Allegro introduces surface-mount fully integrated current sensors

Allegro MicroSystems has announced significant ease-of-use improvements to its popular series of high-current, fully integrated ACS772/3 current sensor CB packages. These industry-leading automotive grade high isolation voltage and current sensors have provided economical, accurate solutions for AC and DC current detection up to 400A, and based on this market leadership and deep understanding of customers, Allegro's new surface-mount leadform option for the CB package family addresses many customer challenges by providing a more flexible solution for space-constrained applications.

Shaun Milano, Director of Allegro's Current Sensors Business Unit, explains: "This is a classic 'customer asks, we act' with a very clearly targeted innovation model. Customers demand greater design flexibility, and we are excited to offer these technologically innovative, powerful solutions in this new surface mount option to complement our popular through-hole range." High-current PCB designs enable improved power density and efficiency, and this surface-mount option allows customers to realize these benefits with a simpler manufacturing process."

The ACS772/3 series of current sensors offers enhanced capabilities that help engineers simplify bills of material and increase efficiency in the most demanding applications, including:

• Smaller form factor than competing solutions
• Very fast 2.5μs response time for over-current fault detection, ideal for safety-critical applications
• Higher operating isolation voltage up to 1300V+ for basic DC voltage. For enhanced DC voltage isolation, the operating isolation voltage can be up to 650V+ without the use of optical isolators or other expensive isolation technologies
• High accuracy of ±2.1% over the life cycle

Shaun Milano said: "Many of our customers, especially in the green energy application industry, are striving to adopt higher operating voltages, thereby increasing the efficiency of their systems and reducing costs. Using solar applications as an example, increasing the system voltage can increase the string length of the battery pack, thereby reducing important wiring and connector combiners, allowing longer panel strings and inverters with higher output ratings, thereby reducing losses and increasing efficiency. These are win-win technology improvements for our customers."