Requirements for Industrial Sensor Applications

The demands for industrial analog ICs are very different, depending on the respective application. For example, on one hand highly demanding sensor amplifiers and A/D converters are necessary, while on the other hand the ICs are frequently exposed to sharp voltage transients and varied loads. Standard ICs do not generally satisfy all the requirements and additional complex external circuitry is therefore needed. Typical for many applications is a power supply with an unregulated voltage on which however transients of over 50 V may occur. Similar requirements can be found in house installations or domestic goods, where supply voltages are often higher. An example will show how the use of an ASIC offers advantages for the application.

Typical power supply voltages in industry and automation equipment are in the range of 20 V to 40 V, sometimes higher. This means selecting a process for the ASIC that is suitable for high voltages. This is offered by the ModuS U6 Process from PREMA, as in the accompanying box. Power supply voltages in the industrial field are often unregulated or show large transients. On the other hand integrated precision amplifiers, for example, make high demands on the internal supply voltage of the IC. Thus a voltage controller is needed that effectively suppresses power supply fluctuations. In the simplest case a linear regulator can be used.