AC inverter & VF drives

Design more efficient and reliable AC inverters and VF drives with our analog and embedded processing products

AC inverters are the industry's go-to product for sensor-less torque and speed-controlled applications. Whether you are designing AC inverters with energy class IES2 to help reduce our global energy footprint or AC inverters with high EMC immunity to reduce system downtime, our portfolio can support your design needs. Our industrial-graded products come with features enabling system efficiency and reliability such as, extended temperature range for high-efficiency power conversion, isolated current and voltage sensing, low latency real-time control, multi-protocol industrial communication and capacitive isolation technology.

Why choose TI for your AC inverter & VF drives systems?

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Enable accurate and reliable control

Our precise analog products and real-time microcontrollers allow for sensorless torque and speed control combined with advanced signal processing for accurate, real-time motor control.

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Maximize energy efficiency

Our power and real-time control products can help increase power density allowing for a smaller form factor, while achieving efficiency class IES2 with a smaller global energy footprint.

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Achieve high reliability and functional safety

Our technology for basic isolation and reinforced isolation, including drive-based safety functions, reduce the risk of unexpected and hazardous movement.

Engineering smarter, more energy efficient AC inverter & VF drives

Design efficient and reliable real-time control systems

Our single and multi-core microcontrollers (MCUs) with integrated real-time motor control peripherals, math accelerators, programmable real-time processors, and configurable logic blocks enable:

  • Hot-side and cold-side controlled architectures with low latency and high bandwidth chip-to-chip interface.
  • Accurate and robust sensorless torque and speed control.
  • Parallel execution of control, communication and predictive maintenance algorithms.
  • Less than 1us compute time for FOC and direct torque control to achieve highest energy efficiency class IES2 per IEC 61800-9. 
  • Single-chip MCU with integrated industrial communication and real-time control peripherals remove the need for external FPGA.
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Application note
Real-Time Benchmarks Showcasing C2000™ Control MCU's Optimized Signal Chain (Rev. A)
Learn about a real-time benchmark created around a real world control application that highlights the intricacies of real-time control and the need for this more comprehensive benchmarking approach.
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Application note
AM243x/AM64x Single Chip Motor Control Benchmark
Constant-speed drives are inherently inefficient. This application note demonstrates how the AM243x/AM64x devices' support a fully integrated real-time servo drive control and communication path needed to improve efficiency.
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Video series
C2000™ MCUs - Motor control training series
Learn more about our C2000™ MCU motor control in our 8-part video series.
Featured products for real-time control
AM2634 ACTIVE Quad-core Arm® Cortex®-R5F MCU up to 400 MHz with real-time control and security
AM6442 ACTIVE Dual-core 64-bit Arm® Cortex®-A53, quad-core Cortex-R5F, PCIe, USB 3.0 and security
TMS320F28388S ACTIVE C2000™ 32-bit MCU w/ connectivity manager, 1x C28x+CLA CPU, 1.0-MB flash, FPU64, CLB, ENET, EtherCAT

Create reliable and accurate torque 3-phase power stages with high efficiency

Explore our broad portfolio of isolated and non-isolated IGBT and SiC-FET gate drivers and high-efficiency power management products, enabling hot- and cold-side controlled 3-phase power stages with highest efficiency up to IES2 per IEC61800-9 standard.

Our accurate isolated current and voltage sensing products help you achieve sensorless control including advanced motor diagnostics for predictive maintenance. Use our isolation devices with increased lifetime and isolation ratings to help you meet IEC 61800-5-1 isolation requirements.

Analog Design Journal
Using isolated comparators for fault detection in electric motor drives
In this article, read more to learn about the priority level and impact of different fault events, along with how to detect them to prevent damage to motor-drive circuits.
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Analog Design Journal
Selecting amplifiers for shunt-based current sensing in 3-phase motor drives
Accurate phase-current sensing has a significant impact on the performance of vector controlled three-phase inverters for industrial motor drives. Read about how choosing the right amplifiers can help improve performance.
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E-book
IGBT & SiC Gate Driver Fundamentals
Read our e-book about IGBT and SiC power switch fundamentals, with chapters including isolated gate driver features and IGBT and SiC protection basics.
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Featured products for sensing and power conversion
UCC23513 ACTIVE 5.7kVrms, 4A/5A single-channel opto-compatible isolated gate driver with 8 & 12V UVLO options
UCC21732 ACTIVE 5.7kVrms, ±10A single-channel isolated gate driver with 2-level turn off for IGBT/SiC FETs
AMC1300 ACTIVE ±250-mV input, precision current sensing reinforced isolated amplifier

Meet IEC 61800-5-1 isolation requirements and enable more reliable motor drives with a long lifespan

  • Improve system performance and robustness: Our high-voltage certified isolated products offer low latency, excellent common-mode transient immunity and robust performance.
  • Lower system cost: Our isolation technologies reduce bill of materials, lowering system cost and enabling significant solution size improvements.
  • Scalability: Our packaging innovations and globally-owned manufacturing footprint help bring functional, basic, and reinforced isolation capabilities to more analog IC functions. 
White paper
Addressing High-Volt Design Challenges w/ Reliable and Affordable Isolation Tech (Rev. C)
This paper provides an overview of galvanic isolation, explains common isolation methods for high-voltage systems, and shows how our isolation ICs can help you meet isolation needs reliably while reducing solution size and cost.
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White paper
Enabling high voltage quality and reliability
This technical brief discusses in detail our capacitor based reinforced isolation for signaling, including extensive data from the device characterization and testing.
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Video
How high-voltage isolation technology works – capacitive structure
This video describes how TI's reinforced isolation technology works and takes a deeper dive into details on how the capacitors are structured. 
Featured products for isolation
ISO6760 ACTIVE General purpose, 50-Mbps, six-channel (6/0) digital isolator
ISO7821LLS ACTIVE Dual-channel, 1/1, 150-Mbps, high-performance, reinforced isolated LVDS buffer
ISO1211 ACTIVE Single-channel Isolated 24-V to 60-V digital input receiver for digital input modules

Wired real-time communication and interfaces

Most modern systems now come with communication interfaces which can create new challenges. We support a wide range of industrial communication standards – from EtherCAT and EtherNet/IP to Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), PROFINET and more – enabling connectivity and scalability to help meet the needs of current industry trends.

Supporting products include:

  • Integrated real-time Ethernet and absolute encoder protocols.
  • Integrated TSN functions.
  • Integrated functional safety capabilities to support functional safety over industrial Ethernet, including encoders (FSoE, PROFIsafe, HDSL safety), and programmable logic to support custom interfaces and communication protocols.
Application note
Industrial Communication Protocols Supported on Sitara™ Processors (Rev. E)
This application report shows the industrial communication protocols supported by each of the devices in the Sitara™ MCU+ and Sitara Arm® Cortex®-A processor portfolio, as well as where and how to get these protocols.
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Video
 Low latency vs. low, deterministic latency Ethernet in real-time communications
To get the most out of your system, it is important to understand the difference between low latency and determinism. Watch this video to learn more.
Technical article
Utilizing Sitara™ processors and microcontrollers for Industry 4.0 servo drives
This article explores how our Sitara microcontrollers (MCUs) and processors (MPUs) address servo drive market trends and new requirements of Industry 4.0 and smart factory systems.
Featured products for industrial communication
AM2434 ACTIVE Quad-core Arm® Cortex®-R5F-based MCU with industrial communications and security up to 800 MHz
DP83826E ACTIVE Low latency 10/100-Mbps PHY with MII interface and enhanced mode
ISO1450 ACTIVE EMC protected, 50-Mbps, half-duplex, 5-kVrms isolated RS-485 & RS-422 transceiver

Meet the rigorous requirements of functional safety standards IEC 61800-5-2 and ISO 13849

Our Functional Safety-Compliant products leverage our TÜV SÜD-certified functional safety hardware and software development processes that helps you achieve the highest Safety Integrity Level and Performance Level your motor drive design requires to create safer and efficient environments.

Our integrated products and TÜV-assessed designs help you design smaller, smarter and more reliable safety functions such as Safe Torque Off (STO).

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Technical article
Implementing STO functionality with diagnostic and monitoring for industrial motor drives
Learn about how motor drives are an integral part of industrial and automation processes, wher these processes often involve the control of machinery, for which safety is always a concern.
Technical article
The state of functional safety in Industry 4.0
This white paper will focus on what functional safety means for processors in factory floor automation subsystems and explore some of the options to enable functional safety.
Blog
How to keep your motor running safely
With the dramatic increase in the number of electric motors, concerns over power efficiency have driven system designers to use higher-voltage motors and increase the effective power efficiency of their designs. 
Featured products for functional safety
UCC21750 ACTIVE 5.7kVrms ±10A, single-channel isolated gate driver w/ DESAT & internal miller clamp for IGBT/SiCFETs
TPS2660 ACTIVE 4.2-V to 60-V, 150mΩ, 0.1-2.23A eFuse with integrated input reverse polarity protection
TPS22919 ACTIVE 5.5-V, 1.5-A, 90-mΩ load switch with adj. output discharge

Reference designs related to AC inverter & VF drives

Use our reference design selection tool to find designs that best match your application and parameters.

Technical resources

Video series
Video series
TI Precision Labs - Isolation
Develop your isolation expertise by learning essential isolation parameters, certifications and how to design and troubleshoot with each type of device.
Application note
Application note
Is Your IGBT Gate-Driver Power Supply Optimized
This application report discusses the theory and requirements of gate-drive power supply for IGBTs. It also discusses the isolation requirements and calculation of correct amount of IGBT drive power.
document-pdfAcrobat PDF
Technical article
Technical article
How to design with isolated LVDS in your industrial system
With so many different isolation products to choose from, read more about how to design with isolated low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS) devices.
document-pdfAcrobat PDF