Innovative current sensors with high power density for power electronics

The programmable current sensor CFS1000 has been developed for the highly dynamic electronic measurement of DC, AC or pulsed currents with ingegrated galvanic isolation.It consists of an anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensor element combined with a specific ASIC as system in package (SIP) in a JEDEC compliant SOIC housing. The current sensor gives the end user the flexibility to create “his own” bus bar according to the required current range and the geometric general conditions. The high bandwidth combined with high precision enable users to achieve higher power density in their power electronics, particularly when the sensor is used in combination with new wide band gap power transistors, e.g. SiC or GaN. The compact design of the CFS1000 provides the opportunity to integrate the current sensors even deeper into the power modules to achieve a further reduction of size of inverters or converters. The current sensor exhibits no hysteresis as observed in iron core based Hall-sensor solutions. Due to the high sensitivity of AMR sensors, a flux concentrator is not necessary. The sensor system works in closed loop operation, providing high linearity and a low temperature dependency. Typical applications for the CFS1000 currents sensor are in the automotive sector, electrical speed drives (industry, e-mobility), in frequency converters, for battery management and renewable energy.

For those new to the technology or fascinated by the potential: Sensitec offers a demo kit to learn the features and benefits of the CFS1000 current sensors in a quick and simple manner.