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Introduction
A stepper motor is an electromechanical device which converts electrical
pulses into discrete mechanical movements. The shaft or spindle of a stepper motor
rotates in discrete step increments when electrical command pulses are applied to
it in the proper sequence. Practically the stepper motors are available in the power
range from 1W to 2.5kW and torque range of 1µN-m to 40 µN-m. Typical types of
stepper motors can rotate 1.8°, 2°, 2.5°, 5°, 7.5°, and 15° per input electrical pulse.

The stepper motor works on the principle of magnetic interaction between

the stator and rotor, that when a particular phase winding on stator pole is excited,
the rotor pole nearer to that stator pole will move in a way that both stator and
rotor poles are aligned with each other, the teeth on stator and rotor experiences
equal and opposite forces, which attempt to pull them together and minimize the
airgap between them.

The sequence of the applied pulses is directly related to the direction of

motor shafts rotation. The speed of the motor shafts rotation is directly related to the
frequency of the input pulses and the length of rotation is directly related to the
number of input pulses applied.

A stepper motor has mainly two constructional aspects, one is stator and the
other is rotor. Unlike conventional motors, in stepper motors both the stator and the
rotor have salient structure i.e., projected poles and windings are placed in
concentric fashion, only on the stator, no windings are used in rotor. The stator core
is made of material having high permeability.

As stated above the rotor doesn’t carry any winding and only the stator has
windings as shown in figure above. In stepper motors, namely three types of rotor
construction/materials are used based on which the stepper motors are classified
into three types,

1. Permanent magnet stepper motor

2. Variable Reluctance stepper motor
3. Hybrid stepper motor

 Points to remember
 In order to achieve stepped motion of the shaft, it is not possible by having a
smooth cylindrical structure of stator and rotor; hence the stepper motors use
projected poles on both the stator & rotor, calling them as double salient
machine.
 The number of stator poles is never equal to number of rotor poles (to avoid
magnetic locking).
 Only the stator carries concentric windings, placed on each pole of stator.
 For motor having even number of stator poles, the no. of phases will be half of
no. of poles and for odd no. of stator poles, the number phases is equal to the
no. of pole.

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 The stepper motor is single excited machine and hence minimizing the losses
in the machine.

Terminology used in stepper motors

1. Step motor
2. Resolution
3. Stepping rate
4. Hold position
5. Detent position
6. Stepping error

1. Step angle (θs or β) It is the angular displacement of rotor of a stepper motor for
every pulse of excitation given to the stator winding of the motor. It is determined
by the number of teeth on the rotor and stator, as well as the number of steps in the
energization sequence. It is given by
𝟑𝟔𝟎
𝛉𝐬 =
𝐦𝐍𝐫
Where,
m= number of phases
Nr= Number of rotor poles
For Hybrid stepper motors
𝟑𝟔𝟎
𝛉𝐬 =
𝟐𝐦𝐍𝐫
Also,
𝐍𝐬 ~𝐍𝐫
𝛉𝐬 = × 𝟑𝟔𝟎
𝐍𝐬 × 𝐍𝐫
Where,
Ns= Number of stator poles
Nr= Number of rotor poles
2. Resolution It is the number of steps per revolution. It is denoted as S or Z. it is given
by,
𝟑𝟔𝟎
𝐙=
𝛉𝐬

3. Stepping Rate The number of steps taken by the motor per second is known as
stepping rate or stepping frequency.
4. Hold Position It corresponds to the equilibrium position when the stepper motor is
excited or energized.

5. Detent Position It corresponds to equilibrium position of the motor when it is not

excited.

6. Stepping Error Actual step angle is slightly different from the theoretical step
angle. This is mainly due to tolerances in the manufacture of stepper motor and the
properties of the magnetic and other materials used. The error in the step angle is
expressed as a percentage of the theoretical step angle.
𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 − 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞
%𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫 = × 𝟏𝟎𝟎
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞

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Percentage error is restricted to ± 5%. In some cases it is restricted to ±2%.

Permanent Magnet Stepper motor (PM Stepper motor)

Construction: The PM stepper motor has stator and rotor. The stator is made of
stacked steel laminations with poles projected. The stator carries the concentric
windings, the windings on diametrically opposite poles are connected to form
phase windings as explained previously. The rotor is made of hard ferrite permanent
magnet material with poles projected outwards in few applications and in many
applications the rotor is of cylindrical structure and has radially magnetized
permanent magnets. The number of poles on the stator and rotor determines the
step angle of the motor. The minimum stepping angle can be achieved either by
increasing the number of stator poles or the number of rotor poles. The optimum
means of achieving minimum stepping angle in stepper motors can be done by
increasing the number of rotor poles. But, in case of PM stepper motor, the number
of rotor pole cannot be increased for a given size of rotor because of the limitation
on smallest size achievable by the permanent magnet rotor pole.

(a) Projected pole rotor

(b) Smooth cylindrical rotor

Fig.1: Permanent Magnet rotor (a) Projected permanent magnet poles
(b) Smooth cylindrical permanent magnet poles radially magnetized

Hence, in the case of PM stepper motor, minimum stepping angle cannot be

achieved relatively. In PM stepper motor as the rotor is having magnetic polarity, for
a given value of phase current the active component of work done will be more
since there is no need to magnetize the rotor as in the case of variable reluctance
stepper motor.

Working & operation: A PM stepper motor works on the principle of magnetic

interaction between an electromagnet and a permanent magnet which is
movable. Here the stator carries the electromagnet and the rotor is made of
permanent magnet material. Consider a permanent magnet stepper motor having
4-stator poles and 2-rotor poles as shown in Fig. 2 below. As there are 4-stator poles,

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two phase windings namely; Phase A and Phase B are placed on them with
windings on diametrically opposite poles connected in series as shown. When we
give supply to the stator, the winding of stator is energized and hence produces
magnetic field. As described above, the rotor is made up of permanent magnet,
that’s why it tends to follow the revolving field. The rotor will move into alignment
with the stator poles whose phase winding is excited. There are namely three
modes of operating a stepper motor based on the way of giving pulses to the
phase windings, (i) 1-Phase ON mode (ii) 2-Phase ON mode (iii)Alternate 1-Phase &
2-Phase ON mode

(i) 1-Phase ON mode (Wave mode): In this mode of operating stepper motors only
single phase will be in ON state keeping the remaining in OFF state. When phase A
is excited with positive polarity, such that the stator pole corresponding to terminal
A acts as South pole and that the other pole of phase A acts as North pole, the
rotor will move and come into alignment with poles corresponding to phase A as
shown in Fig. 2. Considering this position as initial position, θs = 0°, to make the rotor
take the next step and rotate in clock wise direction, the next phase need to be
excited making the previous phase OFF.

When phase B is excited with positive polarity such that the stator pole
corresponding to terminal B acts as North pole and the other pole of phase B acts
as South pole the rotor will experience torque which makes it rotate in clock-wise
direction and align to the poles corresponding to phase B making θs = 90° which is
shown in Fig. 3. For the next step in clock-wise direction to make θs = 180° w.r.t the
θs=0° position, phase B is made OFF and phase A is excited with reverse polarity
compared to the initial excitation. This circulates current in reverse direction in
phase A, and hence creating a North Pole at terminal A and South Pole at the
other pole of phase A as shown in Fig. 4.

Similarly, the position θs = 270° can be achieved by making the phase A OFF
and making the phase B excited with reverse polarity to circulate current in reverse
direction w.r.t position θs=90°. This creates a south pole at terminal B and North pole
at other pole of phase B as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 2: Phase A excited, θs = 0° Fig. 3: Phase B excited, θs = 90°

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Fig. 4: Phase A excited with reverse polarity, Fig. 5: Phase B excited with reverse polarity,
θs = 180° θs = 270°

Fig. 6: Pulse input diagram for PM stepper motor with 1-phase ON mode

Phase
A B
θs
0° +ve 0
90° 0 +ve
180° -ve 0
270° 0 -ve
360° or 0° +ve 0
Fig. 7: Truth table for 1-phase ON mode of PM stepper motor (CW)

It can be observed that the direction of rotation of stepper motor can be

reversed by reversing the current polarity through the phase winding as shown
below.

A+  B+  A-  B-  A+…………..for clockwise rotation

A+  B-  A-  B+  A+…………..for counter clockwise rotation

In order to achieve further small step angle without changing the mechanical
aspects of the motor, the other modes of operation can be used which even
adds few advantages w.r.t to the response of the rotor position for every
excitation which is explained in next section.

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(ii) 2- Phase ON mode (Full step mode): In this mode, always two phases will
excited for every step, but with change of current polarity through the winding,
based on the direction of rotation required.

Fig. 8: Phase A (+ve) & B (+ve) excited, Fig. 9: Phase A (-ve) & B (+ve) excited,
θs = 45° θs = 135°

Fig. 10: Phase A (-ve) & B (-ve) excited, Fig. 11: Phase A (+ve) & B (-ve) excited,
θs = 225° θs = 315°

When phase A and B excited with positive polarity as shown in fig. 10 the
resultant stator MMF will be exactly in between the two stator poles as shown and
the rotor will align, making an angle of θs = 45°. Similarly, when phase A is excited
with negative polarity and phase B with positive polarity then the rotor will align to
position θs = 135° as shown in fig. 9, moving with an angular displacement equal to
the full step angle (90°) for the motor considered.

Similarly, the other rotor positions can also be attained by exciting two
phases simultaneously and by changing the supply polarities as shown in fig. 10 &
11 there by attaining the rotor positions θs = 225° & θs = 315° respectively. The truth
table for the phase excitation to make the rotor rotate in clock-wise direction is
shown in fig. 13 below.

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Phase
A B
θs
45° +ve +ve
135° -ve +ve
225° -ve -ve
315° +ve -ve
45° +ve +ve
Fig. 12: Truth table for 2-phase ON mode of PM stepper motor (CW)

Fig. 13: Pulse input diagram for PM stepper motor with 2-phase ON mode

In this mode of excitation the transient response of rotor position can be improved
and a new set of rotor position different than that of the previous mode can be
achieved, but the step angle remains the same in both these modes.

(iii) Alternate 1-Phase & 2- Phase ON mode (Half step mode): In this mode of
operation, the rotor of the stepper motor will move by an angle equal to half of
the full step angle. It is basically the combination of both 1-phase and 2-phase ON
mode. Initially, when only phase A is excited, a south pole will be created on the
stator pole corresponding to terminal A and north pole on pole corresponding to
A’ hence the rotor will align to the position θs = 0° as shown in fig. 14 below. In the
next step when both phase A and B excited with positive polarity as shown in fig.
15 the resultant stator MMF will be exactly in between the two stator poles as
shown and the rotor will align, making an angle of θs = 45°. Again for the next step,
only phase B is excited which makes the rotor align to stator poles corresponding
to phase B making an angle θs = 90°. To make the rotor rotate with a step angle of
45° the following sequence need to be followed;

A AB’  B’  B’A’  A’  A’B  B  BA …………………….Clock-wise direction

A BA  B  A’B  A’  B’A’  B’  AB’ ………….Counter clock-wise direction

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Fig. 15: Phase A (+ve) & B (+ve) excited,

Fig. 14: Phase A excited, θs = 0°
θs = 45°

Fig. 16: Phase B excited, θs = 90° Fig. 17: Phase A (-ve) & B (+ve) excited,
θs = 135°

Fig. 18: Phase A excited with reverse polarity, Fig. 19: Phase A (-ve) & B (-ve) excited,
θ s = 180° θs = 225°

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Fig. 20: Phase B excited with reverse polarity,

θs = 270°

Fig. 21: Phase A (+ve) & B (-ve) excited,

θs = 315°

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Phase
A B
θs
0° +ve 0
45° +ve +ve
90° 0 +ve
135° -ve +ve
180° -ve 0
225° -ve -ve
270° 0 -ve
315° +ve -ve
360° or 0° +ve 0
Fig. 22: Truth table for alternate 1-phse & 2-phase ON mode of PM stepper motor (CW)

Fig. 23: Pulse input diagram for PM stepper motor with alternate 1-phase & 2-phase ON mod

The difference between single phase ON and two phase ON mode can be
observed in the transient response of the rotor position. In single phase ON mode
the response makes more oscillations and takes more time to settle compared to
that of two phase ON mode. When the rotor oscillations occur, in the two phase
ON mode the two phases form a closed loop due to electromagnetic induction
which results in development of oscillating current rather than the stationary
current which produces holding torque. This oscillating current in the two phases
will be in phase opposition and develops torque which opposes the oscillatory
motion of the rotor and hence adding a damping effect to the rotor oscillations.
Where as in single phase ON mode only single phase will be made ON for
every step required and hence no such closed loop and oscillating currents will
be developed, resulting in zero damping effect to the rotor oscillations.

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Variable Reluctance Stepper motor (VR Stepper motor)

Construction: The construction of a VR stepper motor is quite similar to that of a
PM stepper motor except that of rotor. The stator construction is similar to that of a
PM stepper motor made of stacked silicon steel laminations with projected poles,
while the rotor is also made of silicon steel laminations with poles projected
outwards. There are basically two types of VR stepper motors based on the
number of rotor stacks used;
(i) Single stack VR stepper motor (ii) Multi stack VR stepper motor

Fig. 24: Stator and Rotor construction of a typical single stack VR stepper motor

Working & operation: A VR stepper motor works on the principle of magnetic

interaction between an electromagnet and a soft iron material which is movable
i.e., whenever a soft iron material is suspended in the magnetic field produced by
an electromagnet as shown in fig. below, it experiences a force which makes it
move in a position where the flux lines see minimum reluctance. The reluctance
seen by the flux lines corresponding to a phase excitation will vary according to
the rotor position, hence the name variable reluctance stepper motor is given.
A VR stepper motor can be operated in various modes as in the case of PM
stepper explained in the previous topics. A VR stepper motors can be basically
operated in the following modes:

i. 1-Phase ON mode (Wave/ Full step mode)

ii. 2-Phase ON mode (Full step mode)
iii. Alternate 1-phase and 2-phase ON mode (Half step mode)

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Fig. 25: Working principle of a VR stepper motor

Consider a single stack VR stepper motor having 6 stator poles and 4 rotor poles
with a stepping angle of θs = 30°.

(i) 1-Phase ON mode (Wave mode): As shown in Fig. 26, the diametrically opposite
rotor poles 1 & 3 are aligned to stator poles 1 & 4 respectively of phase A, when
the switch SA is ON. The stator MMF will be aligned along the poles corresponding
to phase A and the rotor will align to a position offering minimum reluctance to
MMF of phase A. Here, the rotor makes an angle θ = 0° and this state provides a
rest or equilibrium position to the rotor and it cannot move until phase A is de-
energized.

Next phase B is energized by turning ON the semiconductor switch SB and

phase A is de –energized by turning OFF SA. Then the rotor poles 1 & 3 and 2 & 4
experience torques in opposite direction. When the rotor and stator teeth are out
of alignment in the excited phase the magnetic reluctance is large. The torque
experienced by 1 & 3 are in clockwise direction and that of 2 & 4 is in counter
clockwise direction. The latter is more than the former. As a result the rotor makes
an angular displacement of 30° in counterclockwise direction so that the stator
poles 3 & 6 and rotor poles 2 & 4 are in alignment. The phases are excited in
sequence A, B and C the rotor turns with a step of 30° in clockwise direction. The
direction of rotation can be reversed by reversing the switching sequence in
which are energized and is independent of the direction of currents through the
phase winding. After finishing the sequence ABC in clock-wise direction, for
the rotor to make further movement, there is no need to excite the phase A with

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reverse polarity as the rotor doesn’t have any magnetic polarity as in the case of
PM stepper motor.

Fig. 26: Phase A excited, θs = 0° Fig. 27: Phase B excited, θs = 30°

Fig. 29: Phase A excited, θs = 90°

Fig. 28: Phase C excited, θs = 60°

Fig. 30: Basic switching diagram for 3 phase single stack VR stepper motor

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Switch
SA SB SC Phase
θs
0° ON 0 0 A
30° 0 ON 0 B
60° 0 0 ON C
90° ON 0 0 A
120° 0 ON 0 B
150° 0 0 ON C
180° ON 0 0 A
210° 0 ON 0 B
240° 0 0 ON C
270° ON 0 0 A
300° 0 ON 0 B
330° 0 0 ON C
360° or 0° ON 0 0 A
Fig. 31: Truth table for 1-phase ON mode of VR stepper motor (CW)

To make the rotor rotate in clock-wise and counter clock-wise direction with a
step angle of 30°, the following sequence need to be followed:

A  B  C  A  B  C  A ……………………………………..Clock-wise direction

A  C  B  A  C  B  A …………………………..Counter clock-wise direction

(ii) 2- Phase ON mode (Full step mode): In this mode, always two phases will
excited for every step, as explained above in the case of PM stepper motor, but
there is no need of change in current polarity through the winding unlike in the
case of PM stepper motors.

When phases A and B are energized together, the resultant stator MMF will
be positioned in a point mid-way between the two adjacent full step positions
and the rotor poles 1&3 and 2&4 will experience torque from both phases (A&B)
and comes to a rest position, θ = 15°, in line with the stator MMF. To make the rotor
rotate in clock-wise direction, if the phases B and C are excited, the rotor
occupies a position mid-way between the phases B and C is equal to θ = 45°. To
reverse the direction of rotation switching sequence need to be changed. The
main advantage of this type of operation is that torque developed by the stepper
motor is more than that due to single phase ON mode of operation.

To make the rotor rotate in clock-wise and counter clock-wise direction with a
step angle of 30°, the following sequence need to be followed:

AB  BC  CA  AB  BC  CA  AB ……………….………..Clock-wise direction

AC  CB  BA  AC  CB  BA  AC ………….….Counter clock-wise direction

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Switch
SA SB SC Phase
θs
15° ON ON 0 AB
45° 0 ON ON BC
75° ON 0 ON CA
105° ON ON 0 AB
135° 0 ON ON BC
165° ON 0 ON CA
195° ON ON 0 AB
225° 0 ON ON BC
255° ON 0 ON CA
285° ON ON 0 AB
315° 0 ON ON BC
345° ON 0 ON CA
Fig. 32: Truth table for 2-phase ON mode of VR stepper motor (CW)

(iii) Alternate 1-Phase & 2- Phase ON mode (Half step mode): In this mode of
operation, the rotor of the stepper motor will move by an angle equal to half of
the full step angle. It is basically the combination of both 1-phase and 2-phase ON
mode.

Fig. 33: Phase A excited, Fig. 34: Phases A & B Fig. 35: Phase B excited, θs
θs = 0° excited, θs = 15° = 30°

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When only phase A is excited as shown in fig. 33 the angle made by the rotor is θ
= 0°, which is similar to that of 1-phase ON mode explained before. When both
phases A and B are excited simultaneously, the rotor will move to a position which
is exactly mid-way between the two consecutive full step positions, i.e., θ =
15°, as shown in fig. 34.

Switch
SA SB SC Phase
θs
0° ON 0 0 A
15° ON ON 0 AB
30° 0 ON 0 B
45° 0 ON ON BC
60° 0 0 ON C
75° ON 0 ON CA
90° ON 0 0 A
105° ON ON 0 AB
120° 0 ON 0 B
135° 0 ON ON BC
150° 0 0 ON C
165° ON 0 ON CA
180° ON 0 0 A
195° ON ON 0 AB
210° 0 ON 0 B
225° 0 ON ON BC
240° 0 0 ON C
255° ON 0 ON CA
270° ON 0 0 A
285° ON ON 0 AB
300° 0 ON 0 B
315° 0 ON ON BC
330° 0 0 ON C
345° ON 0 ON CA
360° ON 0 0 A
Fig. 36: Truth table for alternate 1-phase & 2-phase ON mode of VR stepper motor (CW)

To make the rotor rotate in clock-wise and counter clock-wise direction with a
step angle of 30°, the following sequence need to be followed:

AABBBCCCAAABBBCCCA …………….Clock-wise direction

AACCCBBBAAACCCBBBA ….Counter clock-wise direction

 Points to remember

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 In order to achieve smaller stepping angle or higher resolution it is

possible only in the case of VR stepper motor, as in PM stepper motor
the size of PM rotor tooth cannot be reduced to accommodate more
number of rotor poles.
 Détente torque exists in stepper motors having, permanent magnet as
rotor material. It is absent in the case of VR stepper motor.
 For a given ampere current of stator the torque developed will be less in
the case of VR stepper motor (compared to rotor having permanent
magnet) as the stator current need to do two works, useful (active) work
is production of torque, useless (reactive) work is magnetization of rotor
core.
 Weight is more in the case of PM stepper motor and hence it has higher
inertia and hence it accelerates slowly.

Multi-stack Stepper Motor

In this, the motor is divided along its axis into a number of stacks (both stator
and rotor). The number of stator stacks is always equal to the number of rotor
stacks. Each stator stack is energized by a separate winding (phase) as shown in
Fig. below. These stacks are magnetically isolated from each other. The most
common type is the three-stack, three-phase motors; however, number of stacks
and phases up to seven are also available.
These motors are characterized by having the same number of teeth in
each of the stator stacks and in each of the rotor stacks. However, the poles on
these stacks (either the stator or rotor) are not aligned the same way to avoid
magnetic locking of the rotor poles with the stator poles. There will be two possible
ways of aligning the poles on stator and rotor. Firstly, if the poles on all the stator
stacks are aligned in the same way, then the poles on each rotor stacks must
have some offset angle/displacement with respect to the other rotor stacks. The
offset angle in this case will be 1/m times the rotor tooth pitch Tr. And the second
possible way is, by aligning the poles on all the rotor stacks in the similar fashion
and there by aligning the poles on all stator stacks with offset angle/displacement
with respect to each other (stator stack). The offset angle in this case will be 1/m
times the stator tooth pitch Ts. (m- number of stacks on stator/rotor)

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Fig.37: A multi-stack stepper motor with three stacks

Let us now consider the first possible way of multi-stack VR stepper motor, with
offset in rotor stacks.

Fig.38: Cross-sectional view of VR stepper motor with 3 stacks

To understand the operation of a multi-stack stepper motor a three stack VR

stepper motor is considered with offset in rotor poles as shown below. Since all the
three stator stacks are aligned in a similar way, instead of showing three stator
stacks only a single stator stack is shown.

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 Energizing phase (Stator stack) A: when stack A winding of stator is

energized, the teeth on rotor stack A will move to align themselves with the
stator teeth of stack A, as all the rotor stacks are placed on a common
shaft, when rotor stack A has moved the remaining rotor stacks also move,
as shown in fig. 39.
 Energizing phase (Stator stack) B: when stack B winding is then energized
while stack A winding is de-energized, the teeth on rotor stack B will align
themselves with the stator teeth in stack B. This will result in a counter
clockwise rotation of the rotor by an angle equal to 1/3 rd of the rotor tooth
pitch, as shown in fig. 40.
 Energizing phase (Stator stack) C: when stack C winding is then energized
while stack B winding is de-energized, the teeth on rotor stack C will align
themselves with the stator teeth in stack C. This will result in a counter
clockwise rotation of the rotor by an angle equal to 1/3 rd of the rotor tooth
pitch, as shown in fig. 41.
Hence to make the rotor move through an angle/displacement equal to the
rotor tooth pitch Tr the number of stator excitations should be equal to the number
of stacks. Here in this example the rotor moved an angle/displacement equal to
the rotor tooth pitch Tr after three stator excitations, as it has three stacks.

Fig. 39: Rotor stack A aligned to stator stack, when phase A is excited

Fig. 40: Rotor stack B aligned to stator stack, when phase B is excited

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Fig. 41: Rotor stack C aligned to stator stack, when phase C is excited

Micro stepping of stepper motor

Micro-stepping is a way of moving the stator flux of a stepper more smoothly than
in full-step or half-step drive modes by controlling the current magnitude in the
phase windings. This results in less vibration, and makes noiseless stepping possible
down to 0 Hz. It also makes smaller step angles and better positioning possible.

In micro stepping, the step angle of the VR stepper motor is very small and is
other than full and half step angles. This can be achieved basically in two possible
ways.

Firstly, the current through the two phase winding is controlled such that,
when magnitude of current is one phase winding is decreasing in steps, the
current through other phase winding should be increasing in same steps and vice-
versa can also be done.

And then, the second way is by keeping current magnitude in one phase
winding constant (maximum value) and increasing the current through other
winding in steps up-to maximum value. So that, the stator MMF position can be
controlled smoothly form first phase till half step angle. When the current
magnitude through both the winding is same i.e, maximum value, the stator MMF
will be positioned exactly at half step position. Next, the current magnitude
through the first phase will be reduced slowly in steps up-to zero. So that, the stator
MMF position can be controlled smoothly form half step angle till the second
phase.

In both the ways, the position of stator MMF is controlled by controlling the
current magnitudes in the phase windings. The figure below shows how the stator
MMF is positioned for different modes of operation of stepper motor.

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Fig.42: Stator MMF position for different operating modes of stepper motor

Fig.43: Current waveform in the form of stepped sine through phase windings

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Fig. 44: A typical micro-step operation on 2-phase, 2-pole stepper motor

Hybrid Stepper motor

As the name implies, the hybrid stepper motor combines the features of the
PM and the VR stepper motors. The torque developed by this motor is greater
than that of the PM or VR types.

Fig.45: Constructional details of Hybrid stepper motor

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Construction: The fig. below shows the basic construction of a hybrid stepper
motor. The start construction is similar to that of a VR or a PM stepper motor.
However, the rotor construction combines the design of the rotors of both VR
and PM stepper motor.
The rotor of a hybrid stepper motor consists of two identical stacks of soft iron
as well as an axially magnetized round permanent magnet. The two soft iron
stacks are attached to the north and south poles of the permanent magnet
as shown in figure below.

At one end, the stack attains North (N) magnetic polarity and the other end,
stack gets south magnetic polarity. The two stacks have an angular
displacement of one half of the rotor tooth pitch.

Fig.46: Front view of the 2-phae, 5-rotor pole hybrid stepper motor

The rotor teeth are designed on the soft iron stacks as shown in fig. below.
Thus the rotor teeth on one end becomes the North Pole and those at the
other end becomes the South Pole. The stator has salient pole structure which
is continuous from one end to the other end of the stator structure. The stator
poles carry concentrated windings like other types of stepping motors.

Operation: For understanding the operation of hybrid stepper motor (HSM)

shown in fig. below, north pole at the front end of figure is shown dotted,
whereas the south pole at the far end is shown as plain.
When phase winding A is energized with current I a N-pole at A1 and south
pole at A2 are created on the stator. Pole at A1 attracts South Pole of rear
end and pole at A2 attracts North Pole of front end as shown in fig. above.

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The equilibrium position of rotor structure results in maximum flux linkages with
the phase winding A. Hence the position θ = 0°.

For turning the rotor clockwise through a step, de-energize phase winding A
and excite phase B so that North Pole at B1 and South Pole at B2 are created
on stator. Pole at B1 attracts South Pole of rear end and pole at B2 attracts
North Pole of front end, so a step angular rotation of 30° clockwise is
achieved which is shown in fig. above.

Fig. 47: Cross-sectional view of 2-phase hybrid stepper motor with offset angle in rotor stacks

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Fig. 48: Cross-sectional view of 4-phase hybrid stepper motor with offset angle in rotor stacks

Switching configurations for stepper motor

There are basically three types of configurations for the switching the phases
of the stepper motor

i. H-type configuration with unipolar supply and four switching devices

per phase.
ii. Bipolar supply configuration with two switching devices per phase.
iii. Unipolar supply with centre tapped phase winding and with two
switching devices per phase.
i. H-type configuration
This configuration can be used where there is a need for bi-directional
current flow through the phase windings. It uses unipolar supply with four
switching devices per phase and four freewheeling diodes used for feeding
back the stored energy in windings during OFF state. Complete utilization of
winding will take place in this configuration, but the switching complexity will
be more as four switching devices per phase are used.

Fig.49: H-type configuration

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(i) When the switches S1 and S2 are ON, the current thought the
phase winding A flows from A1 to A2 as shown in fig.49 above.
During commutation state of phase A when S1 and S2 are OFF,
the freewheeling diodes D1 and D2 will become forward biased,
feeding back the stored energy in the winding to the supply.
(ii) When the switches S3 and S4 are ON, the current flows from A2 to
A1 through the phase winding as shown in fig. 49 and during
commutation, the diodes D3 and D4 are used to feed back the
stored energy to the supply.
ii. Bipolar supply configuration
Bipolar supply configuration uses two different supplies for bi-directional
current flow unlike the previous configuration, with two switching devices and
two freewheeling diodes per phase. In this configuration also complete
utilization of winding takes place.

(i) When the switch S1 is ON the current flows from the supply E1
and from A2 to A1 through the phase winding as shown in fig. 50
below. During commutation state of phase A the freewheeling
diode D2 will get forward biasing feeding back the stored energy
to supply E2.
(ii) When switch S2 is ON the current flows form supply E2 and from
A1 to A2 through the winding as shown in fig.50 below. During
OFF state the stored energy in the phase winding is fed back to
the supply E1 using the freewheeling diode D1.

Fig.50: Bipolar supply configuration

iii. Unipolar supply with centre tapped phase winding

In this configuration a unipolar supply with only two switching devices
per phase and two freewheeling diodes will be used for each phase winding.
In the above two configurations the freewheeling diodes are connected

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across the switching devices and hence the stored energy is fed back to the
supply, whereas in this configuration the diodes are connected across the
phase windings of the motor and hence the stored energy cannot be fed
back, instead it will be dissipated in the winding itself. This configuration can
be used for motors where a centre tap is available for each phase, only half
of the phase winding will be utilized at a given state, one half for a particular
current direction and remaining half for other direction of current.

(i) When switch S1 is ON, the current flows from A1 to the centre tap
of the winding, during OFF state, the diode D1 is forward biased
and the stored energy gets dissipated in the winding and the
diode internal resistance.
(ii) When switch S2 is ON, the current flows from A2 to the centre tap
of the winding, during OFF state, the stored energy is dissipated in
the winding through the diode D2.

Fig.52: Unipolar supply with centre tapped phase winding

The rate of dissipation of the stored energy can be controlled by

connecting a resistance in series with the freewheeling diode. The stored
energy instead of dissipating can be transferred to the other half of winding if
the two halves of the winding are ideally coupled. The coils are said to be
ideally coupled if they are wound on the same physical space with same
number of turns and with coupling factor equal to unity, which is practically
impossible. Hence, bifilar winding having highest coupling factor can be
used.

Optimum number of stator poles (Ns) and rotor poles (Nr)

The number of stator poles and rotor poles decides the step angle and
hence the resolution of the motor, but how many stator and rotor poles
should be considered to achieve the minimum stepping angle and hence

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the highest resolution. The minimum stepping angle can be achieved either
by increasing the number of stator poles or the number of rotor poles.

If the number of stator poles is increased, the number of phases

increases and hence more windings are required. This increases the number
of switching devices and hence the switching complexity. Hence, the better
alternative seems to be increasing the number of rotor poles, which is
possible only in the case of VR stepper motor as explained earlier.

So, by increasing the number of poles on stator and rotor the resolution
can be increased but the torque developed will be different for different
combinations of stator-rotor poles. Let us consider some common
combinations of stator-rotor poles and analyze the torque developed,
stepping angle taken etc.

(i) Ns = 8 and Nr = 6; Step angle, θs = 15°; Electrical angle θ = Nr × θs = 90°

(ii) Ns = 6 and Nr = 8; Step angle, θs = 15°; Electrical angle θ = Nr × θs = 120°
(iii) Ns = 6 and Nr = 4; Step angle, θs = 30°; Electrical angle θ = Nr × θs = 120°
(iv) Ns = 4 and Nr = 6; Step angle, θs = 30°; Electrical angle θ = Nr × θs = 180°

The torque developed by the motor is proportional to sin (Electrical angle θ).
In order to increase the resolution and to improve the torque developed by
the motor, of the above mentioned combinations the first combination (i) is
best suitable than the remaining.

Characteristics of Stepper motor

There are basically two types of characteristics for a stepper motor,
based on the mode of excitation. One characteristics corresponds to the
excitation of only a single phase, named as Static characteristics and the
other corresponds to the excitation of phases one after the other according
to the required sequence with different stepping rates, named as Dynamic
characteristics.

i. Static characteristics
The static characteristics comprises of torque versus rotor position and
torque versus current characteristics of a stepper motor.

Angle – Torque Characteristics: The angle – torque characteristics show the

relationship between the angular displacement of the rotor and the torque
externally applied to the motor shaft while the motor is excited at the rated
current. The curve for these characteristics is shown below.

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Fig.53: Torque-angle characteristics

The following illustrations show the positional relationship between the rotor
teeth and stator teeth at the numbered points in the diagram above. When
held stable at point (1) the external application of a force to the motor shaft
will produce torque T (+) in the left direction, trying to return the shaft to
stable point (1). The shaft will stop when the external force equals this torque
at point (2).

If additional external force is applied, there is an angle at which the torque

produced will reach its maximum at point (3). This torque is called the
maximum holding torque TH.
Application of external force in excess of this value will drive the rotor to an
unstable point (5) and beyond, producing torque T (−) in the same direction
as the external force, so that it moves to the next stable point (1) and stops.

Fig.54: Stator-rotor positions

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Stable Points: The points where rotor stops, with the stator teeth and rotor
teeth are exactly aligned. These points are extremely stable, and the rotor
will always stop there if no external force is applied.

Unstable Points: The points where stator teeth and rotor teeth are half a rotor
teeth pitch out of alignment. A rotor at these points will move to the next
stable point to the left or right, even under the slightest external force.
The shape of the static characteristic (Torque Vs rotor position)
depends mostly on the dimensions of the stator and rotor pole arcs, as well as
the current flow through the winding. But it is essential to observe the
relationship that exists between static torque and phase current when the
rotor has displaced from the step position. Neglecting the magnetic
saturation it can be shown that the torque produced is proportional to square
of the phase current in a VR stepper motor and linearly proportional to the
phase current in a hybrid stepper motor. For most of the motors the static
characteristic reveals a rapidly weakening yield in terms of torque produced
as the phase current approaches its rated value indicating that magnetic
saturation of the stator and rotor teeth occurs only at the higher currents.

The maximum value of static torque is known as the ‘Holding torque or

peak static torque’. Strictly talking the peak static torque is a function of the
phase current; however it is often cited as a single value corresponding to
the rated phase current.

As explained above in static characteristics only one phase will be

excited and the rotor will attain equilibrium position corresponding to that
phase. At equilibrium position the torque developed by the motor is called as
Holding torque, TH. As shown in the torque versus step angle characteristics
the torque developed by the machine increases almost sinusoidally until the
step angle, θs and after θs up to a critical rotor position, θc the torque
developed will remain constant equal to TH. Now when an external torque
greater than the holding torque is applied to the motor, the rotor will come
out of equilibrium and the rotor comes out of equilibrium position exceeding
θc. After that critical rotor position the torque developed by the machine
gradually decreases as shown in figure below. The figure shown below in fig.
55 is the torque versus rotor position characteristics.

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Fig.55: Torque-rotor position characteristics

The other type of static characteristics is torque versus phase current

characteristics which indicates the variation of torque developed by the
stepper motor when the phase current through a particular phase winding is
gradually increased. Here, when the current is zero there will be some torque
developed by the motor called as Detent torque TD, which exists only in
motors having permanent magnet rotors. When the phase current is
gradually increased the torque developed by the motor also increases
(ideally linear) and when the current is equal to rated current the torque
developed will remain constant at holding torque, TH. Torque constant of the
stepper is defined as the initial slope of the torque-current (T-I) curve of the
stepper motor. It is denoted by Kt. It is also known as torque sensitivity. Its units
N-m/A, kg-cm/A or OZ-in/A

Fig.56: Torque-current characteristics

Holding Torque (TH) It is the maximum load torque which the energized
stepper motor can withstand without slipping from equilibrium position. If the
holding torque is exceeded, the motor suddenly slips from the present
equilibrium position and goes to the static equilibrium position.

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Detent torque (TD): It is the maximum load torque which the un-energized
stepper motor can withstand slipping. Detent torque is due to magnetism,
and is therefore available only in permanent magnet and hybrid stepper
motor. It is about 5-10 % of holding torque.

The torque-current characteristics for a typical variable reluctance and

hybrid stepper motors are shown in fig. 56 above.

ii. Dynamic characteristics

A stepper motor is said to be operated in synchronism when there exist
strictly one to one correspondence between number of pulses applied and
the number of steps through which the motor has actually moved. There are
two modes of operation.

Fig.57: (a) Start-stop mode (b) Slewing mode

Start-Stop mode, also called as pull in curve or single stepping mode. In start –
stop mode the stepper motor always operate in synchronism and the motor
can be started and stopped without using synchronism.
Slewing mode, in this mode the motor will be in synchronism, but it cannot be
started or stopped without losing synchronism. To operate the motor in
slewing mode first the motor is to be started in start stop mode and then to
slewing mode. Similarly to stop the motor operating in slewing mode, first the
motor is to be brought to the start stop mode and then stop.

Start stop mode of operation of stepper motor is shown in fig.57 (a). In

this second pulse is given to the stepper motor only after the rotor attained
an equilibrium or rest position due to first pulse. The region of start-stop mode
of operation depends on torque developed and the stepping rate or
stepping frequency of stepper motor. The second pulse is given to the
stepper motor only after the rotor attained a steady or rest position due to first

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pulse. The region of start-stop mode of operation depends on the operation

depends on the torque developed and the stepping rate or stepping
frequency of stepper motor.

In slewing mode of operation of stepper motor as shown in fig.57 (b)

the second pulse to the motor is given before the rotor has attained the
equilibrium position due to first pulse. The stepping rate in this mode will be
quite high when compared to that of start-stop mode.

Torque developed by the stepper motor and stepping rate

characteristics for both modes of operation are shown in fig.58 the curve CO
represents the "pull in" characteristics and the curve CQ represents the "pull-
out" characteristics.

Fig.58: Dynamic characteristics

The area O’COO’ represents the region for start stop mode of operation. At
any operating point in this region the motor can start and stop without losing
synchronism. The area COQC refers to the region for slewing mode of
operation. At any operating point without losing synchronism to attain an
operating point in the slewing mode at first the motor is to operate at a point
in the start-stop mode and then stepping rate is increased to operate in
slewing mode, similarly while switching off it is essential to operate the motor
from slewing mode to start-stop mode before it is stopped.

The characteristics listed below correspond to the pull-in and pull-out curves
shown above of a stepper motor.

Pull in torque: It is the maximum torque developed by the stepper motor for a
given stepping rate in the start-stop mode of operation without losing
synchronism. In the fig.58 O’B represents the pull in torque with corresponding
stepping rate O’M.

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Pull out torque: It is the maximum torque developed by the stepper motor for
a given stepping rate in the slewing mode without losing synchronism. In
fig.58 O’C represents the pull in torque w.r.t the stepping rate O’M.

Pull in range: It is the maximum stepping rate at which the stepper motor can
operate in start-stop mode developing a specific torque (without losing
synchronism).In fig.58 O’N represents pull in range for a torque of O’A. This
range is also known as response range of stepping rate for the given torque.

Pull out range: It is the maximum stepping rate at which the stepper motor
can operate in slewing mode developing a specified torque without losing
synchronism. In fig.58 NP represents the pull out range for a torque of O’A.
The range NP is known slewing range.

Pull in rate (FPI): It is the maximum stepping rate at which the stepper motor
will start or stop without losing synchronism against a given load torque.

Pull out rate (FPO): It is the maximum stepping rate at which the stepper
motor will slew, without missing steps, against load torque.

Synchronism: This term means one to one correspondence between the

number of pulses applied to the stepper motor and the number of steps
through which the motor has actually moved.

Mid-frequency resonance: In the pull-in curve of the stepper motors,

practically at some response ranges the curve suddenly reaches critically
lowest value of torque as shown in fig. 59, this phenomenon in general is
known as Mid-frequency resonance which depicts the instable operation of
motor. Hence it is recommended to avoid that particular response range to
improve the motor performance.

Fig.59: Mid-frequency Resonance

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Torque Equation
Consider a variable reluctance stepper motor. Let
v(t) = applied voltage per phase
i(t) = current per phase
θ(t) = angular displacement
R = resistance per phase
L(θ) = inductance per phase
The voltage equation of the stator phase can be given as follows
d
v(t) = Ri(t) + dt [i(t)L(θ)]

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) dL(θ)
= Ri(t) + L(θ) + i(t)
𝑑𝑡 dt

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) dL(θ) 𝑑𝜃
= Ri(t) + L(θ) + i(t) × 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡 dθ

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) dL(θ) 𝑑𝜃
Where, L(θ) denotes the transformer emf and i(t) × 𝑑𝑡 represents
𝑑𝑡 dθ
back emf. The torque equation can be derived by considering the emf
induced in the phase winding which is the combination of both transformer
emf and back emf.
Let emf induced per phase = e(t)
d
𝑒(𝑡) = [i(t)L(θ)]
dt

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) dL(θ)
= L(θ) + i(t)
𝑑𝑡 dt

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) dL(θ) 𝑑𝜃
= L(θ) + i(t) × 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡 dθ

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) dL(θ) 𝑑𝜃
= L(θ) + i(t) × 𝜔 (ω= = angular velocity)
𝑑𝑡 dθ 𝑑𝑡

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) dL(θ)
e(t) = L(θ) + 𝜔i(t)
𝑑𝑡 dθ

Power developed, Pd = e(t)i(t)

di(t) dL(θ)
Pd = i(t)L(θ) + ωi(t)2
dt dθ

Energy stored in the magnetic field,

1
We = 2 L(θ)i(t)2

Power due to stored energy,

dWe
Pe = dt

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1 dL(θ)
= 2[ i(t)2 ]
dt

1 di(t) dL(θ)
= 2 [𝐿(𝜃). 2. 𝑖(𝑡) + i(t)2 ]
dt dt

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) 1 dL(θ) 𝑑𝜃
= L(θ)𝑖(𝑡) + 2 i(t)2 × 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡 dθ

𝑑𝑖(𝑡) 1 dL(θ)
= L(θ)𝑖(𝑡) + 2 i(t)2 ×𝜔
𝑑𝑡 dθ

Power available = Power developed – power due to stored energy (air gap)
1 dL(θ)
Pa = 2 i(t)2 ×ω
dθ

𝑃𝑎 1 dL(θ) 𝟏 𝐝𝐋(𝛉)
The net torque available at the shaft, T = = i(t)2 𝐓= 𝐢(𝐭)𝟐
𝜔 2 dθ 𝟐 𝐝𝛉

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