The primary goal of a two-wheeler traction inverter system is to drive the traction motor which is typically a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) type or a brushless DC type of motor. Several important design considerations determine the overall functionality and performance of the traction system. At a high level, these include the choice of microcontroller, power stage design, gate driver, motor position sensing, and auxiliary power supply structure.

At the heart of the system is the microcontroller that executes the motor control algorithms and additional high-level functions including communications and protection logic. The TIDM-02017 features the C2000™ real-time control MCU. To address a usual requirement in mid- to high-end two-wheelers, TIDM-02017 software demonstrates the ability of the C2000™ MCU to run an RTOS such as a freeRTOS port on the main C28x CPU and independently running the field-oriented motor control algorithm on the CLA.

For the power stage, each switch of the six-switch inverter consists of four power MOSFETs connected in parallel to increase the ampacity of the inverter. The layout of the surface mount MOSFETs minimizes power loop inductance and allows bottom-side cooling of the power board. To provide efficient operation of the inverter with reasonably short turn-on and turn-off times of the switches, the DRV3255 integrated gate driver with 3.5-A source, 4.5-A sink capability is used. The DRV3255 is a highly-integrated driver with adjustable drive strength capability and a range of diagnostic, monitoring, and protection features for robust system operation. The 90-V DC bus transient capability also makes the design robust against large transient conditions during motor operation.

The inverter measures 279 mm × 291 mm × 115 mm for a total volume of 9.3 L and a power density of up to 32.25 kW/L.