austriamicrosystems has introduced the AS5145, a 12-bit encoder IC for automotive sensing applications. The contactless system-on-chip magnetic rotary encoder provides angular measurement over a full turn of 360° with a resolution of 0.0879° = 4096 positions per revolution. Digital angle data is available via a simple serial interface or as a PWM signal. An incremental quadrature output mode with an improved interpolation algorithm can be enabled and permanently programmed with a resolution of 10 up to 12 bits. Accuracy is improved due to the higher noise performance.
Target applications include transmission/gear box solutions where high accuracy in a harsh environment is required. Bernhard Czar, marketing director automotive, said the AS5145 can also be used in headlight position control units and torque and valve position sensing applications.
The encoder features user-specific zero programming, Chip-ID, and diagnostic functions for the correct positioning of the magnet. It also provides a special feature to synchronize external electronics with itself as well as a Sin/Cosine digital output mode. If this mode is activated, a 16 bit sinus and 16 bit cosines digital data of both channels will be switched out and an accurate calculation can be done externally.
A daisy chain mode is available for cascading multiple devices, allowing position data to be read out over the serial two-wire-bus. An internal voltage regulator allows the AS5145 to operate at either 3.3 V or 5 V supplies. The encoder’s ambient temperature range extends to 150°C, and no additional temperature compensation and calibration of the device is required. The AS5145 is available in a lead-free SSOP-16 package.