Date: 06/07/2010

A signal conditioner with a line driver for sensor applications

iC-Haus has introduced the iC-TW3, a signal conditioner with a line driver for a wide range of sensor applications. It has precision instrumentation amplifiers with differential voltage inputs service three channels, whose gain and offset correction can be configured individually.

Some of the key features of iC-TW3 are:

1. The gain is such that the setup can be adjusted to suit sensor signals in the millivolt range with -3 dB to 59 dB.
2. An integrated regulator automatically triggers the dynamic gain and offset correction.
3. Whether the temperature is measured internally or externally, gain and offset correction can be compensated for the individual temperature behavior of the sensor using an interpolation table.
4. The high-impedance inputs enable a number of different optical and magnetic sensors to be directly connected up to the device.
5. A high-impedance input signal monitor detects open sensor pins and signals these as a LOW at an error output.
6. Automatic offset and gain regulator can be activated for encoder applications to ensure that the quality of the signal remains constant.
7. The differential analog outputs can drive 1 Vpp to 100O and 2 Vpp to 1 kO and are short-circuit-proof.
8. The individual temperature behavior of a connected sensor can be compensated for by the settings in the interpolation table.
9. Consists of 16 interpolating points, sensor temperature dependencies are compensated for using linear interpolation.
10. Either an integrated or external temperature sensor is used as a point of reference. iC-TW3 is configured using the bidirectional one-wire interface.
11. With an optical receiver on the one-wire interface, the device can calibrated in the field using optical pulses.
12. The device operates at a single voltage supply of3.3 V to 5.0 V range.
13. Calibration parameters and the interpolation table are written to an external EEPROM and protected by a checksum.
14. When the supply voltage is applied, they are automatically loaded via the I2C interface.
15. Any errors detected are signaled to the external PLC/control unit as a LOW signal at an error output.

Package: QFN package with 32 pins and requires just 5 mm x 5 mm of space.

Operating temperature range: -40°C to +125°C

Availability:
Demo board EVAL TW3 2D and PC adapter MB3U-I2C are available.
A PC operating program can be downloaded free of charge.