Melexis launches new IMC-Hall® current sensor chip with measurement range exceeding 2000A

January 29, 2021, Tessenderlo, Belgium - Melexis, a global microelectronics engineering company, has announced the launch of the extremely high magnetic field current sensor chip MLX91216 XHF, extending the original IMC-Hall® technology that combines ease of use and high precision to high current measurement in emerging automotive applications.

The MLX91216 XHF has a current measurement range of up to 2000A and is suitable for redundant monitoring of battery management systems (BMS), overcurrent detection of smart fuses, and phase current measurement of traction inverters and boost/recovery inverters. This sensor chip can adjust the resolution, response time and bandwidth through user-programmable filtering to achieve the best signal-to-noise ratio, and has built-in diagnostic functions, including broken wire detection.

The SOIC8 surface mount device includes Melexis' patented magnetic collection point (IMC), which can be used with a simple U-shaped shield to accurately measure the bus current in a non-contact manner. When mounted on the PCB, the sensor chip can be placed above the busbar with an additional shield, which is easier to assemble than traditional Hall sensors. The proven IMC-Hall technology differs from coreless solutions in that it is more mechanically tolerant and its measurement is not based on magnetic field gradients, which are the result of severe busbar narrowing and produce obvious hot spots. In addition, IMC-Hall® technology also has many of the advantages of coreless technology, such as surface mount solutions are more suitable for building small components (in contrast, through-hole packages are more complex and core-based solutions often require specific lead bending/forming processes).

The MLX91216 XHF expands the Melexis IMC-Hall sensor chip product family, providing accurate, high-speed current measurement for a wide range of automotive and industrial applications.

MLX91216 High Field (HF) version: 200A to 600A

MLX91216 Very high magnetic field (VHF) version: 400A to 1200A

MLX91216 Extremely High Field (XHF) version: 800A to 2000A

The MLX91216 XHF is available now and is qualified to AEC-Q100 Grade 0 for automotive applications with an operating temperature range of -40°C to +150°C. The sensor chip has a wide measurement range of ±25 mT to ±90 mT, linearity down to ±0.2% of full scale, a response time of 2 μs, and very high thermal stability, with a zero drift of less than 5 mV and a sensitivity drift of less than 1%.