ZMD AG, a global supplier of low-power mixed-signal solutions for automotive and medical applications, today introduced the ZMD31150 high-speed automotive signal conditioner IC with advanced on-chip diagnostics for use with all types of wheatstone bridge sensors.
The ZMD31150 is designed for all sensing applications in automotive environments, such as fuel injection, ABS, power steering, air induction, fuel tank, air conditioning and occupant classification.
“In some applications, speed is of the essence,” stated Frank Schulze, Business Line Manager Automotive at ZMD. “For optimum safety in a car crash, the car must sense the size, weight, and orientation of the front-seat occupants - quickly, in order to control the airbag’s deployment. The ZMD31150 is two to seven times faster than other signal-conditioning chips with comparable accuracy, and its diagnostic features mean increased reliability when it’s needed most.”
Sensor inaccuracy or failure is a leading cause of unscheduled service for modern automobiles. A sensor signal conditioner (SSC) must either give a known-correct response, or report an error code. Enhanced real-time diagnostics in the ZMD31150 detect faulty connections, shorts and power loss events.
An error-correcting function in the EEPROM insures uncorrupted EEPROM content and increased MTBF. This is backed up with an EEPROM signature check which detects severe, uncorrectable multibit failures. To enhance hardware reliability, the output is protected against short-circuits, reverse-polarity, and voltages as high as 33 Volts.
The ZMD31150 provides highly accurate amplification and sensor-specific digital correction of bridge sensor signals. An analog pre-amp gain of 420 accommodates bridge outputs as low as 1mV/V and an extended sensor offset. A fast 16-bit ADC with an integrating input characteristic gives a 7.8 KHz sample rate, so the whole system delivers a comparable analog bandwidth of 4 KHz. Accuracy and flexibility is further enhanced by selectable internal or external temperature sensors. This allows more precise temperature compensation of sensor readings.
Signal conditioning is done by an internal digital signal processor running a correction algorithm based on calibration coefficients stored in the on-chip EEPROM. By calibrating the chip to a specific sensor digitally, users gain the benefits of speed and accuracy, while eliminating the cost associated with trimming methods using lasers and/or external devices.
Calibration is accomplished easily with a simple PC-based program using the ZMD31150’s serial interface. Additional EEPROM bytes allow storage of a serial number or other product-traceability data. Because it is re-programmable, sensors can be recalibrated as often as desired. This makes field replacement of sensors easier, more accurate and less expensive.
