Triaxis® rotary position sensor

The MLX90316 is a Triaxis® rotary position sensor providing the angular position of a small dipole magnet rotating above the device surface (end-of-shaft magnet). Thanks to an IMC on its surface, the monolithic device senses, in a contactless fashion, the horizontal component of the applied magnetic flux density.

This unique sensing principle applied to a rotary position sensor results into an impressive robustness of the angular position over the mechanical (airgap, off-axis) tolerances. The rotation of this horizontal component is sensed over a wide range (up to 360º - complete revolution) and processed by the on-chip DSP to ultimately report the absolute angular position of the magnet either as a ratiometric analog output or as PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation) signal or as a 14-bit data accessible through a 3-pin SPI (serial interface) channel.

The output transfer characteristic is fully programmable (e.g. offset, gain, clamping levels, linearity, thermal drift, filtering, range...) to match any specific requirement through end-of-line calibration. The Melexis programming unit PTC-04 communicates and calibrates the device exclusively through the connector terminals (Vdd-Vss-Out).

The MLX90316 targets and is used in a myriad of non-contacting rotary position sensor applications which are frequently seen in automotive and industrial systems. The device is available in single and dual redundant implementations to cost-effectively address the full range of applications, including safety critical sensing requirements.