And as you said, we should the DECAY pin floating because this
pins has internal pull-ups and pull-downswhich will cause a Vdd/2
voltage to appear on the pin and hence activate the mixed decay-
mode.

Reply

avayan
February 20, 2013 at 2:00 pm

You are welcome!

nFAULT is an open drain output you can use to determine if there


are problems such as Over Current or TSD. On the AE-CNC25,
there is no need to use the limited signal pool with a fault signal

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per axis so I chose to ignore the faulting capability. On this board,


however, http://www.avayanelectronics.com/Products/AE-
MegaMotorII/ae-megamotorii.html I did allowed these connections
to be made by prospective users.

nHome is kind of an useless signal. It tells you when the internal


look up table is pointing to the first step. I can assure you on a
CNC machine there is absolutely no use for this feature. The only
time I ever used this signal was when exploring highly intricate
algorithms in which I was trying to measure phase angles and
such. These experiments can easily fill up an entire book, so I will
not ago into describing them here, but feel assured the great
majority of users out there will not need to run anything like that.

I used 3.3K resistors on nSLEEP and nRESET because on the


CNC machine environment I do not want to enter SLEEP mode or
RESET the devices core. If I need to, Ill recycle power. As of
today, though, I havent needed to.

I also like adding pull up resistors on nENABLE so the device is


enabled by nature. This way if I am running an experiment, I do
not need to send the enable signal. Do note that just because I
placed pull up resistors does not mean I need to populate them.
You can always choose to build the board without them. If you
leave them off and want to add them at a later time, well that
doesnt work as well. For the most part, I use them, though.

The CNC Control machine will then send the respective control
signals to those signals that do need to change. You do not need
to drive all inputs with digital signals. Placing the pin in a known
condition (such as pulled up or pulled down) is a legal condition.
In other words, there is no need to tie every single line to a
microcontroller output.

Yes, the DECAY pin has internal pull up and pull down so when
the pin is left disconnected it sits at 1.67V telling the system to
enter mixed decay mode. This only applies to DRV8824/25, BTW.
DRV8811/18 do have an analog input which will give you tunable
mixed decay mode.

Hope this helps!

Reply

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Divya Alok
February 21, 2013 at 5:27 am

Thanx Again!!!
Avayan, I did not get this part of your reply.
Do note that just because I placed pull up resistors does not mean I
need to populate them. You can always choose to build the board
without them. If you leave them off and want to add them at a later
time, well that doesnt work as well. For the most part, I use them,
though.
Do you recommend using Pull-ups ?? If yes.is it just because..of
safety and some redundancy in electronics is always justified ??
And alsoI read about your CNC work, it is amazing.Please give
me ur gmail id.

Reply

avayan
February 22, 2013 at 7:27 pm

Hi Divya,

It is not possible to answer this question with the simple phrase I


recommend, because at the end it depends. In some
applications you will have the pull ups (as in my CNC mother
boards), and in others you may not (as in an application where
the DRV88xx device is directly driven by a microcontroller). Each
application is unique and we cannot just say this is what you
have to do, and thats it! You will need to analyze what behavior
you want (and dont want) and go from there.

If you fear glitches and their implications, then you need to add
pull up/down resistors to ensure those glitches are not present.
This is also highly dependent on the application. For example, if it
is a medical or automotive application, the glitch may be lethal. If
it is a toy, chances are it will not make much difference.

I would not be afraid if on a CNC machine there are a few glitches


here and there on the stepper motor drivers when you are
powering up the machine. First thing I do is home the system
anyway, plus I doubt that a few nano seconds of enablement are

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going to make that much of a difference. I would be terrified,


however, if there is a glitch on the circuit that enables the router
spindle or the plasma torch, as this could result in some serious
blood, not to mention a completely avoidable trip to the ER. Thats
the rationale that I use when choosing default states.

Thanks for the kudos on my CNC projects. Has been very


enjoyable indeed! You can check my You Tube channel at
http://www.youtube.com/user/avayanings, which is linked to my
Google account.

Reply

Keng Hou
February 25, 2013 at 4:18 pm

Hi Avayan,

I am doing a low power robot project using a bipolar stepper motor


for movement.
I build the stepper motor driver myself with H-bridge L293E,
controlled by PWM signal generated from microprocessor.
The sequence of the input PWM signal was correct (refer to
oscilloscope, the motor was turning. However, when I observed the
voltage on both side of the winding, there was a voltage drop
opposite to the supply voltage.

http://i.imgur.com/P4PZ2xZ.png
(the voltage for the winding is supposed to be like this)
http://i.imgur.com/C64mPnH.png
(this was the voltage I observed)
CH1 was one side of the winding and CH2 was the other side of the
same winding.

I suspect that this was happened due to the current circulation. I built
the circuit according to the schematic given in the L293E datasheet
http://www.datasheetcatalog.org/datasheet/stmicroelectronics
/1328.pdf

Reply

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avayan
February 25, 2013 at 7:06 pm

Hi Keng,

Good job in designing your own stepper driver! Excuse the


question, but what is exactly your concern? The lack of 0V when
the output is supposed to be LO and the loss in voltage when the
output is supposed to be HI? If you look at the datasheets page
5, on the table with VOH and VOL, you will see that this is
expected. This driver uses bipolar transistors, so you have to take
into consideration the loss caused by the VCE. On FET
transistors, the voltage loss on VDS is very small as the RDSON
is tiny and its I*R component is equally small.

If your input voltage was 24V, the output deformation would be


less visible as 1.5V is much smaller when compared to 24V, than
when compared to 5V. Hope this helps!

Reply

newbie
March 18, 2014 at 4:24 pm

Sorry for my incompetence, but I just cant get one thing


There are several phases work modes mentioned in the most
drivers datasheets: 1-2, W1-2, 2W1-2, 4W1-2. How do they relate to
wave drive, full step, half step, 1/4 step modes?

Reply

avayan
March 18, 2014 at 7:09 pm

It is my impression your incompetence is not as incompetent


as you may think (or perhaps I should say your
incompetence is not as competent as you may think?).

I personally strive to understand the 1-2, W1-2, 2W1-2,


4W1-2 nomenclature (will call them one-twos). Years ago, I

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made it a point not to mix them up with the microstepping


nomenclature. I think this may be like trying to explain Intel
Pentium technology by looking at an ARM microcprocessor
datasheet.

What I have noticed is that Japanese manufacturers, like


Toshiba, Rohm, Shindengen, love the one-twos
nomenclature. By looking at their datasheet, it seems that 2
Phase excitation is the same as FULL STEP. Somehow, 1-2
Phase excitation becomes HALF STEP. Maybe the
translation from Japanese to English for 1/2 is 1-2?

But then it gets weirder as 2W1-2 is the same as eight


degrees of microsteping (or EIGHT STEP) and 4W1-2 is the
same as 16 degrees of microstepping. How did that
happen? Beats me!

Like I said, I just dont mix degrees of microstepping with the


one-twos as I dont even know where the one-twos came
from. Microstepping is so easy to deduce. Basically FULL
STEP is one step (or the same as one current level per
step) and then you divide this full one by whatever degrees
of microstepping you want (or how many current levels per
step you want). If you want two current levels (or two
microsteps) per step, then you have HALF STEP. If you
want four, then QUAD STEP. Eight? EIGHT STEP. And then
it goes from there to 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, etc.

I wonder if somebody can shed some light as to where the


one-twos nomenclature comes from

Reply

Michael
October 22, 2014 at 3:15 pm

Hi avayan,

Regarding power consumption of the two modes FD/SD, I would


conclude the following based on your description above

1. Fast decay mode has a higher average power consumption as

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during the off phase a reverse voltage is used to cancel out the back
EMF.

2. In slow decay mode, the back EMF is shorted and no additional


power is used to cancel out the back EMF, although potentially the
motor would run a bit warmer due to the back EMF being shorted
through the coils?

It seems that slow decay mode has all the benefits, why would one
choose fast decay over slow decay?

Great article by the way, cheers!

Reply

avayan
October 22, 2014 at 4:03 pm

Hi Michael,

Thanks for taking a look at the article!

The short answer is that you want short decay for anything
like brushed DC, brushless DC and full step stepping, but
fast (or even better mixed decay) for microstepping. The
reason is that on microstepping, you want the winding
current to emulate a sine wave shape. During quadrants 1
and 3 (when the current is charging), slow decay works OK.
On quadrants 2 and 4 (when the current is discharging), the
wave shape gets all distorted due to the lack of an ability to
follow the current command. This current deformation
causes torque ripples which are best to eradicate. As a
result, mixed decay mode is used in most of the stepper
controllers out there. Mixed decay is a combination of fast
decay.

The only other case where you will want fast decay is when
you want to let a DC motor (brushed or brushless) coast
down in speed when they are disabled. This is more like
letting the H Bridge float than an actual fast decay mode.

I am intrigued by how you got to the conclusion that Fast

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Decay mode has higher average power consumption. Notice


that on most cases, fast decay is achieved by enabling the
opposing FETs. As a result, the I^2R power dissipation is
pretty much the same (except that on fast decay your
average current is less than on slow decay). If you use
external diodes (which is the same as asynchronous fast
decay), then yes, the power dissipation will be higher on fast
decay, because the diodes are lossy.

I would accept that fast decay introduces a slightly higher


switching loss due to the fact that you are turning ON and
OFF two FETs, instead of one. Switching losses start to take
some meaning when your switching frequency is very high
(50 KHz and above), or your voltage and current are large
(80V and above; more than 10A). Those numbers I offered
are subjective. Some people will cringe at switching losses
at 1 KHz, 5V and 100 mA. If you are trying to run from a
couple AA batteries, it may make sense.

BTW, on either fast or slow decay, you are not doing


anything with the BEMF until the winding current reaches
zero (which is only possible as you switch off the motor).
Since we are regulating current, and the average current is
higher than zero, the BEMF is preserved and directly
proportional to motor speed. If you let the current collapse to
zero, then you are letting the BEMF be exposed to a short
(slow decay) or the power supply (fast decay).

As a result, the only mechanism which can actually do


anything to the BEMF is the slow decay (and only after
winding current reaches 0A) because when you employ this
mode, both low side FETs are enabled, and the BEMF
encounters a resistance. At this point, the motor becomes
loaded and stops very quickly!

On fast decay (or better stated, floating H Bridge outputs)


there is no way for the H bridge to affect the BEMF. This is
because the BEMF can only be as high as the power supply
voltage (otherwise we would be creating energy!). Since you
need this voltage plus two diode drops for the H Bridge to be
doing anything to the motor (or the motor to the power
supply), this will only happen while there is current (which

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makes the voltage equal to VM + 2VFD). As soon as the


current reaches zero, the motor will continue to rotate and
you will see the BEMF, but this will go nowhere because the
H Bridge will be high impedance. In this state, the motor is
like a generator and you could see this voltage dwindling
down as motor speed dwindles down, which is what we
have called coasting down.

WOW! I may actually turn this response into a post

Reply

Michael
October 24, 2014 at 2:45 pm

Hi avayan,

I jumped to a false conclusion regarding the power


consumption in FD mode after reading:

you are basically placing a voltage source plus two


voltage drops (there is a voltage drop across each FET
given by the current multiplied by the FET RDSon) across
the inductance.

I assumed by placing this voltage across the inductance,


you are using power, of course in reality P=IV, and since
we are only fighting the existing current well now Im
confused As it would seem if we have a potential
difference or voltage in one direction, and a current
flowing in the opposite direction we would be getting a
negative power loss or power flowing back from the motor
to somewhere?

That last reply was decent! with a couple extra diagrams it


could well be turned into a post. If you are curious, Im
writing a driver for a mobile robot based on TIs DRV8833.

Reply

Dinesh

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October 29, 2014 at 7:09 am

Thanks..!!
Really interesting article..

Reply

Dinesh
October 29, 2014 at 11:07 am

Hi,

kindly let me know; Is Decay mode required for BLDC motor driver
for steering application; while sudden breaking not required.

Reply

avayan
October 29, 2014 at 11:52 am

Hi Dinesh,

On BLDC, there is really not much of decay modes.

What you will find is the most common on BLDC control


algorithms is to use slow decay, because your average
current is higher. It really doesnt make sense to use fast
decay, and there is absolutely no need to use anything like
mixed decay.

Decay modes are only meaningful to steppers and


particularly those which are being microstepped. If you
remove microstepping from the equation, you will find that
the most useful decay mode, or H Bridge switching topology,
is slow decay.

Reply

MattC
March 20, 2015 at 11:51 pm

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Hi I bet you might have a clue to solving a problem with Leapfrog


Creatr 3d printer!

It uses the DRV8825 to drive the 5 motors and a MEGA2560


controller.

The other day all motors suddenly stopped moving during a print,
although there was no error message and the print completed.

I discovered a fried diode on the bottom of the electronics board in


the power path that feeds all the stepper motor drivers. I replaced
the diode and the motors now respond normally to manual jog
control.

But the printed wont work normally using Simplify3D software


(athough it does work using Repetier!).

At first I thought the printed simply locked up when starting a print,


but then noticed that the motors actually move and the print
progresses VERRRRY slowly, almost imperceptibly. Seems like the
stepper motors move at about 1 step per second!

Again, it does work normally using Repetier!

Any suggestions of where else to look for the source of this strange
behavior?

Thanks!
-Matt

(PS: I have reflashed the board a few times, and re-installed S3D
twice.
I also replaced the MEGA2560 chip with no change in behavior.)

Reply

avayan
March 21, 2015 at 12:02 am

Hi Matt,

That is very odd indeed! Without taking a look at the board,


all I can guess is that the board is in good shape. After all, if
it works with one controller software, then the stepper

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drivers are working! Stepper drivers either work, or they


dont. There is not much of an in between.

With that being said, there are two things I would check:

1. What is the pulse width being issued at the STEP input?


On DRV8825, if the STEP pulse is too short, the step will
not be acknowledged. I remember when I built my 3D printer
I needed to change my FW so that there was a delay in
between the HI and LO transition. Once this simple fix was
put in place, then the steppers started working. The
problem, however, is that this would be in the FW, not the
SW controller. Unless things have changed and this is now a
parameter within the Controller SW. I have not done too
much 3D printing in the last 2 years, so I wouldnt know
whether I am tripping here or not

2. The other thing you can check is your


acceleration/deceleration profiles. Steppers do not like to
have abrupt changes in speed which is why accel/decel is
not a trivial endeavor. I also believe most of these
parameters would reside inside the FW, and not the
controlling SW, but like I said perhaps this has changed in
the past few years. Something to check, thats for sure!

Everything else I would check would be to make sure that in


fact the stepper drivers are working as expected. It is hard to
believe they would be damaged if the system works with a
control SW, but hey! Something I have learnt in the past 25
years is not assume anything!

Good luck on your troubleshooting!

Reply

matt
March 21, 2015 at 3:18 pm

Hi again thanks for your thoughts and suggestions!

As a simple next step I was thinking about replacing the


one or more of the DRV8825 chips since I happen to have

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some on hand. Do you think this would be a waste of time


since you say they either work or they dont?

Im wondering if the internal microstepping functions of


the chips were somehow corrupted by the same event
that blew the diode. Maybe the three mode pins are stuck
high or low or some combination.

Maybe the SW that does work uses a simplified


microstepping pattern (or maybe no microstepping at all)
so the hobbled stepper drivers can work with a more
basic instruction signal.

Ive noticed that SW that doesnt work has noticiably


smoother motion (when it works) than the SW that does
work (which is a simpler, freeware package). Which to me
suppports this theory somewhat.

Obviously, I havent thought this through completely to


see if it makes sense, but it might be quicker just the
swap the chips and see.

Any thoughts?

Reply

avayan
March 21, 2015 at 8:13 pm

Hi Matt,

Are you sure the printer is working fine with one


of the controller softwares? If it is, then I cant see
how the DRV8825 is bad. Rest assured there is
no way to kill the microstepper. What you will kill
is any power element within the dual H Bridges. If
one of these goes, however, the destruction will
be quite substantial. Enough to get the motor
motionless. Now, something which could have
happened is that one of the H Bridges died and
the other one is working. Under some very odd
scenarios, the stepper might move. But this will

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happen with very little torque and chances are


you will not think of it as moving. It will also sound
awful!

I will look a little bit more into the Leapfrog Creatr


3D printer and try to get a little bit deeper but at
this moment I wouldnt bother with changing the
25s. Do you have the means to check winding
current? If so, I would try moving the axis one by
one and check on the current sine waves. They
are either there are they are not. There is really
not much of an in between. I also doubt the
controller software controls microstepping ratio.
This is usually fixed on the design. But maybe
they have an on board microcontroller changing
this dynamically. This is one of the things I will
check. If all the controller board has are 5
DRV8825s, then chances are the microstepping
rate has been fixed in the firmware.

Is this controller open source? Is there a


schematic online for this controller? Can you take
a picture for the controller and send it to my
email? (jiq AT avayan DOT com). If there are
chips on both sides, I would like to see both
sides.

Reply

matt
March 22, 2015 at 2:52 pm

Thanks again for your ideas and offer to help


figure this out.

The good news is I stumbled on sort of a


workaround, but still dont really understand it.

The issue seems to be related to one of the


things you suggested to look into (max
acceleration settings).

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The Simplify3D software starts each print with


a few default lines of Gcode to establish basic
movement parameters. One of them is M201
(Set max printing acceleration). It was set at
M201 X1000 Y1000 Z500 So if I just delete
this line, everything works!

Incidentally, the next line is M202 (set max


travel acceleration) (set at M202 X1000
Y1000 Z500). If I delete this line by itself
(leaving the M201 line in) the print proceeds
normally but the x-axis does not move at all. I
have to disconnect/connect to get it back.

I can live with this, but Id rather understand it


too. It all started with the unexplained blown
diode in the common power path to the stepper
drivers on the board. The acceleration settings
in the code have not changed (i checked older
files).

The Leapfrog board seems to be a


combination of an Arduino mega2560
controller board and a RAMPS motor driver
board, both open source. Ill send a pdf with
pics of the leapfrog and schematics of the
open source boards if you are still curious.

If you can see a possible explanation of this


weird situation, please let me know.

Thanks again for the help!

Matt

David Sun
April 14, 2015 at 5:26 pm

it is very impressive that this thread still alive after it first posted 5
years ago.
I have a design now with DRV8837, it is powered by battery and
power consumption is very critical to us.

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we are driving the motor with a PWM.


our previous design is in slow decay mode, I thought it may save a
little power in coast mode, so I tried fast decay. I dont why the torque
is much smaller than brake mode. this is opposite to my design. did I
misunderstand it, or I made some mistake in the circuit. I dont know
how to post a picture here.

Reply

avayan
April 14, 2015 at 5:56 pm

Well I am glad this post helps somebody out there in the


community! This is just based on gut feeling here, but I think
fast decay may give you a slight power savings advantage
over slow decay on battery operated applications as during
fast decay, the current will flow back to the battery. Not that
you will recharge it a lot, but at least it is energy which is not
lost in the form of heat. I mean, some of it will be lost in the
form of heat as the FETs have a resistance and whatever
current flows through them will give an I^2R component, but
on slow decay pretty much ALL will be wasted as heat.

The trade off is that when you use fast decay your average
current is less and as a result the torque must also be less.
You will also get higher torque ripple (because there is
higher current ripple). In my opinion, the power saving
advantage (if any) does not outweight the inherent motion
quality issue. As a result, I treat any DC motor application as
a slow decay mode implementation. Fast decay only makes
sense under certain condition with steppers (e.g.
microstepping and the need of mixed decay), and even less
on some BLDC motor control schemes.

Feel free to send me a picture, or continue this discussion,


at my email jiq AT avayan DOT com.

Hope the info helps!

Reply

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Robert Randolph
May 29, 2015 at 3:52 pm

Hello! Is it possible to display (on a scope) the current draw without a


current probe so you can see the effects of fast/slow/mixed decay
easily?

How would you hook this up? I tried using a shunt resistor but
apparently Im either using an incorrect value or Im not probing the
right places.

Reply

avayan
May 29, 2015 at 10:34 pm

Hi Robert,

There are some techniques which you can use but none like
an actual current probe. For all of them you will need
something. Here I go in some detail on the techniques I
know. There might be others.

1. Look at the voltage on the SENSE resistor. This is the


most horrendous way of doing this (super noisy and hard to
picture), but it is also the cheapest as you would be utilizing
the already existing SENSE resistor if your motor driver is a
current chopper. Do note you wont see any current during
the slow decay portion of the cycle as at that time current is
recirculating through the FETs. The only way to see current
during the slow decay while looking at the SENSE resistor is
if you have a SENSE resistor on a per half H bridge. Also,
you could do all sort of techniques such as amplifying this
voltage and filtering it. You should be able to reconstruct the
current. In fact, the current chopper is seeing this current
as that is how it regulates it anyway. It is just hard to transfer
the information into the scope and making it meaningful to
our eyes and brains.

2. Use a 1 Ohm series resistor with each winding. This is the


second cheapest, except that now you will need to use a

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differential probe to look at this resistors voltage. I have


never tried this venue as for me it has always been way
much more accessible the current probe as opposed to the
differential probe. But I have heard of many people
employing this technique. The problem is that a differential
probe is not that cheap either Do note the other problem
is that adding a 1 ohm resistor is quite the waste of energy
when driving a stepper (I^2*R), hence you may want to try
0.01 ohm resistors and some amplification (i.e. you could
use a differential amplifier).

3. Use a current sensor such as a hall effect. There are


many current sensor out there. In essence, they are a thick
wire passing current very close to a hall effect sensor. To
you it looks like a chip. The caveats are that you need to
break your connection as the sensor needs to be in series
with the winding. Then you can look at the hall sensor output
and you will get a pretty good idea of what the current is
doing. The other caveats are that you cant pass an infinitely
large current (that would fuse open the fat trace element
inside the chip) and the frequency range is way less than
that of a current probe (it will filter the signal so high
frequency components will not be present). On a current
chopper going at 20 KHz PWM switching frequency, you will
see the response not as sharp as with the current probe. For
the most part these are still quite OK. A friend designed this
module. You may want to take a look. Way cheaper than a
current probe and I have used it numerous times for a bunch
of motor projects: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Isolated-Current-
Measurement-Interface-for-Oscilloscope-Current-Probe-
/161549479996?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&
hash=item259d19703c

4. The other option I can think of would be using a LEM. I


have never employed this either and have never even see it
in action but have heard stories on how you can pass
currents capable of vaporizing us (e.g. systems running in
MW!!!). Clearly you need to size it accordingly and at the
end you will also need to open up the circuit to insert the
LEM. Do note LEMs are used on systems where you need
to SENSE the massive currents on a continuous basis, not

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necessarily for tinkering with a design, so you will see that


LEMs are not cheap. They are meant to be rugged and
reliable, so you will need to pay accordingly. They are way
cheaper than a current probe, though. BTW, a LEM is quite
similar to a current sensor, except they have a hole in their
package where you pass the wire through. In some cases,
you may need to wrap the wire in a loop or something like
that. They also go by the name of current transducer. You
may want to check LEM USA. I just did a quick search on
Digikey and there is plenty to catch anybodys attention.
Some options are only $20.

If you have $300, though, I would look at Pete Milletts


current probe. It is ready to go and I know it works nicely. I
have been meaning to do a review on it, but have not had a
chance. Maybe now I find some time to squeeze this in!

Wish you look on your current sensing endeavors!

Reply

Robert Randolph
May 30, 2015 at 1:44 pm

Thank you very much for the response, and thank you for
replying to the comments on your article. So few people
do that these days.

I will give #1 and #2 a shot, and if all else fails fall back to
#3.

Thank you again.

Reply

Sanket
June 8, 2015 at 5:54 pm

Hey man, great article! Really enjoyed the pictures too!

Is fast and slow decay examples of synchronous rectification which

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they talk about for switching voltage regulators?

Reply

avayan
June 8, 2015 at 8:51 pm

Hey, thanks for reading!!!

Fast/Slow and synchronous/asynchronous current


recirculation methods are basically modes to reroute current
while FET switches are transitioning but pretty much only
when dealing with inductive loads. Notice on a resistive load
there would be no real current decay concept as current can
change abruptly across a resistor. It would not make sense
to deal with slow or fast in that case, as for all practical
matters, the current decay is immediate! You would not have
(or it would not matter) if the system is synchronous or
asynchronous. In fact, all you truly need is a single FET and
no diode!

On a switching voltage regulator, the load is not a resistor,


though. I mean, it may look like the load is a resistor to the
whole voltage regulator, but that is not what the switching
element on the switcher sees.

On a Buck converter, for example, you have an inductor


(being driven by 1 FET and a diode or 2 FETs) which is used
to regulate voltage. Since there is an inductance being
driven with the switches, a current recirculation mode will
need to be put in place.

Do note that switching regulators are kind of different than a


current chopper (as employed when driving a stepper)
because what you regulate is completely different. On a
stepper, you are regulating current, whereas on a voltage
regulator, you are regulating voltage. For that reason, the
swings are completely different. On a voltage regulator, the
output voltage must have the least ripple possible, whereas
on a current chopper, the current needs to have the least
ripple possible.

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We can also talk about inductor selection which often define


the switching frequency. You often want to make a switching
regulator as efficient as possible, so a good design will
determine the size of the power FET, whether you use a free
wheeling diode or an opposing FET and so on.

Regardless of all of these variables, which are inherent to a


switching regulator design, the fact that the FET is driving an
inductor remains, and as a result, a current recirculation
method must be employed.

Not to complicate things, but if there is a diode on the low


side you end up with asynchronous rectification (also called
nonsynchronous) because you are not controlling when the
alternate current path becomes enabled. If you have two
FETs (high and low side) then you end up with synchronous
rectification.

Do note on a switcher, however, you do not have too much


of a fast or a slow decay as you only have the equivalent to
a half H Bridge which means you cant force what we can
visualize as a negative current. Negative current (or VM + 2
diode drops with a polarity opposing the existing current) is
what makes fast decay faster than slower.

As a result, then, asynchronous versus synchronous only


defines how much power losses you have (e.g. resulting
efficiency). Usually you have higher losses on a diode than
on a FET, but that of course depends on loading as well.

And rest assured that talking about mixed decay mode on a


regulator would make no sense at all

Hope the info helps!

Reply

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Francisco
September 3, 2015 at 10:07 pm

Thank you very much!

Reply

Matija
January 26, 2016 at 2:52 am

Hi Avayan, as asked by Gustavo above did you perhaps managed


to make a post about maths analysis for explaining the fast decay.
Would love to read that one too.

Reply

avayan
January 27, 2016 at 1:18 pm

Hi Matija,

Actually I dont think I have written that one. May be able to


get around to it in the upcoming days. There is really not a
lot of math, but there is a lot of complexity due to the motor
model. Will need to remove the dust from that portion of my
brain

Reply

Egon
May 22, 2017 at 2:40 am

Hi Avayan,

..How slow the decay mode is depends on the motor inductance


and the FETs RDSon. The * smaller * the RDSon, the * longer * it will
take for the current to decay to zero
I agree with the first sentence , but second.

Are You sure ?

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Reply

avayan
May 22, 2017 at 8:56 am

Hi Egon,

If the entire loop resistance was zero, then the current would
be recirculating forever! Of course there is no such thing as
a zero resistance path so clearly there will be some in the
FETs, the motor winding, the wires, etc. Whatever this
resistance is, the current will dissipate down to zero in a
time that is inversely proportional to resistance magnitude.
The larger the resistance, the more current gets dissipated
in the form of heat and the quicker the motors inductance
current decreases down to zero.

I think you are parting from the premise that the higher the
resistance, the smaller the current for any given voltage. For
the most part, this is true. However, with inductive loads,
their current can not change abruptly. When the H bridge is
disabled, the inductor current will still be there and all we
can do is dissipate it through resistors until it decays down
to zero. So the resistance will still limit the current but now it
becomes more of a transient as opposed to the immediate
value you get while using the equation I = V/R. Which is
because now you need to take into consideration that the
inductor voltage is VL = L*di/dt.

Hope this helps to clarify the phenomenon!

Reply

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