Many of today's embedded systems incorporate multiple analog sensors that make devices more intelligent, and provide users with an array of information resulting in improved efficiency or added convenience. The Analog Front End (AFE), allowing the connection of the sensor to the digital world of the MCU, is often an assumed "burden" in designing sensor interface circuits. However, the latest concept in a configurable AFE, integrated into a single package, is helping systems designers overcome sensor integration challenges associated with tuning and sensor drift, thereby reducing time to market. The following discussion examines how the versatility of such a technology allows the designer to tune and debug AFE characteristics on the fly, automate trimming and adjust for sensor drift, and add scalability to support multiple sensor types with a single platform.
The ubiquitous use of sensors in our smart devices – from cell phones to industrial equipment and even medical devices – has increased the need for more intelligent sensor technologies that are more versatile, lower overall costs, and require fewer resources to develop and maintain.
Most analog sensor systems comprise three key elements: the analog sensor that measures a specific form of energy, the micro controller (MCU) that processes the digital equivalent of the sensor’s signal, and between them is the Analog Front End (AFE) system (Figure 1). The AFE receives the sensor’s signal and converts/transforms it for the MCU to use, as in most cases the sensor output signals cannot be directly interfaced to an MCU.
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The challenge associated with current AFE design approaches is the time-consuming trial-and-error tuning process, and the lack of flexibility and scalability to support multiple sensors from a single AFE. Moreover, many AFEs do not account for sensor drift or adjust for sensor trimming during production, which directly reduces the quality of the sensor. However, new fully configurable AFE technology is enabling designers to overcome these hurdles.
1.The importance of the AFE
2.Challenges to AFE designs
3.Let’s examine each of these challenges.
4.Configurable AFE eases calibration trial and error
5.Configurable AFE provides scalability
6.A software-supported design approach
7.Simplifying the burden of AFE designs
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