Sensor Interface IC with Signal Conditioning Algorithms for Automotive and Industrial Pressure Sensing Applications

Published  February 23, 2021   0
A17700 Sensor Interface IC

A17700 from Allegro is an automotive-grade interface IC that delivers fast, reliable, and flexible output with top-of-the-line signal conditioning algorithms for automotive and industrial pressure sensing applications. This new IC is configurable for resistive bridge pressure sensors in a wide range of critical applications viz. high-pressure systems like dynamic brake systems (DBS) in turbo and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) or gasoline direct injection (GDI) to medium and low-pressure systems such as brake boosters, HVAC applications for electrified vehicles, and automatic transmission oil management.

The key features of the A17700 sensor interface IC include flexible compensation algorithms for accuracy over temperature and sensing bridge variation, precise pressure information delivery in low delay analog, PWM, or SENT outputs; automotive AEC-Q100 grade 0 qualification and EMC robustness with minimized external components and a suite of advanced integrated system diagnostics.

Offering several ways to improve system output and maintain flexibility, the new sensor IC delivers robust EMC performance up to 4kV HBM and enables up to 30% fewer external components for a smaller total solution footprint, smaller PCB, and more cost-efficient system design. Integrated with a polynomial algorithm, this device offers high accuracy overpressure and temperature through two-stage processing of a pressure signal.

Key Features of A17700 IC

  • Interface pressure sensor qualified with AEC-Q100 Grade 0 
  • Analog, PWM, and SENT output.  
  • On-chip Poly(4,4) compensation for improved accuracy over temperature, compensating both IC and bridge 
  • Manchester interface for programming through single OUT pin
  • Suite of diagnostics to allow for safety-critical systems fault detection
  • QFN package with wettable flanks enabling visual inspection of solder joints

The A17700 also delivers high accuracy in resistive membranes requiring either high- or low-point characterization during assembly. It is an ultra-fast interface sensing IC that has an input-to-output processing delay of 100 μs. It is available in a small form-factor 24-pin 4 mm × 4 mm QFN package with wettable flanks.