Low power 10-Bit Hall encoder

Paul Boughton

The Ultra Low Power Single-Chip Hall Encoder iC-TW11 by iC-Haus allows for an energy-saving 10-bit angle detection and therefore targets for example battery-buffered applications.

With a sampling rate of 10Hz an average current consumption of typically 3µA is obtained. In standby mode between measuring cycles the idle current cuts back to approximately 100nA.

iC-TW11 supports sampling rates of 4kHz

In normal operation iC-TW11 supports sampling rates of 4kHz with an activated filter and automatic amplifier gain for 10-bit resolution at maximum accuracy. A measuring cycle can be operated either via the SPI interface or via a separate trigger input by an external event. 

A new position value is being signalled to the micro controller via interrupt. The 4-wire SPI interface can be operated with up to 16 MHz clock frequency. The interrupt structure allows a daisy chain wiring of multiple iC-TW11. Therefore a controller can capture multiple rotation axes simultaneously. 

Typical applications are:

* Battery-operated dynamic speed measurement in power tools;

* Position and motor control in mobile robots or airplanes; 

* Wireless position measuring with ‘energy harvesting’ power supply;

* Mobile servo motor and stepper motor controls;

* Simple 10-bit encoder with adaptive current consumption;

* Digital control knob with high resolution and ultra-cap buffering;

* Manually adjustable digital potentiometer; 

* Control knob with pushbutton function through evaluation of the magnetic field strength.

At a voltage supply of 3.3 V (±10%) iC-TW11 operates in the extended industrial operating temperature range from -40 to 125 °C. The space requirement of the single-chip encoder iC is especially low due to the QFN16 package with 4 mm x 4 mm.