Current limiting protection circuitry has been incorporated into the design of the LMD18200. With any power device it is important to consider the effects of the substantial surge currents through the device that may occur as a result of shorted loads. The protection circuitry monitors this increase in current (the threshold is set to approximately 10 Amps) and shuts off the power device as quickly as possible in the event of an overload condition. In a typical motor driving application the most common overload faults are caused by shorted motor windings and locked rotors. Under these conditions the inductance of the motor (as well as any series inductance in the V_CC supply line) serves to reduce the magnitude of a current surge to a safe level for the LMD18200. Once the device is shut down, the control circuitry will periodically try to turn the power device back on. This feature allows the immediate return to normal operation in the event that the fault condition has been removed. While the fault remains however, the device will cycle in and out of thermal shutdown. This can create voltage transients on the V_CC supply line and therefore proper supply bypassing techniques are required.

The most severe condition for any power device is a direct, hard-wired (“screwdriver”) long term short from an output to ground. This condition can generate a surge of current through the power device on the order of 15 Amps and require the die and package to dissipate up to 500 Watts of power for the short time required for the protection circuitry to shut off the power device. This energy can be destructive, particularly at higher operating voltages (>30V) so some precautions are in order. Proper heat sink design is essential and it is normally necessary to heat sink the V_CC supply pin (pin 6) with 1 square inch of copper on the PCB.