Melexis Adds to Magnetic Sensing Products

Melexis has added new products to its lineup of Triaxis magnetic sensors with a new magnetic rotary and linear position sensor IC for high-performance sensing, also a compact three-axis magnetometer for consumer applications. 

Its latest Triaxis position sensor with new PCB-less packages, the MLX90377 supports more output signal formats while a new single mold package improves PCB-less integration and manufacturing costs. Depicted above, it is a single and a dual-die (fully redundant) position sensor for automotive and industrial applications together with a new PCB-less package for position sensors. 

It builds on the Belgian company’s Triaxis Hall magnetic front-end. Like other members of the range, it can be used in rotary and linear motion position sensing applications, ideally suited for high performance and safety critical applications. 

“Melexis is constantly improving and expanding its product offering, by using its domain expertise to develop new solutions,” said Nick Czarnecki, marketing manager. “The MLX90377 provides improved performance and adds SPC capability, which is now being used in multi-bus architectures such as those found in advanced steering and braking applications.” 

A compact, low-voltage 3D magnetometer for consumer applications, the MLX90392 brings the company’s Triaxis Hall magnetic-sensing technology to cost-conscious white goods, smart metering, gaming and home-security sectors. It can operate from a 1.8 V power rail shared with other components such as logic devices. Measuring just 2 mm x 2.5 mm x 0.4 mm, it features an ultra-thin package to help designers tackle space-constrained applications. 

Two variants are available, approximately 50 mT and 5 mT full-scale range. The 50 mT range is optimal for position measurement in HMI applications, door-closure detection in white goods and access-control systems, anti-tamper for smart meters, and contactless joysticks that save the power dissipated by traditional position sensing with potentiometers. For position sensing which requires a small magnetic range, and for precise position measurement where noise is a critical design parameter, the 5 mT variant has sensitivity of 0.15 µT/LSB and typical RMS noise down to 0.3 µT. Both devices support single-measurement and continuous-measurement modes, also magnetic sensor-overflow indication in their diagnostics. For more info, see www.melexis.com