i was wondering if i could get some opinion here, I am building a ckt that will actuate a solenoid. It seems i have lots of ways to do this. it needs to be hiside switching only and must be logic level,(from a pic chip) solenoid is 12v. would you choose a levelshift with a darlington, or a pchannel mosfet or perhaps a profet, a motor driver also comes to mind as a possibility. what would you choose for reliability? what would be the most sensible way to approach this.

 

How much current does the solenoid require?

The cheapest is probably an NPN transistor driving a P-MOSFET to get a high-side switch.

A profet has built-in protection against shorts, etc. and might be more robust. Don't know their availability and cost.

A high side motor driver would also work. Your choice depends somewhat on the cost, footprint, and availability.

 

I would use either P ch FET or PNP transistor driven by either N ch FET or NPN transistor. Resistor values are for about 100 mA solenoid.

 

How much current does the solenoid require?

The cheapest is probably an NPN transistor driving a P-MOSFET to get a high-side switch.

A profet has built-in protection against shorts, etc. and might be more robust. Don't know their availability and cost.

A high side motor driver would also work. Your choice depends somewhat on the cost, footprint, and availability.

2 of the solenoids require about 600mA. there is one however that is going to require approx 1.7 amps. I like the profet option seems more robust.