Normally, the defined requirements for a Quad or Octal Driver
are very much affected by the type of protection circuits used on
the chip. Fault protection for an open or shorted load is an interactive
function, making it important in the decision process of
specifying the proper IC for an application. The various types of
on-chip features may include protection for over-current, overvoltage
and over-temperature. The response action to a fault
condition may be either limiting or shutdown. Shutdown methods
may include hysteresis and may require a logic reset. On-chip
clamp diodes provide current steering to an external zener diode
clamp as over-voltage protection from inductive switching pulses.
Internal Zener diodes are also used to limit the output voltage on
the output driver of the IC. In addition, fault detection is available
with diagnostic feedback, including serial bus (SPI) control. All of
the protection features noted are represented in the Table 1 listing
of Quad and Octal Low Side Drivers: