New magnetic position sensors forcel in safety-critical automotive applications

The 60 Series sensors are expected to be used to sense angular displacement in a wide variety of automotive applications, including the accelerator pedal, brake pedal, chassis ride height monitor, HVAC valve position sensor, and the steering wheel.

The devices are also ideal for use in transmission (2WD/4WD switch, gearshift actuator) and throttle (EGR, tumble flap, throttle position, turbo-charger) applications.

Unlike competitive magnetic sensors, the 60 Series sensors from ams require very few external components and can be used with a low-cost ferrite magnet. They also require no external shielding, since they are immune to stray magnetic fields thanks to proprietary differential-input technology developed by ams. The devices are tolerant of magnet misalignment and of variances in the air gap from one unit to another. The 60 Series devices, therefore, offer vehicle manufacturers low bill-of-materials and assembly costs.

The precise 60 Series sensors measure angular displacement at 16,384 points per revolution. Integral non-linearity is 1.4° (maximum) over a complete revolution and across the operating temperature range (-40°C to 150°C).

All four devices offer a small propagation delay – the delay between the input from the sense magnet and the angle calculation output leaving the chip – of 300µs. This means they are able to provide accurate position measurements even of rotors operating at high speed.

The AS5161 and AS5162 magnetic position sensors are available in a small SOIC8 package. The stacked-dice (redundant) AS5261 and AS5262 are in an MLF16 package. The devices are available for sampling now. The AS5161 and AS5162 are priced at €2.70 for 1,000 pieces, and the AS5261 and AS5262 at €5.12.

For more information, please visit ams' site.