TDK introduces Hall-effect position sensors for high-speed motor applications

     TDK Corporation has introduced the Micronas Fast 2D Hall-effect position sensor family HAL 302X to meet the need for anti-stray field motor position detection in automotive and industrial applications and for ISO/26262 compliant development. This new sensor family initially contains two members, HAL 3020 and HAL 3021, with differential and single-end chord and cosine analog outputs for standard Angle calculations on external microcontrollers/ECUs.

     HAL 3020 is suitable for cost-effective applications such as electric pumps or electric valves. For these types of applications, the sensor can be easily integrated with TDK's Micronas family of embedded motor controllers for more precise and safer motor control. The HAL 3021 is suitable for demanding high-speed sensing applications such as electric power steering, electric motors (e-axis), electric brake boosters and electromechanical braking (EMB).

     The HAL 302x sensor can measure the full rotation Angle of 360° by evaluating the vertical magnetic field component (BZ). The HAL 3020 uses three horizontal Hall plate arrays, while the HAL 3021 uses six. Both sensors suppress external DC and AC stray fields (ISO 11452-8). By suppressing harmonic interference in the stimulus signal through the internal calculation of the device, a simple and cost-effective coaxial (axle-end) configuration of bipolar ferrite magnets is sufficient to measure the absolute angular position. The inherent stray-field robustness eliminates the need for expensive magnetic shielding and the use of stronger target magnets. This provides greater flexibility in the design and production of next-generation motors for hybrid and electric vehicles.

     A key advantage of the HAL 3021 is that the device provides best-in-class robustness against static and dynamic mechanical misalignments, such as off-axis displacement, air gap changes, and tilt. This ensures a high degree of reliability and efficient field-oriented control over the lifetime of the motor. To reduce the load on the ECU, the sensor can compensate for major sensor and system-level non-ideal factors such as sine and cosine Angle mismatches, offset errors, (absolute) 0 Angle errors, and orthogonal errors on the chip.

     According to ISO 26262, HAL 302X has been defined as an Independent Safety Element (SEooC) ASIL C class, supporting system-level integration up to ASIL D class. The sensor integrates various safety monitoring functions to help improve diagnostic coverage and simplify external safety oversight at the ECU end. The sensor operates in the junction temperature range from -40 ° C to +170 ° C and is packaged in a small eight-pin SOIC8 SMD.