Wide variety of applications for measuring very small voltages by high-precision converter ICs with a resolution of up to 21 bit, noise values of under 1µV and a linearity error below 0.1%

austriamicrosystems (SWX: AMS), a leading global designer and manufacturer of analog integrated circuits (ICs) for communication, industrial, medical and automotive applications, has awarded prizes to the winners of its design competition for innovative applications using the versatile AS8500/AS8501 family of data acquisition front-ends.

Following the successful launch of the product family on the market, the application contest intended to challenge the creativity of customers, students and designers to devise new applications for these high-performance sensor interfaces. “We received a large number of inquiries across a broad range of industries regarding completely new applications for these products. This led to the idea of exploring the full range of possible applications for the AS8500/8501 family, while at the same time making them more widely known“, said Bernhard Czar, Director Marketing Automotive, about the background of the design contest.

The innovative high-precision sensor interfaces were originally developed to improve the performance of measuring devices. First realized applications include a thermometer offering a measurement range from -200°C to 1200°C with an accuracy of less than 1°C, a weight scale with a resolution of 1 gram over a range of 100 kg, and a battery management system for vehicles where current is being measured from the mA to kA range over one single shunt. These initial applications of the AS8500/AS8501 family are impressive proof of their outstanding performance. In the devices, data are fed to a programmable preamplifier via chopper circuitry, then transmitted to a 16 bit A/D converter and offset-corrected in the digital area. Finally, the data is calibrated and filtered by a DSP. The measured data is transferred via a serial interface to an external microprocessor with sampling rates of up to 16 kHz. The devices also include a high-precision voltage reference, an integrated IC temperature sensor, and an internal calibration parameter storage.

In the design contest, announced by austriamicrosystems in April, the three most creative application ideas for the offset-free data acquisition ICs were chosen by a renowned jury of experts and presented by their respective developers at austriamicrosystems’ headquarters in Unterpremstaetten (Austria). There, the “heads” behind the inventions demonstrated their physical prototypes. Following a difficult jury decision, Anders Boeen from California/United States was awarded the main prize of €7,500 euros. His concept of utilizing the AS8500 as an acoustic sensor for microwave ovens to detect the characteristic sound when making popcorn, convinced the members of the jury. In his invention the microphone signals are analyzed by the IC and sent to a signal processor for further processing, which then calculates the optimum cooking time.

A gesture-controlled man-machine interface based on the measurement of weak electrical signals, which enables control via manual gestures, took second place. This invention by Wolfgang Richter from Germany won a prize worth €5,000 euros. Third place, and €2,500, went to Joseph Wollin from Colorado Springs/United States. He invented an application for measuring strength profiles, or strength amplitudes, for sports equipment, where the signal of a battery-powered strength sensor is detected, wirelessly transmitted and analyzed. Due to its fast and accurate signal processing, such equipment can be employed in strength training contests and in physiotherapy.

About austriamicrosystems

austriamicrosystems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs, combining almost 25 years of analog design capabilities and system know-how with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing and test facilities. austriamicrosystems leverages its expertise in low power and high accuracy to provide industry-leading customized and standard analog products. Operating worldwide with more than 950 employees, austriamicrosystems focuses on the areas of power management, sensors & sensor interfaces, portable audio and car access in its markets Communications, Industry & Medical and Automotive, complemented by its Full Service Foundry activities. austriamicrosystems is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker symbol: AMS).