Products of the Week: May 13, 2024

May 13, 2024

Here's this week's selection of some of the most interesting new products that have been launched of late.

The MLX90427 enables accurate detection of movement of any magnet in its vicinity.

Magnetic Sensor Targets Embedded Position Apps Demanding High Functional Safety

Providing key functionality to precision applications like steer-by-wire systems, the MLX90427 from Melexis is a next-generation magnetic position-sensing IC specifically engineered to meet the current and future technical requirements of the automotive industry. Leveraging the Triaxis Hall magnetic sensing element that exhibits sensitivity to three components of flux density (Bx, By, and Bz) applied to the IC, the MLX90427 enables accurate detection of movement of any magnet in its vicinity.

The MLX90427 can seamlessly transition between four distinct operating modes, including a standard rotary mode with two performance ranges, a joystick mode for XYZ 3D position-sensing applications, and a 360-degree stray field immune mode for continuous rotational feedback in noisy environments. Features include AEC-Q100 qualification (Grade 0), and ISO26262 ASIL C SEooC (safety element out of context) supporting up to ASIL D system-level integration. Boasting excellent stray field immunity and EMC robustness, the MLX90427 can be deployed alongside sensors utilizing differing sensing technologies, such as an inductive sensor, to provide the highest levels of functional safety through heterogeneous redundancy.

Additional features include a high-speed full-duplex SPI output for communication with a master microcontroller and a 14-bit resolution output, as well as 5V and 3V3 application compatibility and an operating temperature range from -40 to 160°C, with built-in self-diagnostics for swift fault reporting. The MLX90427 is available in SOIC8 packaging from May with a dual die TSSOP16 (fully redundant) variant launching in Q4 of 2024.

Alix Paultre | Editor-at-Large, Microwaves & RF

Alix is Editor-at-Large for Microwaves & RF.

An Army veteran, Alix Paultre was a signals intelligence soldier on the East/West German border in the early ‘80s, and eventually wound up helping launch and run a publication on consumer electronics for the U.S. military stationed in Europe. Alix first began in this industry in 1998 at Electronic Products magazine, and since then has worked for a variety of publications, most recently as Editor-in-Chief of Power Systems Design.

Alix currently lives in Wiesbaden, Germany.