Product category:
Sensors and Data Acquisition
News Release from: LEM UK | Subject: Minisens
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial
Team on 14 February 2007
Current transducer opens up new
opportunities
Miniature IC transducer for AC and DC isolated current measurement up to 100kHz offers full isolation and high sensitivity with no insertion losses.
New from LEM, Minisens is a miniature integrated-circuit transducer for AC and DC isolated current measurement up to 100kHz This new component offers full isolation (no optocouplers required) and high sensitivity (from 20 to 200mV/A of primary current) with no insertion losses
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 22 Apr 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Current sensors slip on in a trice
LEM has three families of split-core current sensors that can be clamped around a busbar or cable without moving the conductor.
Speedy installation for current transducers
LEM has new families of current transducers with an innovative design that dramatically reduces installation time.
It is mounted directly onto a printed circuit board as an SMD device, reducing manufacturing cost.
Minisens integrates, within one mixed signal ASIC, Hall-effect sensors with a magnetic concentrator to allow direct current measurement without the need for an additional magnetic core.
The noncontact measurement enables an almost unlimited current level as it eliminates the need for current to flow through the device.
Further reading
High accuracy from milliamp current transducers
The DF series of current transducers provides accurate measurement of low DC currents from 10 to 500mA without breaking the primary cable.
Current transducer measures up to 300A
The LAS 100-TP is a 100A RMS nominal current transducer designed to meet the exacting requirements for current measurements in power electronics.
The only limiting factor is the thermal capacities of the primary conductor.
The current can be carried either by a track (or tracks) located on a PCB underneath the Minisens, or by a cable or bus bar under or above the IC.
The unlimited design possibilities for the primary conductor allow current measurement up to 70A or even higher.
Many parameters of the ASIC can be configured by on-chip nonvolatile memory: adjustment of the transducer's gain, offset, polarity, temperature drift and gain algorithm (proportional to, or independent of VDD).
Two outputs are available: one filtered, to limit the noise bandwidth; and one unfiltered, which has a response time of less than 3us.
The degree of electrical isolation and output sensitivity can be increased by the PCB design - for example, a primary track on the opposite side of the IC gives best isolation; a track on the same side gives the highest sensitivity.
Mounted as part of a standard PCB assembly process, manufacturing costs are minimised.
The Minisens operates from a single 5V supply.
To minimise power consumption an optional input pin can be used to switch the Minisens into standby mode.
The transducer is manufactured with a CMOS process and assembled in a SO8-IC package.
The combination of different IC configurations and flexible PCB designs results in very versatile and attractively priced current transducer solutions.
This opens up opportunities for applications such as white goods or air conditioning to benefit from isolated current measurement, which previously was not feasible.
Minisens will also enable enhanced motor control to produce energy savings where other methods such as the shunt have traditionally been used.
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