Space Saving in the Automotive Industry: AS5200L Magnetic Rotary Position Sensor Product Showcase

As time goes by we evolve, as does the technology surrounding us. We want more for less, higher power, smoother rides and faster journeys. Due to this, the automotive industry is under pressure to provide fast, reliable cars that are slick and powerful. Therefore, saving space under the hood is imperative. In this article, PIF will showcase the space-saving AS5200L magnetic rotary position sensor from Austrian sensor solution experts, AMS.

Who are AMS?

AMS produce sensor solutions that make devices smarter, safer, convenient and more environment-friendly. AMS’ sensor solutions are at the heart of the products and technologies that they produce – from smartphones and mobile devices to smart homes and buildings, industrial automation, medical technology, and connected vehicles. AMS products drive applications requiring small form factor, low power, highest sensitivity and multi-sensor integration.

AMS’ Magnetic Rotary Position Sensor

AMS recently released the AS5200L Magnetic Rotary Position Sensor, a dual-die magnetic rotary position sensor with an I2C interface that enables the development of new space-saving designs in safety-critical automotive applications. The AEC-Q100 grade 1 qualified AS5200L joins ams’ extensive portfolio of magnetic position sensors, with its unique feature set focused at electrified powertrain drive-by-wire control functions, such as shift-by-wire for both traditional stick and rotary shifters, and pedal applications.

How does the AS5200L work?

AMS’ traditional high-performance and reliable position sensing technologies are reinforced in the AS5200L by the provision of dual dies. The stacked configuration of the dies means they may be paired with a single small target magnet while providing identical measurement outputs from each die. Separate package pins are provided for each die to prevent an electrical fault in the device from affecting both dies.

The provision of an I2C interface allows for easy programming of operating parameters by a host microcontroller without the need for a dedicated programmer. The AS5200L can provide its angle measurements via the I2C interface or as a PWM signal. Angle measurements are supplied in 12-bit resolution, and the maximum error attributable to inherent non-linearity is a maximum ±1°.

The AS5200L offers low power consumption in active and stand-by modes. A smart low-power mode automatically reduces power consumption, resulting in average current of just 1.5mA when polling every 100ms. The sensor measures rotation over a full 0° to 360° rotation by default. A smaller range can be set by programming a start and stop position into the chip’s one-time programmable (OTP) memory.

AS5200L main features

The AS5200L is housed in an MLF-16 package, with a space-saving footprint of just 5mm x 5mm, and with exposed pads and wettable flanks for fast and simple board-level solder joint inspection. The AS5200L is particularly well suited for automotive system designers seeking to implement robust, accurate rotary position sensing in vehicle electrification applications with tight space constraints, such as gear shifters and pedals, and in various other contactless potentiometer applications such as knobs and joysticks.

Like all AMS magnetic position sensors, the AS5200L benefits from inherent immunity to stray magnetic fields and produces highly accurate and repeatable measurements even in noisy magnetic environments. The result is very reliable performance and reduced system cost, since there is no need for the shielding typically required by competitive magnetic position sensor ICs.

Key features

• Contactless angle measurement
• Digital output over I2C or PWM-encoded output
• Automatic magnet detection
• MLF-16 (5mm x 5mm) package with wettable flanks
• AEC-Q100 automotive qualified

Benefits

• Highest reliability and durability
• Accurate angle measurement
• Simple programming
• Low-power consumption
• Suitable for safety critical automotive applications

If you would like more information on the AS5200L, get in touch with AMS today! This space saving magnetic rotary position sensor is safe, reliable and durable. It is suitable for a variety of automotive applications and provides automatic magnet detection.