Without a doubt, L293D and L298N are the go-to motor drivers for Arduino projects. They are reliable and have been used in hundreds, if not thousands, of projects. However, they have a major downside – they use bipolar junction transistors (BJTs), which makes them extremely inefficient.

The issue with BJTs is that they have an on-state voltage drop. The energy from that voltage needs to go somewhere, and it indeed does; it dissipates as heat. Over time, this can result in a considerable amount of energy loss and, in some cases, cause the driver to overheat. This can be a significant disadvantage for projects that must run for extended periods of time.

Thankfully, modern motor drivers like the DRV8833 really shine when it comes to efficiency. Instead of using BJTs, the DRV8833 uses MOSFETs. MOSFETs have almost negligible voltage drop, meaning that nearly all the voltage from the power supply is delivered to the motor. That is why the DRV8833 is not only more energy-efficient than BJT-based motor drivers, but it also generates far less heat, making it safer to use for longer periods.

So let’s dive in and discover the remarkable capabilities of the DRV8833 motor driver.

DRV8833 Motor Driver

At the heart of the module is an integrated H-Bridge driver IC from Texas Instruments that is optimized for motor driving applications – The DRV8833.