As automobiles increase in electrification and digitalization, from electric drive trains to immersive infotainment systems in the cockpit, Chinese semiconductor company Novosense is stepping forward with the development of new chip solutions including magnetic current and angle sensors, along with Hall Effect switches for industrial and consumer applications.
The company recently unveiled several products aimed at enhancing performance, reliability, and efficiency in automotive applications. Among them is an automotive-qualified 4/8-channel multi-channel half-bridge driver, NSD3604/8-Q1, that can drive 4 DC brushed motors. It can drive multiple loads and is used in automotive domain control architecture to achieve multi-channel high-current motor drive, and also be used as a multi-channel high-side switch drive. It is suitable for multi-motor or multi-load applications, such as car window lifting, electric seats, door locks, electric tailgates, and proportional valves and other body control applications.
The latest Hall effect switches, NSM107x series, consist of two models one for unipolar switching and the other for omnipolar switching. With designer-selectable key features including switching points, power modes, output interfaces and packaging forms, the switches can be applied in industrial and consumer products. In factory automation control systems, industrial robots and automated production equipment, they can be used to detect mechanical motion, position and speed. They serve even broader application in consumer electronics such as computer lid detection for automatic screen switching and collision detection of robot vacuum cleaners.
Earlier, in 2021, the Suzhou-based Novosense allied with foundry Tower Semiconductor for the development of Hall sensors for the automotive market using Tower’s 180nm analog platform, initially developing switches for on-board charging in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles. The Hall sensor market was valued at about $1.7 billion for 2022.
“We chose Tower for the development and manufacturing of our new magnetic sensor due to its well established TS18 technology platform features that best suited our product characteristics including low noise, high reliability and automotive qualifications,” said Sheng Yun, Novosense CTO. “We look forward to developing multiple additional products following this successful project”. The platform provides advanced process nodes as well as mature IPs designed for the automotive market requirements and specifications, allowing a fast and professional development cycle.
“We are excited to announce our partnership with Novosense and the proficient development process of this new product,” said Qin Lei, Vice President of China Operations for Tower. “Our successful cooperation enabled fast time to market and is the basis for future developments of additional products designed by Novosense such as magnetic current sensors and angle sensors that are set to meet the requirements of new energy vehicles”.
For more info, see www.novosns.com and www.towersemi.com.
