If you’ve ever wrestled with a failing hydraulic steering pump, you'll appreciate the shift to Electric Power Steering (EPS). With EPS, energy is only used when you turn the wheel—goodbye to parasitic losses and fluid leaks. But while EPS solves one problem, it introduces another: how to manage power, heat, and control in a compact, high-reliability system that needs to react in milliseconds.

That’s where onsemi steps in, offering a silicon-rich solution stack designed to power, protect, and optimize modern EPS architectures.

MOSFETs Made for Motion

At the core of onsemi’s EPS portfolio is their T10 MOSFET series, built for both 12V and 48V systems. These aren’t your average FETs—they’re optimized for high-efficiency BLDC motor control, with low R_DS(ON), gate charge under 10 nC, and robust protection against reverse polarity and overcurrent. The devices are tailored for pulse-width-modulated (PWM) operation under rapidly changing load conditions—essential for precision steering.

To handle automotive stress, the T10 series incorporates shielded-gate trench tech and wafer thinning to improve thermal and electrical efficiency. A built-in soft-recovery diode cuts down on EMI and voltage overshoot, reducing the risk of damaging noise in sensitive environments.

Cooling Trick: Flip the Heat Path

Power-dense EPS systems generate heat, and traditional PCB cooling just doesn't cut it. Enter TCPAK57, onsemi’s Top Cool packaging. With a 5x7 mm footprint and a 16.5 mm² thermal pad on the top side, this package lets you sink heat directly from the top, bypassing the board. That’s more watts in less space—without frying your FR4.

Gate Drivers with Brains and Brakes

Controlling the motor is only half the job—protecting it is the other. onsemi’s gate drivers like the FAD3151MXA and FAD3171MXA bring serious protection features: desaturation detection, soft shutdown, and support for up to 110V. If something goes wrong—say, a sudden disconnect under load—they shut things down without blowing up the MOSFETs.

Need a classic half-bridge driver? The NCV51511/13 series handles both high- and low-side operation with internal dead-time, interlock protection, and enough drive current to flip even beefy power FETs.

Know Your Current, Control Your Torque

On the sensing side, precision matters. Torque and speed regulation depend on accurate current feedback, and onsemi’s NCV21x, NCV2167x, and NCV703x amplifiers deliver. Featuring ultra-low offset, zero-drift design, and tolerance for up to 80V common-mode voltage, these amps hold their accuracy across the automotive temperature range. They're rail-to-rail, compact, and miserly with power—great for cramped ECU designs.

One Vendor, All the Brains and Brawn

Rather than cobble together a power stage from half a dozen vendors, onsemi offers a vertically integrated EPS solution—MOSFETs, drivers, sense amps, and thermal management—all engineered to work together. For automotive designers chasing reliability, efficiency, and ADAS-level response time, that’s a compelling package.

Got your own EPS control board project or retrofitting an old column? This level of integration might just spark your next build—or save your next board spin.

Read more: Onsemi’s MOSFET-Based Solution for Electric Power Steering (EPS) System Optimization