General Description
The MAX6650/MAX6651 fan controllers use an
SMBus/I
2
C-compatible interface to regulate and moni-
tor the speed of 5VDC/12VDC brushless fans with built-
in tachometers. They automatically force the fan’s
tachometer frequency (fan speed) to match a prepro-
grammed value in the Fan-Speed Register by using an
external MOSFET or bipolar transistor to linearly regu-
late the voltage across the fan. The MAX6650 regulates
the speed of a single fan by monitoring its tachometer
output. The MAX6651 also regulates the speed of a sin-
gle fan, but it contains additional tachometer inputs to
monitor up to four fans and control them as a single unit
when they are used in parallel.
The MAX6650/MAX6651 provide general-purpose
input/output (GPIO) pins that serve as digital inputs,
digital outputs, or various hardware interfaces. Capable
of sinking 10mA, these open-drain inputs/outputs can
drive an LED. To add additional hardware control, con-
figure GPIO1 to fully turn on the fan in case of software
failure. To generate an interrupt when a fault condition
is detected, configure GPIO0 to behave as an active-
low alert output. Synchronize multiple devices by set-
ting GPIO2 (MAX6651 only) as an internal clock output
or an external clock input.
The MAX6650 is available in a space-saving 10-pin
µMAX
®
package, and the MAX6651 is available in a
small 16-pin QSOP package.
________________________Applications
RAID Desktop Computers
Servers Networking
Workstations Telecommunications
____________________________Features
♦ Closed/Open-Loop Fan-Speed Control for
5V/12V Fans
♦ 2-Wire SMBus/I
2
C-Compatible Interface
♦ Monitors Tachometer Output
Single Tachometer (MAX6650)
Up to Four Tachometers (MAX6651)
♦ Programmable Alert Output
♦ GPIOs
♦ Hardware Full-On Override
♦ Synchronize Multiple Fans
♦ Four Selectable Slave Addresses
♦ 3V to 5.5V Supply Voltage
♦ Small Packages
10-Pin µMAX (MAX6650)
16-Pin QSOP (MAX6651)
Fan-Speed Regulators and Monitors
with SMBus/I
2
C-Compatible Interface
MAX6650/MAX6651