The new TDC-GP30-F01 features a built-in measurement computation processor.
Guaranteed to run for 20 years on a single AA battery


ams announced that it has expanded its ultrasonic flowmeter IC product family and launched a hardware and firmware measurement integration solution for residential water meters (Product name: TDC-GP30-F01).

This chip has a continuous current consumption of only 8.5µA when measuring flow at 8Hz, guaranteeing a lifespan of up to 20 years using a single AA lithium-ion battery.

The TDC-GP30-F01 is equipped with a low-power 32-bit processor and firmware, as well as an ultrasonic flow measurement front-end circuit capable of converting measurements of flow, flow rate, and temperature into the sensor's analog output. In other words, water meter designers can use the TDC-GP30-F01 to easily and quickly implement new integrated ultrasonic water meters without having to develop their own firmware.

This product enables a wide range of design options for spool pieces (the part of a water meter that measures flow rate), requiring users to simply analyze the characteristics of the spool piece they intend to use. ams provides all the necessary hardware and software tools for the verification, development, and design characterization processes utilizing this chip. Additionally, the product offers features via firmware, such as power saving modes and error handling when the flow rate is zero.


Users also have the option to add their own firmware code. For example, the firmware of the TDC-GP30-F01 can be extended to easily implement heat meter applications.

This product can be directly connected to an ultrasonic transducer, requiring only the addition of a simple microcontroller to operate other water meter functions, such as display and connectivity. The design based on the TDC-GP30-F01 allows for a more compact structure because it uses significantly fewer components compared to competitor methods, which require high-spec processors for sophisticated calculations and additional external parts.

It is possible to build a system that precisely measures water flow and flow rate.

With the TDC-GP30-F01, designers can build a system that measures water flow and volume with high precision, making it suitable for various types of legally regulated water metering applications. This product measures the time difference required for ultrasound to travel upstream and downstream, is temperature-stable, and provides repeatable and precise time measurement results. The precision and stability of flow measurement mean that when applied to a well-designed DN20 meter, water leakage rates can be detected down to 0.5 liters per hour, which is significantly lower than the minimum flow rate measured by the most commonly used mechanical water meters today.

The TDC-GP30-F01 provides an SPI or UART interface to an external microcontroller and also offers firmware with a built-in pulse interface that allows direct use of signals from traditional mechanical water meters without conversion. Therefore, ams product users can replace their existing flow rate measurement systems with advanced non-invasive flow meters without the need to rewrite their existing application software to fit the TDC-GP30-F01.

"When using competitor products, a dedicated processor equipped with software that supports complex measurements, such as ultrasonic time difference measurement, must be able to convert time data values into calibrated flow rate and flow rate measurements. On the other hand, the TDC-GP30-F01 is the industry's only dedicated ultrasonic flow meter IC designed to manage computational functions internally, providing designers with a much easier implementation method and enabling a lower BOM," said Georg Jedelhauser, Marketing Director at ams.

TDC-GP30-F01 samples and demo kits are currently available, and mass production quantities of the TDC-GP30-F01 product can also be ordered. The unit price is $9.50 per unit based on a quantity of 1,000.

For sample requests and detailed technical inquiries, please refer to www.ams.com/ultrasonic-flow-converter/TDC-GP30-F01.