Texas Instruments (TI) today introduced a new current sensor product that helps engineers improve accuracy while simplifying designs.

Designed to handle a wide range of common-mode voltages and temperatures, these new products include a portfolio of current shunt monitors that eliminate the need for external shunt resistors for non-isolated voltage rails, along with ultra-low-drift isolated Hall-effect current sensors for high-voltage systems.

The new TMCS1123 Hall-effect current sensor offers design simplicity and accuracy for high-voltage systems, and offers high isolation and accuracy over life and temperature. TI's new EZShunt portfolio includes a fully integrated current shunt monitor and a 75-A integrated shunt solution for non-isolated systems up to 85 V and 75 ARMS.

“When selecting a current sensing solution, design engineers must make trade-offs between four key factors: cost, size, accuracy and speed,” said Jason Cole, business unit manager at TI. “This new product demonstrates how TI’s broad range of sensing technologies can solve design challenges for a variety of systems.”

Citing the TMCS1123 as an example, he explained, “Designers can now utilize Hall-effect sensors in high-voltage systems that were previously impossible due to their high accuracy and low propagation delay, thereby reducing system cost and size.”

■ Hall effect current sensor achieves fast and accurate control in high-voltage systems

With the development of high-voltage systems such as electric vehicle chargers and solar inverters, the demand for highly accurate current measurement is also increasing, but Hall effect current sensors have generally been overlooked due to high drift over their lifetime.

The TMCS1123 Hall-effect current sensor features a high-level reinforced isolation operating voltage of up to 1,100 VDC. It also has a maximum sensitivity error of ±0.75%, a temperature-dependent drift of 50 ppm/°C, and a lifetime drift of ±0.5%.

The high accuracy of the TMCS1123 enables designers to simplify designs while optimizing system performance. High precision and stability over the life of the equipment eliminates the need for recalibration, reducing the need for time-consuming and costly maintenance.

Achieving precise power conversion control is also crucial for optimizing system efficiency and protecting the system. With a low propagation delay of 600 ns and a bandwidth of 250 kHz, the TMCS1123 supports fast control loops, maintaining low noise and enhancing system efficiency.

■ EZShunt technology simplifies the system and reduces system size.

TI's new EZShunt portfolio of current-sensing solutions simplifies design by eliminating the need for external shunt resistors. The portfolio offers an integrated current-sensing solution that fits within the footprint of a 1206 shunt resistor, yet offers the simplicity of a single chip and the value of a separate solution.

The EZShunt portfolio offers cost-optimized, highly accurate options with drift as low as 25 ppm/°C, and a variety of packages and shunt values to choose from. The INA700 is the industry's smallest integrated current shunt monitor, enabling engineers to reduce current sensing solution size by up to 84%.

The portfolio also includes the INA781, a 75 A integrated shunt solution boasting industry-leading accuracy and supporting common-mode voltages up to 85 V.

TI said its new Hall effect and EZShunt current sensing solutions are part of TI's efforts to help engineers more accurately sense the world around them.

The TMCS1123 Hall-effect current sensor is available in pre-production quantities and is available exclusively on TI.com in a 10.3 mm x 10.3 mm, 10-pin SOIC (small outline integrated circuit) package.

The high-bandwidth and automotive-qualified versions of the TMCS1123 are expected to be released in Q4 2023 and Q2 2024, respectively.

Pre-production quantities of EZShunt products are now available in a variety of package options, from 1.319 mm x 1.239 mm, exclusively on TI.com.

Analog and automotive versions of the EZShunt product are scheduled to be released in Q2 2024.