Hello!
My customer is designing with the DRV8850 and has asked an interesting question regarding whether or not external protection would be required on OUT1 and OUT2 whenever the pins are in Hi-Z mode. In their application, it is possible that the motor could briefly act as a generator when their system is asleep (OUT1/2 in Hi-Z). When this occurs, they have measured 10-12V across the motor terminals which obviously violates the +7V absolute maximum specification. Should diode clamps to VCC be added to protect OUT1/2 or are they inherently protected because of their Hi-Z state?
Thank you!
Chris