In our final piece of coverage from PCIM Europe 2023, ipXchange chats with Taiga from Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM), who were exhibiting their soon-to-be-released digital current sensors with delta-sigma output. If you’re currently – all puns intended – using devices from big-name vendors like Texas Instruments or Infineon, listen up as AKM’s solution proves to be far more integrated than what you may be used to, with 3x less heat output.
For context and comparison, these devices are designed for use in, for example, high-precision servo motor systems that require the fastest response times. Moreover, such fast response times also make these sensors a great fit for current monitoring in high-frequency systems that use Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) devices, and AKM provides in-line solutions that are rated up to 180 A.
As Taiga demonstrates in the first demo of the interview, AKM’s digital current sensors provide some key benefits over standard analogue alternatives: unlike traditional analogue-output solutions, which require a lot of external components to integrate, these digital devices come pre-isolated with an internal ADC, saving significant space on the board as well as component count. That space saving is further boosted thanks to reduced thermal output and a UL61800-5-1-compliant creepage distance of 8 mm.
The second demo shows AKM’s ultra-fast response current sensing technology that can be integrated into designs should you choose to partner with them, and with 4 MHz bandwidth and <100 ns response time, it might just blow most competing solutions out of the water!
There’s a reason AKM have named their devices “Currentier” as they are on the frontier of current sensing, so learn more about this emerging technology on our board page and fill out the form if you’re looking to evaluate it for your upcoming project.
Keep designing!