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Monitor provides accurate current measurement at low cost

28th August 2007

ES Admin

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Zetex Semiconductors has introduced a low cost current monitor producing a current output signal with an accuracy as high as 1%. Housed in the 5-pin SOT23 package and with a wide, 2.5V to 20V, common mode voltage range, the ZXCT1020 provides a versatile current measurement solution for a wide range of applications from low voltage portables through to automotive circuitry.

Converting the voltage developed across a sense resistor into a ground referenced current output this high side current monitor is simply configured using low cost external resistors. As a result, the device output can be scaled independently of the sense resistor, using one resistor to set the transconductance and another to set the overall gain and output impedance.

The ZXCT1020’s very low on-chip offset trimming brings a significant improvement in performance for very small sense voltages at high current levels. For such conditions, accuracy is further enhanced by the device’s very low minimum operating current consumption, typically 25µA.

The current monitor’s improved temperature drift characteristics helps reduce calibration requirements by maintaining accuracy over a wide temperature range - its ambient temperature range of -40ºC to 85ºC making it suitable for the most arduous industrial operating conditions. The ZXCT1020 will also serve as a precision programmable current source in a range of applications including high linearity oscillators and F/V converters.