TB6612 is a dual driver IC for DC motors from Toshiba. It comes in a SSOP package and is available as a DIY-friendly breakout board.
Since this chip has a MOS structure, it is sensitive to electrostatic discharge. Make sure you ground yourself before handling it.
Technical Specs
| Spec | Description |
|---|---|
| Supply Voltage | 2.7-5.5V |
| Supply Current | 1.1-2.2mA |
| Motor Output Voltage | 2.5-13.4V |
| Output Current | 1A (0.4A below 4.5V) |
| Output Peak Current | 2A/20ms at 20% duty cycle, 3.2A/10ms single pulse |
| Response Speed | 24-41ns |
| PWM Frequency | 100kHz |
| Shoot-Through Protection | high to low 50ns, low to high 230ns |
| Low Voltage Detection | 1.9V (2.2V recovery) |
| Thermal shutdown | 175C (20C hysteresis) |
Notes
TB6612 can be used with 3.3V and 5V microcontrollers. GPIOs can directly control the two motor control circuits.
The chip can switch loads of up to 1A at voltages between 4.5-13.4V, and up to 0.4A at voltages between 2.5-<4.5V. The chip by itself has a power dissipation of 0.78W.
Shoot-Through Protection
With any semiconductor-based change-over switch, it is important to prevent shoot-through situations that occur when for a short time, both MOSFet conduct, effectively producing a short circuit.
The TB6612 uses delays to prevent this: when switching mode pins from high to low, there is a 50ns delay, and when switching from low to high, there is a 230ns delay.
Note that these delays apply to mode changes only, i.e. when switching the motor control from clockwise to counter-clockwise direction. These delays do not apply to high and low levels at the motor output pins (and thus do not apply for PWM operation).
Modes
The TB6612 supports six different modes that are controlled by the motor control pins:
| Mode | AIN1 | AIN2 | BIN1 | BIN2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forward (Motor A) | high | low | ||
| Forward (Motor B) | high | low | ||
| Reverse (Motor A) | low | high | ||
| Reverse (Motor B) | low | high | ||
| Active Brake (Motor A) | high | high | ||
| Active Brake (Motor B) | high | high | ||
| Passive Stop (Motor A) | low | low | ||
| Passive Stop (Motor B) | low | low |
In addition, the speed can be controlled via a PWM signal.
When the STBY pin is low, the driver enters a low-power state, and both motors receive no current.
Materials
Comments
Please do leave comments below. I am using utteran.ce, an open-source and ad-free light-weight commenting system.
Here is how your comments are stored
Whenever you leave a comment, a new github issue is created on your behalf.
-
All comments become trackable issues in the Github Issues section, and I (and you) can follow up on them.
-
There is no third-party provider, no disrupting ads, and everything remains transparent inside github.
Github Users Yes, Spammers No
To keep spammers out and comments attributable, all you do is log in using your (free) github account and grant utteranc.es the permission to submit issues on your behalf.
If you don’t have a github account yet, go get yourself one - it’s free and simple.
If for any reason you do not feel comfortable with letting the commenting system submit issues for you, then visit Github Issues directly, i.e. by clicking the red button Submit Issue at the bottom of each page, and submit your issue manually. You control everything.
Discussions
For chit-chat and quick questions, feel free to visit and participate in Discussions. They work much like classic forums or bulletin boards. Just keep in mind: your valued input isn’t equally well trackable there.
(content created Aug 27, 2024)