In both industrial and residential settings, electrical monitoring plays a vital role in improving the efficiency of electronic circuits. Data captured by devices such as power supplies and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) can help drive changes in how energy is used, minimizing waste and supporting smart grid management, including strategies such as peak saturation, which reduces consumption during peak hours.
The MLX91218-LF is designed to support a wide range of solutions, including smart electrical distribution circuits, consumer units, energy monitors, and power supplies in both industrial and residential environments, as well as other power applications such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) and electric vehicle charging cables, where intelligent, non-intrusive current monitoring up to 100 A is essential for reliable operation. The sensor features a 400 kHz bandwidth and a 2 µs response time, enabling it to detect small current changes at high speed, while low thermal drift over a wide temperature range, high linearity (±0.5% of full scale), and low noise help ensure accurate measurement in a wide range of operating environments.
To ensure easy integration, the device features a selectable analog output that supports both radiometric and fixed (Vref) modes and a flexible 3.3V or 5V power supply. To simplify physical design considerations, unlike core-based technologies, the IMC Hall® allows for elegant vertical stacking of the current driver, printed circuit board, and sensing IC. Furthermore, the IMC design offers advantages for embedded applications, as its surface-mount package simplifies the integration of the sensor IC onto larger printed circuit boards, improving assembly efficiency and reducing costs.
Incorporated in the MLX91218-LF, internal and external dual-threshold overcurrent detection (OCD) plays a critical role in supporting the creation of intelligent functions, including electronic fuses, which are essential components of smart residential and industrial electrical distribution systems. OCD events are indicated by an active-low open-drain output and can be set within or outside the IC's detection range.
In a typical current sensing application, the sensor measures the current on a bus bar or printed circuit board in combination with a simple U-shaped shield. For clamp-on current solutions, the shield assembly is clamped around the current cable. In some permissible applications, such as those with low electromagnetic interference (EMI), it may be possible to omit the shield to further reduce integration considerations and design volume.
“To improve the efficiency and sustainability of electrical grids, intelligence at a more granular level is needed. This is the driving force behind smart energy devices in both homes and industry, as they can reduce consumption and help users align with larger grid management strategies, such as peak shaving and load shifting,” says Bruno Boury, Product Line Director at Melexis. He continued, “The new MLX91218-LF builds on 20 years of proven IMC technology to serve critical low-current applications, ensuring easy integration, high accuracy, cost-effectiveness, and reliability.”.
