Allegro MicroSystems Launches Groundbreaking New Position Sensor for ADAS Applications

New sensor uses new technologies including TMR and vertical Hall elements to combine industry-leading accuracy with built-in redundancy required for safety-critical systems

Manchester, New Hampshire, USA - Allegro MicroSystems (hereinafter referred to as Allegro), a global leader in sensor technology and power semiconductor solutions for motion control and energy-saving systems, announced that at the Sensors Converge conference held in San Jose, California, Allegro launched the magnetic position sensors A33110 and A33115. These two latest sensors are designed for advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) applications that require high accuracy and heterogeneous signal redundancy, integrating Allegro's vertical Hall technology (VHT) with leading tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) technology in a single sensor package. These groundbreaking angle sensors are the first in their class to achieve the combination of VHT+TMR technologies in a single package, which is an excellent heterogeneous redundant sensor solution and an important step towards achieving the reliability required for advanced autonomous driving in vehicles.

Future vehicle automation and self-driving cars require advanced electric power steering (EPS) systems with precise motor control, as well as fast-response brake-by-wire or electromechanical braking systems. Today’s systems typically use giant magnetoresistance (GMR) or Hall effect sensors. Compared to GMR and other similar products, Allegro’s innovative Tunnel Magnetoresistive (TMR-on-silicon) technology provides higher resolution and accuracy, and eight times higher sensitivity. Compared to traditional Hall effect sensors, this new technology has a more significant improvement in resolution.

The safe operation of vehicles requires the highest level of diagnostic coverage for their safety-critical systems. The A33110 and A33115 devices use Allegro's latest VHT technology to enable accurate safety checks, including low magnetic field and magnet missing detection. These high-resolution sensors meet ASIL D standards and have heterogeneous redundancy, which can reduce the possibility of correlated failures by fully leveraging the advantages of TMR technology and VHT.

“As the automotive industry moves closer to fully autonomous driving becoming a reality, automakers and Tier 1 suppliers are looking for position sensors that can provide the highest accuracy and safety while reducing system footprint and cost,” said Scott Milne, Director of the Position Sensor Business Unit at Allegro. “By combining vertical Hall and TMR elements in a single package, Allegro’s new sensors provide high resolution, heterogeneous redundancy, and integrated diagnostics that enable customers to fully address these market needs. The A33110 and A33115 are uniquely positioned among similar products on the market, and we believe these products are game changers for the industry .”

The A33110 and A33115 provide magnetic angle sensing through primary (TMR) and secondary (vertical Hall) sensing elements, each of which includes two independent processing channels, each with independent regulators and temperature sensors. This unique configuration enables the high level of safety and diagnostic coverage required for autonomous driving, including on-chip channel-to-channel angle comparison and independent processing in the digital signal path without sharing digital resources. The advanced algorithms integrated in the A33110 and A33115 provide the fast response time, independent gain/offset correction, angle calculation, and linearization functions required for safety-critical ADAS applications. The A33115 also includes a 90-degree incremental tracking motion revolution counter and a low-power mode with a user-programmable duty cycle to reduce power consumption when the IC is in the off position.

Allegro ships more than 200 million semiconductor devices for ADAS applications each year , serving a diverse customer base around the world. The A33110 and A33115 are the latest devices in Allegro's innovative product portfolio for ADAS applications, developed in close cooperation with market-leading important OEMs and Tier 1 customers. For samples and product pricing of the A33110 and A33115, please contact Allegro's Shanghai branch or local office. For data sheets and more information about the A33110 and A33115, please visit the Allegro website.