New resolver-to-digital converter enables up to a 50 percent reduction in board space and a lower bill-of-materials cost in automotive and industrial applications

DALLAS, June 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) today introduced the industry's first resolver sensor interface with integrated power supply, exciter amplifier and functional safety features. The new device is capable of simultaneously exciting the resolver sensor coil and calculating the angle and velocity of a rotating motor shaft without the external components required by competitive solutions. The PGA411-Q1 resolver-to-digital converter's architecture helps enable designers to increase system accuracy and stability for end equipment like hybrid electric vehicle/electric vehicle (HEV/EV) traction inverters, electric power steering, integrated start-stop generators, industrial alternating current (AC) servo motor control and robotic arm control. For more information, see www.ti.com/pga411q1-pr.

Key features and benefits of the new PGA411-Q1:

High level of integration: The PGA411-Q1 reduces bill-of-materials (BOM) cost and cuts printed circuit board (PCB) space as much as 50 percent by eliminating at least 10 external and passive components. Its integrated exciter amplifier, high-voltage boost power supply with short protection, and programmable fault detection thresholds and filters allow the PGA411-Q1 to support a wide range of 4-Vrms and 7-Vrms resolver sensors and often eliminate the need for external circuitry.
Advanced functional safety features: The integrated built-in self-test (BIST) performs an analog and logic component self-check automatically upon startup, enabling enhanced latent fault coverage. The self-test and built-in diagnostics largely eliminate the need for external protection and enable engineers to develop systems that meet Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL) D functional safety certification for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26262, unlike competitive solutions.
Architected for system stability and accuracy: The device architecture provides overvoltage, undervoltage and thermal protections, including separation of the high-current and high-voltage blocks from other parts of the device, like the analog front end (AFE), which are highly susceptible to damage. Additionally, the AFE's integrated comparators remove the need for an external analog-to-digital converter, which helps enable stability by reducing the effects of quantization noise on the input signals from the sensor.
Eliminate engineering hours: Built-in programmable features such as an internal clock, AFE, and increased diagnostics and protection enable engineers to scale the device to fit a range of resolver sensors and system needs. Designers can easily change internal parameters and move to a new platform design without the extensive engineering effort typically required to redesign hardware or debug a new system.

Design for functional safety system redundancy

Developers can pair the PGA411-Q1 resolver-to-digital converter with TI's C2000™ F28379 microcontrollers (MCUs) and DesignDRIVE Position Manager technology for functional safety redundancy. The DesignDRIVE Position Manager technology gives engineers access to the base functionality needed to interface to resolver sensors, saving time in development, support and testing in industrial servo and AC inverter drives.

The PGA411-Q1 joins TI's growing portfolio of sensing innovations that provide the performance, accuracy and power consumption required in sensing designs.

Tools and support to speed design

Engineers can quickly and easily evaluate the performance of the PGA411-Q1 resolver-to-digital converter with an evaluation module (EVM). The PGA411-Q1 EVM is available today for US$149 from the TI store and authorized distributors. Designers can also evaluate the suitability of this device for their systems with a TI Designs reference design: Automotive Resolver-to-Digital Converter Reference Design for Safety Application.

Package, availability and pricing

The PGA411-Q1 is now available in a 64-pin thermally enhanced thin quad flat pack (HTQFP) PowerPAD™ package starting at US$12.96 in 1,000-unit quantities.

Learn more about TI's resolver sensor interface:

Download the PGA411-Q1 data sheet.
Read the Analog Wire blog post, "How rotary position sensing lifts aerospace designs to new heights."
Learn more about automotive design in TI's Analog Applications Journal article, "Design considerations for resolver-to-digital converters in electric vehicles."
Search for solutions and engage with fellow engineers and TI experts in the TI E2E™ Community Automotive forum.
Learn more about resolver sensor interfaces in the application note, "Safety Manual for PGA411-Q1 Resolver Sensor Interface."
Texas Instruments drives automotive innovation
TI's state-of-the-art semiconductor products allow manufacturers and system suppliers to deliver world-class features to the automotive market. TI offers SafeTI™ parts designed to facilitate original equipment manufacturer (OEM)s' compliance with the requirements of ISO 26262, as well as parts specifically designated as compliant with the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC)-Q100 and TS16949 standards, all with excellent product documentation.

About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is a global semiconductor design and manufacturing company that develops analog ICs and embedded processors. By employing the world's brightest minds, TI creates innovations that shape the future of technology. TI is helping more than 100,000 customers transform the future, today. Learn more at www.ti.com.