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Maxim › Design › Technical Documents › Tutorials › Sensors › 1784

TUTORIALS 1784
FAN-SPEED REGULATORS

Abstract: Temperature-based fan control is a necessity in a growing number of systems,

both to reduce system noise and to improve fan reliability. When fan control is augmented
by fan-speed monitoring, a speed-control loop can be implemented that is independent of
manufacturing variances and wear on the fan. In addition, a fan that is about to fail can be
identified so that it can be replaced before it fails. This document discusses the operation of
the MAX6650 and MAX6651, two fan controllers with linear closed-loop fan speed control.
A similar version of this article appearedByinusing
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September 28, 2000 issue of EDN.
See all Fan Controller ICs
Introduction
Related Products
As IC designers strive to put more transistors
running at higher speeds into smaller packages, MAX1669
there can be only one outcome: heat! Couple Fan Controller and Remote
this with the fact that these high-power ICs are Temperature Sensor with SMBus
being designed into ever-shrinking boxes, and Serial Interface
you end up with a real thermal management
problem. For many applications, this means MAX4051/MAX4052/MAX4053 and
using fans. Unfortunately with fan use comes the MAX4051A/MAX4052A/MAX4053A
usual fan headaches of mechanical failures, Low-Voltage, CMOS Analog
increased power consumption, and more noise. Multiplexers/Switches
Fan speed control and monitoring can ease MAX6501–MAX6504A
some of these headaches, resulting in quieter, Low-Cost, +2.7V to +5.5V,
more reliable fans that use less power. Micropower Temperature Switches
in SOT23
Brushless DC Fans MAX6625, MAX6626
Before we get into the subject of regulating and 9-Bit/12-Bit Temperature Sensors
monitoring fans, we first need to understand the with I²C-Compatible Serial
fans themselves. Brushless DC fans tend to be Interface in a SOT23
the solution of choice for most electronic
MAX6650, MAX6651
enclosures. These fans couple high reliability
Fan-Speed Regulators and
with ease of use. The basic DC brushless fan is
Monitors with SMBus/I²C-
a 2-wire device over which a DC voltage is
Compatible Interface
applied. That is all it takes. The simplest
approach to system cooling is to connect a fan
to a DC power supply and let it run. A quick
glance at fan catalogs reveals that fans
operating at a nominal 5V, 12V, 24V, or 48V are
available. Currently, 12V fans seem to be the
most widely used. As more systems are
designed without a 12V power supply, 5V fans
will likely become more prevalent. In telecom
applications, 48V fans are especially popular.

Brushless DC fans are called "brushless"

because the electric motor within the fan is
commutated electronically. Older DC fans used
mechanical brushes, which can cause increased
electromagnetic interference (EMI) along withthis website, I accept the use of cookies. Learn More
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dust particles due to mechanical wear
throughout the system. Over time, the fan would
wear and eventually fail. Brushless fans have
replaced these mechanical brushes with
electronic sensors and switches that now
perform the necessary commutation. This
commutation circuitry is mounted within the fan
itself and is totally transparent to the user. The
end result is a simple-to-use, reliable, 2-wire
device. This has greatly increased the lifetime
and the reliability of these fans.

To the end user, DC brushless fans are fairly

simple to characterize electrically. As the DC
voltage applied to the fan is varied, its speed
and current draw also vary. To a first order,
speed and current are directly proportional to the
DC voltage applied. See Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 1. Fan current versus fan voltage (12V-

rated fans).

Figure 2. Fan speed versus fan voltage (12V-

rated fans).
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Although brushless commutation has gone a
long way in increasing the lifetime and the
reliability of fans, they are still mechanical
devices and prone to mechanical wear and
failure. Over time, fan speed and therefore
cooling efficiency can slowly degrade or fail
completely. This is why it can be important to
continuously monitor the condition of the fan.
Most fan manufactures offer a variety of ways to
do this. These options fall into roughly two
categories: alarm sensors and speed sensors.
Alarm sensors typically give a digital signal
indicating that the fan has fallen below some
threshold of speed or has stopped altogether. As
one example, ebm-papst Inc. offers an option
that generates a series of low-going digital
pulses whenever the speed of the fan drops to
75% to 85% of its nominal speed. NMB
Technologies offers a slightly different option that
it calls a "Locked Rotor Alarm Signal." This
signal goes high whenever the fan stops
spinning completely.

Manufacturers also offer fans with speed

sensors that give a digital output whose
frequency is proportional to the fan speed. The
most common speed sensor gives two pulses
per revolution. Depending on the manufacturer
and the options offered, both speed and alarm
sensors can be ordered with either open-
collector or internally pulled-up outputs.
Internally pulled-up outputs can be TTL-
compatible or can swing the full supply voltage
of the fan. Figure 3 shows the output stages
available from ebm-papst Inc. It is important to
note that the alarm and speed sensors share the
same supply voltage as the motor and its
commutation electronics. Any changes in supply
voltage to control the speed of the fan will also
affect the commutation electronics and the
speed/alarm sensors.
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Figure 3a. This speed-sensor output is an open

collector with a weak pullup resistor, and not
necessarily TTL-compatible.

Figure 3b. The zener diode connected to this

speed-sensor output ensures TTL compatibility.

Figure 3c. This open-collector speed-sensor

output allows maximum flexibility at the minor
expense of an external pullup resistor.

Why Use Speed Control?

When a fan is selected for an application, it must
be designed for worst-case conditions. This
means selecting a fan that can move enough air
to keep the system sufficiently cool, even with
worst-case ambient temperature, power
dissipation, fan production tolerances, and fan
aging. The reality of the situation is that thethis website, I accept the use of cookies. Learn More
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system will spend most of its time well under
worst-case conditions. At this point, it should be
obvious that under most conditions, fan speed
can be reduced without adverse effects on the
system and increased only when conditions
demand it. Not so obvious is why bother then
with fan speed control?

Reduced Audible Noise

One of the most immediately noticeable

advantages of fan speed control comes in the
form of relief for your ears. Fans running at full
speed can be a significant source of annoyance,
especially for equipment used in quiet office
environments. Most offices are usually at a
temperature significantly less than electronic
equipment is designed to operate up to, which
means fan speed can be reduced without
adverse effects, much to the relief of everyone
within hearing distance.

Reduced Power Consumption

Applications such as laptops will benefit from

reduced power consumption. Figure 4 shows
typical power consumption versus fan speed for
three different fans. Power consumption can be
approximated as a square of the fan's speed. In
the case of the Nidec fan in Figure 4, reducing
the fan speed to 69% of its nominal at 12V cuts
power consumption in half.
Figure 4. Power consumption versus fan speed.
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Increased Lifetime

Reducing fan speed also decreases the wear on

the fan. Fan wear is a rough function of the
absolute number of revolutions of the fan.
Reduced wear translates into increased lifetimes
and therefore greater mean time between
failures (MTBFs). Because fans are mechanical,
they tend to be one of the more common failures
in a system. Anything that can be done to
improve the MTBF for a fan will also cause a
significant increase of MTBF in the end
equipment. This can be especially important in
systems such as servers and networking
equipment.

Reduced Clogging

As anyone who has opened up old equipment

knows, dust seems to be attracted to
electronics, especially in systems with fans. As
dust collects at the inlet and the exhausts of
systems with fans, airflow can diminish or be
stopped altogether. This, of course, can result in
decreased cooling and higher temperatures.
Reduced fan speed can lessen the rate at which
systems collect this dust, thus extending the
system's life.

Methods of Speed Control

Now that we better understand DC brushless
fans, their available options, and the benefits of
speed control, we will look at three methods of
controlling speed. Each method offers a trade-off
when it comes to cost versus performance.

Direct PWM

Pulse-width modulating (PWM) the fan directly

involves turning the fan's power supply on and
off at a fixed frequency. Duty-cycle adjustments
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are made to control the speed of the fan. The
larger the duty cycle, the faster the fan spins.
Choosing the appropriate frequency for this
method can be somewhat tricky. If the frequency
of the PWM signal is too slow, the fan's speed
will noticeably oscillate within a PWM cycle. To
illustrate this point, take the ridiculous extreme
of a 50% duty-cycle, 0.01Hz drive signal. The
fan will spin to full speed during the first 50
seconds and then stop within the next 50
seconds. The frequency can also be too high, as
commutation is done electronically using circuits
that are powered off the fan's plus and minus
terminals. Using PWM with the fan and therefore
the internal commutation electronics too quickly
can cause the internal commutation electronics
to cease functioning correctly. Remember that
these electronics were not designed to run on
anything but DC supplies. Thus, useful
frequencies range from 20Hz to 160Hz. In
addition, the PWM rise and fall times must be
sufficiently slow to ensure long-term reliability of
the fan.

As with all things, applying PWM directly has its

advantages and disadvantages. The advantages
include a very simple drive circuit (see Figures
8a and 8b), good startup characteristics, and
minimal heat dissipation in the pass transistor.
The disadvantages involve increased stress on
the fan and the inability to use speed or alarm
sensors. Note that speed and alarm sensors are
powered off the same supply voltage as the
motor. Because the supply voltage is being
powered on and off at a 20Hz to 160Hz rate, the
speed and alarm circuitry is also being powered
up and down, effectively rendering the speed
and alarm sensors useless.

During PWM control, the voltage applied to the

fan is either its rated voltage (12V in the case of
a 12V fan) or 0V. However, because theByfan usingisthis website, I accept the use of cookies. Learn More
spinning at something less than its rated speed
(remember, that is the whole idea), its back EMF
is reduced. This causes higher-than-nominal
current flow through the windings during the on
period of the PWM cycle. Although fans are
designed to handle increased currents, such as
during startup, heightened currents at 30 times
per second for the life of the fan can entail
negative reliability issues. But even with these
negatives, PWM control can be the appropriate
solution in low-cost noncritical applications.

Linear Regulation

As the term implies, "linear regulation" adjusts

the DC voltage across the fan by using a linear
regulator. When using this method, it is
important to make sure the fan is specified to
operate over a wide range of voltages. One
major advantage linear regulation has over
PWM is that it allows the use of speed and
alarm sensors. Unfortunately, linear regulation
also has its drawbacks: mainly power dissipation
in the pass element, as well as startup and
stalling issues.

Linear regulators control the DC voltage across

the fan. They do this by dissipating power in the
form of heat. It probably seems silly to generate
heat in order to cool something down. But it is
not as ridiculous as you might think. During
maximum and minimum cooling, power
dissipation will ideally be zero. During maximum
cooling, the pass element is fully on, so the
voltage across it is nearly zero. Zero volts
means zero power dissipation. During minimum
cooling, the pass element is off (zero current
flows), so again power dissipation is zero. As
previously discussed, the current draw of the fan
can be approximated as a linear function of the
voltage applied, making it look resistive. With
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occurs roughly when the voltage across the fan
is one-half its maximum operating voltage. See
Figure 5. This means worst-case power
dissipation in the pass element can be estimated
by the following equation: P = 1/4(VMAX × IMAX),
where IMAX and VMAX are the rated voltages and
currents of the fan, respectively. For example, a
1.2W fan (12V at 98mA) will have worst-case
power dissipation across the pass element of
only 300mW when running at 6V with a 12V
supply. It is comforting to note that maximum
heat dissipation in the fan circuit occurs during
minimal cooling requirements. Also, even though
a power-dissipating device is being used, there
is still an overall power savings when fan speed
is reduced. See Figure 6.

Figure 5. Power dissipation in a linear-regulator

pass element versus fan supply voltage.

Figure 6. Total power consumption of a linearly

regulated fan circuit.

Startup and stall issues are related. Fans require

a certain voltage before they will start. This is
called "startup voltage." Once a fan is already
spinning, decreasing the voltage below the stall
voltage will cause the fan to stop. The startup
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stall voltage. Typically they are 25% to 50% of
the rated voltage for the fan. When linear
regulation is used without speed monitoring,
there is no way of knowing if a fan has stalled or
even started.

There are several solutions to this problem. One

is to prevent voltages across the fan from going
lower than the startup voltage. Although this is
easily accomplished in software, selecting the
correct voltage to ensure proper startup for all
fans and accounting for aging can limit the
useful range of speed control. You might have to
choose a minimum worst-case voltage of 60%
nominal to make sure all fans will start. This can
be wasteful, considering that the average fan
might easily be controlled down to 40%. Another
solution is to use a fan with a tachometer. The
tachometer can now be monitored by a
microcontroller, allowing software to know when
a fan has not started or if it has stalled. Although
this method is significantly more robust and less
wasteful, it requires design time and additional
hardware/software resources.

DC-DC Regulation

DC-DC regulation is similar to linear regulation

in that it controls the speed of the fan by
adjusting the DC voltage across it. However,
unlike a linear regulator, a DC-DC regulator uses
a switch-mode power supply. Because both
methods control speed by adjusting the DC
voltage, both tend to have the same advantages
and disadvantages. The one exception,
however, is that DC-DC regulators are ideally
100% efficient and do not generate any heat
(real-world efficiencies tend to be around 75% to
95%). The penalty for this efficiency is increased
cost and complexity (see Figures 8e and 8f).
Even though DC-DC regulators tend to be more
efficient, at full fan speeds there will be By
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power savings (see Figure 7). Real gains from
the use of DC-DC regulators occur only when
fan speeds are reduced from their maximum.
Maximum efficiency benefits occur when the
voltage across the fan is one-half of the
maximum available voltage. This occurs for the
same reason that linear regulators dissipate
their maximum at the same one-half of the
supply voltage. Because of the increased cost
and complexity of DC-DC converters and the
limited power savings, DC-DC regulators are
usually reserved for battery-powered systems or
systems that use high-power fans or a large
number of fans. As always, with all DC-DC
converters, care must be taken during layout.

Figure 7. Total power consumption of the Nidec

TA225 12V fan plus drive circuitry.

High-Side versus Low-Side Drive

All three methods above can be designed using

a high-side or low-side drive transistor (see
Figure 8). High-side drive requires slightly more
complex circuitry due to level translation, but it
has the advantage of keeping the fan's negative
terminal at ground. Therefore, speed and alarm
sensors are now ground-referenced and it is
easier to interface to them.
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Figure 8b. PWM drive,

Figure 8a. PWM drive,
high side.
low side.

Figure 8d. Linear

Figure 8c. Linear
regulation, high side.
regulation, low side.

Figure 8f. DC-DC

Figure 8e. DC-DC
mode, high side.
mode, low side.

Contrastingly, low-side drive does not require a

level translator for the drive transistor, but will
need some type of translation for speed and
alarm sensors. With a low-side drive transistor,
the positive terminal of the fan is kept at a
constant 12V (assuming a 12V fan), while the
negative terminal of the fan is adjusted up and
down to control speed. Unfortunately, speed and
alarm sensors share the fan's negative terminal
and get adjusted along with fan speed, resulting
in the need for level translation.
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Speed Control Without a Tachometer

Figures 9 and 10 give two examples of fan

circuits designed for systems that do not require
an alarm or speed sensor. In Figure 9, the
MAX1669 is configured to drive the fan in PWM
mode. Figure 10 shows the MAX1669
configured for DC linear mode.

The MAX1669 is both a temperature sensor and

a fan controller.

Figure 9. The MAX1669 drives the fan in PWM

mode.

Figure 10. The MAX1669 configured for DC

linear mode.

These two blocks work independently from each

other and are intended for use with a
microcontroller. Communication between the
MAX1669 and the microcontroller is doneByvia anthis website, I accept the use of cookies. Learn More
using
SMBus-compatible interface. The SMB interface
is a 2-wire serial interface, which is very similar
to and usually backward-compatible with the I²C
interface.

The MAX1669 reports external temperatures

using a remotely mounted diode. Figures 9 and
10 show a MAX1669 using a 2N3906 connected
as this diode. A similar diode is sometimes
included on the die of some ICs. An example is
the Virtex® family of parts. These devices have
two pins labeled DXN and DXP. Connecting the
MAX1669 directly to these pins permits it to
measure die temperature directly. This allows
the fan circuit to control a particular IC's die
temperature more tightly. It also eliminates
worries about mounting temperature sensors to
IC packages, thermal time constants, and
having to do thermal resistance calculations.

This circuit (and others discussed) either runs as

open or closed loop with respect to temperature.
When running as open loop, the temperature
sensor measures ambient temperature by
mounting the sensor at the inlet of the unit. As
the ambient temperature rises, fan speed is
increased under software control. In this
configuration, increasing or decreasing the fan
speed will ideally have no effect on the
measured temperature. Thus, the system has no
form of thermal feedback and is open loop.
Because it is open loop, there are no stability
issues, resulting in a simpler software design.
However, there is no direct way of knowing the
actual temperature of the components that need
to be cooled. If cooling efficiency is reduced due
to partially clogged inlets or fan aging, for
example, this type of control would have no way
of knowing and therefore compensating for it.
This means the system must be designed so
that the fans spin faster than what is required,
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Placing the temperature sensor in a location that

the fan is designed to cool forms a closed-loop
system. Increasing the fan's speed results in a
drop of the measured temperature. This now
requires attention to stability issues. Such
attention leads to longer development time and
greater software complexity, but rewards you
with a direct and tighter control of your heat
source. Now fan speed can be regulated at the
minimum speed necessary to keep critical
components below a predetermined
temperature. In addition, there will be automatic
compensation for problems such as partially
clogged inlets and outlets. In both cases, the
hardware design is the same. The only
difference is the placement of the temperature
sensor and the software code.

Speed Control with a Tachometer

The above circuits work well in lower-end

systems where we are not overly concerned with
reliability. However, in systems in which we
place a premium on reliability, these circuits can
fall short. In the case of open-loop temperature
control, the system has no way to detect any
type of fan failure. Elevated temperatures in
closed-loop control can be used as an
indication, yet there is still room for
improvement. Elevated temperatures indicate a
system problem, but cannot distinguish between
clogged inlets and outlets, high ambient
temperatures, excessive internal heat
dissipation, or fan failures. In addition, as heat is
the main indication of problems, it may take a
while before these problems are noticed, due to
slow thermal response. An example would be a
pencil suddenly getting stuck in the fan. It may
take several minutes before the temperature
rises high enough for the problem to be flagged.
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Tachometer outputs (speed sensors) can
address these issues. Figure 11 shows a circuit
that uses a fan with a tachometer. The
MAX6625 measures the temperature and
reports it to the microcontroller via an I²C-
compatible 2-wire interface. The same 2-wire
interface issues commands to the MAX6650,
which controls the speed of the fan. The
MAX6650 has all the necessary level translation
and hardware to interface with the fan's open-
collector tachometer. Fan speed can be read
over the SMBus-compatible interface as a byte-
wide integer.

Figure 11. The MAX6650 interfaces to fans with

tachometer outputs to monitor and control fan
speed. The MAX6625 can be connected to the
same I²C-compatible bus to monitor
temperature.

The MAX6650 can work as a fan-speed

controller or a fan-speed regulator. The
difference is a subtle but important one. A fan
speed controller controls the voltage across the
fan and therefore indirectly controls its speed. A
fan speed regulator actually measures and
regulates the speed of the fan using its
tachometer. When the MAX6650 is used as a
fan speed controller, a microcontroller reads the
temperature from the MAX6625 and the fan
speed from the MAX6650 via the SMBus-
compatible interface. The microcontroller thenthis website, I accept the use of cookies. Learn More
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issues DAC codes to the MAX6650. These DAC
codes directly control the voltage across the fan
and thus indirectly control its speed. The
microcontroller must then constantly read the
fan speed via the MAX6650 and make
adjustments to the DAC to keep the fan's speed
in regulation. This becomes especially important
around the startup and stall speeds of the fan.

When the MAX6650 is configured as a fan

speed regulator, the microcontroller issues
speed commands. The MAX6650 automatically
monitors and adjusts the speed of the fan to
keep it within regulation. Once a desired speed
is written, no further involvement by the
microcontroller is required. This reduces
software overhead significantly. If the MAX6650
cannot maintain the desired speed, it can
generate an alarm in the form of an interrupt to
the microcontroller.

Similar to the circuits in Figures 9 and 10, the

circuits in Figure 11 and Figure 12 can be made
to run in temperature open- or closed-loop
systems. It is important to note that in a
temperature closed-loop system, there are now
two closed loops: one for temperature regulation
and the other for fan speed regulation. Additional
care must be taken to prevent stability issues.

Because fan control typically relies on a

microcontroller, it also depends on software.
Software can exhibit many types of problems,
including loops of an infinite variety. In PC-based
systems, viruses can even intentionally cause
problems. Such problems can require some type
of backup to prevent damage. Figure 12 shows
such a backup.
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Figure 12. Adding a MAX6501 temperature

switch to the circuit in Figure 11 provides a fail-
safe temperature backup that works
independent of software.

The MAX6501 is a small, inexpensive, digital-

output temperature sensor. When the
temperature rises above a certain threshold, its
output pulls low. The MAX6650 can be
configured to monitor its general-purpose
input/output (GPIO1) pin so that when it gets
pulled low, the device will automatically turn the
fan on full speed. This will happen independently
of commands issued via software. By
strategically placing the MAX6501 in critical
areas, problems can be avoided. It is interesting
to note that this type of backup protection not
only will protect against software problems but
also against less likely primary temperature-
sensor failure and microcontroller-hardware
failure. Because the MAX6501 has an open-
collector output, multiple devices can be tied
together and mounted in several places within
the unit. This allows multiple critical locations to
be protected at once.

Multiple Fans Controlled as a Group

Figure 13 is a variation of Figure 11. It is

sometimes desirable to control multiple fans as
a single group. Figure 13 shows the MAX6651
controlling three fans as one unit. The MAX6651
is similar to the MAX6650, but has additional
GPIOs and tachometer-monitoring inputs. As all
three fans are run in parallel, independentByspeed
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regulation of each fan is not possible. One fan
must be chosen as a master, around which any
speed regulation loop is closed. When in
regulation mode, the MAX6651 closes the speed
loop around the fan connected to TACH0. When
the MAX6651 is used as a fan speed controller,
the microcontroller can close the loop around
any one of the fans. Although the MAX6651
does not directly regulate the speed of the
remaining fans, they will tend to run at similar
speeds if identical fans are used. To ensure that
the unregulated fans are working properly, the
MAX6651 allows the microcontroller to read the
speed of each fan via the SMBus-compatible
interface. This way, if any one fan drops out of
tolerance, the user can be flagged. The
MAX6651 can directly interface to up to four
fans.

Figure 13. The MAX6651 controls three fans as

one unit.

Figure 14 shows how to use an analog

multiplexer to monitor more than four fans.
GPIO2, GPIO3, and GPIO4 are configured as
outputs. These bits can be toggled via the
SMBus-compatible interface to control which
fan's tachometer gets connected to the TACH3
input.
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Figure 14. This diagram shows how to use an

analog multiplexer to monitor more than four
fans.

N+1 and Hot-Swap Application

When a problem does occur with a fan,

appropriate action needs to be taken.
Sometimes shutting the system down to prevent
damage is all that is required. However, in
systems that need to minimize downtime, this is
not a very attractive option. Figure 15 shows an
application allowing systems to continue to run
even during a fan failure. This circuit uses a
technique commonly called N+1. N+1 is the
practice of using one more fan than is actually
needed under worst-case conditions. This allows
sufficient cooling to occur if any one fan fails. In
addition, all fans should be placed on separate
cards and designed so they can be hot-swapped
in and out. This allows a bad fan to be removed
and replaced while the unit is running,
preventing any downtime.
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Figure 15. When used in an N+1 application, the

MAX6651 can be configured to automatically run
all good fans at full speed if one should fail. Also
shown is how to configure the circuit to allow for
hot swapping.

Under most circumstances, more fans are

running than are actually required, so reducing
fan speed becomes even more relevant.
However, in the event of a fan failure, the
remaining fans need to spin at maximum speed.
Also, the user needs to be notified to remove
and replace the bad fan.

In Figure 15, the MAX6651s are configured via

the SMBus-compatible interface to generate a
logic low on GPIO0 whenever they cannot
maintain their requested fan speeds. These
outputs (which are open-drain with internal
pullups) are tied together. Thus, any one of the
three fans that cannot be maintained at the
desired speed (due to failure) will cause this line
to go low. This same line is then tied to all the
GPIO1 pins. These pins are configured as inputs
that will turn their respective fans on full speed
when a logic low is applied. This way, a fan
failure automatically results in all fans spinning
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at full speed. Another benefit is that no
involvement is required from the microcontroller.

It may be desirable for the microcontroller to be

interrupted whenever a problem occurs. This is
easily accomplished by connecting GPIO0 to the
interrupt pin, as shown. By doing this, the
microcontroller can now determine which fan
has failed by reading their speeds via the
SMBus-compatible interface. With this
knowledge, it can flag the user to replace the
appropriate fan. GPIO2 of the MAX6651 can be
read via the SMBus-compatible interface (or
through an input pin on the microcontroller if
available) to detect when a fan is removed or
plugged in.

Synchronizing Fans

Systems that use multiple fans can experience

an additional source of noise irritation due to
beat frequencies between fans. Similar to the
effect experienced in multiple-engine airplanes,
two fans that are spinning at slightly different
speeds will cause a beating noise. The
frequency of the noise is related to the
difference in speed. This effect can be subtle
and is usually not a concern when it comes to
most units. However, with higher-end systems,
we may want to get rid of as much noise
irritation as possible. The obvious solution is to
spin the fans at exactly the same speed. Figure
16 shows an application doing just that.
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Figure 16. With this application, the MAX6651s

are configured to use the same oscillator,
minimizing any speed variations between fans.
This lessens beating noises found in multiple fan
systems.

The main problem with trying to get independent

fans to spin at the same speed is that each
MAX6651 has its own time base (oscillator
frequency). These time bases are accurate
enough to control fan speeds individually, but
not accurate enough to prevent beating from
occurring in multiple-fan systems. By configuring
all the MAX6651s to use the same oscillator, this
source of error is eliminated. To facilitate this,
the MAX6651 can configure its GPIO2 pin to
function as either an oscillator input or output.
By configuring the first MAX6651 as a clock
output and the rest as clock inputs, they will all
run off the same frequency. Now with all parts
running with the same clock, tight speed
tolerances are achievable.
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Fan speed control is useful for increasing the

reliability, reducing the power consumption, and
decreasing the noise of systems. Many different
circuits and options can be selected in terms of
trade-off in price and performance. This article
provides some insight and possible solutions
regarding various issues that have to do with
implementing such control.

Part Selection Links

Fan Controller ICs

Temperature Switch ICs (Thermostats)

Local Temperature Sensors

Related Parts

MAX4053A Low-Voltage, CMOS Analog Multiplexers/Switches

MAX4053 Low-Voltage, CMOS Analog Multiplexers/Switches Free Sample

MAX4052A Low-Voltage, CMOS Analog Multiplexers/Switches

MAX4052 Low-Voltage, CMOS Analog Multiplexers/Switches Free Sample

MAX4051A Low-Voltage, CMOS Analog Multiplexers/Switches

MAX6504 Low-Cost, +2.7V to +5.5V, Micropower Temperature Free Sample

Switches in SOT23

MAX6503 Low-Cost, +2.7V to +5.5V, Micropower Temperature Free Sample

Switches in SOT23

MAX6502 Low-Cost, +2.7V to +5.5V, Micropower Temperature Free Sample

Switches in SOT23

MAX6626 9-Bit/12-Bit Temperature Sensors with I²C- Free Sample

Compatible Serial Interface in a SOT23

MAX1669 Fan Controller and Remote Temperature Sensor with Free Sample
SMBus Serial Interface

MAX6650 Fan-Speed Regulators and Monitors with SMBus/I²C- Free Sample

Compatible Interface
Related Parts By using this website, I accept the use of cookies. Learn More

MAX4051 Low-Voltage, CMOS Analog Multiplexers/Switches Free Sample

MAX6651 Fan-Speed Regulators and Monitors with SMBus/I²C- Free Sample

Compatible Interface

MAX6625 9-Bit/12-Bit Temperature Sensors with I²C- Free Sample

Compatible Serial Interface in a SOT23

MAX6501 Low-Cost, +2.7V to +5.5V, Micropower Temperature Free Sample

Switches in SOT23

Next Steps

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© 26 Apr, 2011, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.

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APP 1784: 26 Apr, 2011
TUTORIALS 1784, AN1784, AN 1784, APP1784, Appnote1784, Appnote 1784

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