Allegro MicroSystems has released a new family of micropower Hall-effect switch ICs, the APS11700 and APS11760, designed specifically for battery powered applications in harsh industrial and automotive environments. Intended as a replacement for reed and mechanical microswitches, they can be preconfigured for the customers choice of magnetic sensitivity, thresholds, and polarity.
Automatic power management enables average supply current as low as 6A while operating directly from a vehicle battery or other unregulated supply. The power management happens in the background and is transparent to the host system, making them a drop-in upgrade for existing Hall-effect switches or a solid-state replacement for mechanical microswitches or reed switches.
“Thanks to their ruggedness and ultra-low power capability, there is finally a reliable, solid-state upgrade for reed and microswitches, even in the most power-sensitive applications where the sensor will be connected directly to the battery,” explained Jim Judkins, Allegros product line director for position sensor ICs.
The monolithic devices include either a standard Hall plate or a vertical Hall plate. The APS11700 uses a standard planar Hall-effect sensing element. The APS11760, however, utilizes a silicon-based vertical Hall-effect sensing element making the device sensitive to magnetic flux parallel to the face of the IC package, thus mimicking the in-plane sensitivity of common reed switches.
The devices come preconfigured with the users choice of magnetic sensitivity, thresholds, and polarity. There is also a choice of active-high or active-low output for ease of integration into electronic subsystems.
For more information, visit: https://www.allegromicro.com/
