TI Korea (CEO Kent Chon, www.ti.com/kr) June 4, 2015 – TI (CEO Kent Chon) announced the launch of a new magnetic sensing integrated circuit (IC). The new DRV421 is the industry's first to fully integrate a Fluxgate sensor and a compensation coil driver, along with all necessary signal conditioning circuitry. This full integration provides best-in-class sensor accuracy, linearity, and a high signal input range, while simplifying system design compared to existing closed-loop sensors. Additionally, system developers can use the DRV421 to more easily develop magnetic closed-loop current sensors for applications such as motor control, renewable energy, battery charging ICs, and power monitoring.

TI plans to demonstrate its new DRV421 magnetic sensing IC technology at the Sensors Expo (Booth #217), which will be held in Long Beach, California, from June 9 to 11. (For more details, please refer to www.ti.com/drv421-pr-kr)

Key Features of the DRV421 IC

· Simplified system design: Integrated fluxgate sensors reduce design complexity and effort, enabling a smaller footprint.

· Sensor integration provides best-in-class accuracy and linearity:

o Precise control of motors and automation equipment possible with overall sensor accuracy of less than 0.1%

o Provides high linearity by reducing coupling between the compensation coil and the fluxgate sensor and the emission of fluxgate excitation.

· High Dynamic Range: Increases signal input range by up to 60-fold with built-in closed-loop magnetic core degaussing procedures and offset calibration, supporting higher system-level accuracy compared to existing solutions.

· 3.3V Operation Support: Simplifies the interface for ADCs integrated into low-power microcontrollers with the industry's first flux-gate sensor solution supporting 3.3V operation.

Development tools and support to reduce design time

The DRV421 evaluation module (DRV421EVM) enables developers to evaluate the functionality and performance of new current sensing ICs more quickly and easily. The evaluation module is available for purchase at the TI store and authorized TI distributors for $49.

In addition, SUMIDA CORPORATION has released the SC2912 magnetic module, which system designers can place on the DRV421 as a printed circuit board (PCB) component. This enables engineers to design general-purpose platform solutions targeting a wide range of current levels while selecting magnetic modules suitable for specific applications.

Seiji Shimizu, Assistant Manager of Signal and Power Solutions for Sumida’s Automotive and Industrial Business Unit, stated, “Sumida’s new and intuitive approach to the DRV421 complementary module provides customers with new degrees of freedom for closed-loop sensor modules,” adding, “The combination of our module technology and TI’s DRV421 provides customers with unprecedented new levels of accuracy, linearity, dynamic range, sensitivity, and ease of use.”

You can receive support for the DRV421 in the TI E2E™ community, where you can find solutions, share knowledge, and troubleshoot with fellow engineers and TI experts.

Package, supply time, and price

The DRV421 is available in a 4mm x 4mm QFN (quad flat no-lead) package. Pre-production samples are currently being supplied, and mass production is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2015. The price is $2.50 per 1,000 units.