Renesas launches magnet-free, inductive position sensor

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has launched its magnet-free IPS2550 inductive position sensor. Featuring improved performance, easy customization, total stray field immunity, and reduced weight and form factor, the IPS2550 is ideal for use as an absolute position sensor for high-speed motor commutation in passenger cars, heavy-duty commercial, and off-road vehicles as well as motorbikes.

With its optimized bill-of-materials, the new sensor allows customers to cost-effectively tailor sensor design for their applications and maximize the performance of the sensor’s accuracy.

Customers can also take advantage of a complete motor commutation solution for traction motors, electronic power steering, starter generators, and other motor applications when combining the new sensor with Renesas microcontrollers (MCUs), gate drivers, and motor drivers.

“The IPS2550 provides a slimmer and lighter contact-less sensor that continues to deliver the high performance and stability that automotive applications demand combined with the flexibility and ease of customization that enables businesses to manufacture their own resolver or magnetic sensor replacement cost-effectively,” said Christian Wolf, VP, Automotive Sensor Business Division at Renesas.

Based on Renesas’ inductive position sensing technology, the magnet-free IPS2550 delivers speeds up to 600 krpm (electrical) and is designed around the motor, accommodating both off-axis (through shaft and side shaft) and on-axis positioning. Customers can match the number of sectors to pole pairs of the motor and cost-effectively boost accuracy compared with alternative sensing technologies.

Featuring total stray field immunity, the thin and light sensor also enables easier motor integration and offers the standard materials required for customers to manufacture their own resolver replacement – reducing bill of materials costs. The IPS2550 has been developed according to ISO26262 to support, as a single IC, the most challenging functional safety-critical applications, capable of supporting up to ASIL-C(D) system-level requirements.

Features include:

High flexibility with scalability based on the number of motor pole pairs, supporting on-axis, off-axis, and side-shaft alignment
AEC-Q100 qualified with stable operation in harsh environments and -40° to +160° C ambient temperatures
Enhanced accuracy and production stability with sin/cos gain mismatch and offset compensation
Up to 600 krpm (electrical) rotational speed

Renesas also offers a variety of off-the-shelf tools that sensor newcomers and motor commutation experts alike can use to easily create tailored and customized sensing elements.

The IPS2550 is the latest member of Renesas’ inductive position sensing portfolio and joins the company’s robust portfolio of devices for automotive applications, which includes MCUs, system on chips (SoCs), analog, and power management to deliver comprehensive solutions.

Customers can further accelerate their designs for quicker time to market by implementing the IPS2550 as part of Renesas’ “Winning Combinations” for BLDC Motor Control, which includes the company’s complementary Analog + Power + Embedded Processing (MCUs and SoCs) product portfolios.