MDDC 4-channel sensor signal amplifier designed for fast digital power conversion

A multi-channel amplifier IC MDDC for fast digital power conversion is now available from MAZeT GmbH.

MAZeT said its MDDC 4-channel sensor signal amplifier for sensors with current output also converts small input currents quickly and across a high bandwidth and dynamic range and digitizes them on chip via a transimpedance amplifier.

It integrates a 12-bit A/D conversion on-chip that works as a "successive approximation" A/D converter and also offers temperature modulation to compensate for large temperature variation in the transimpedance of the current-voltage converter.

Designed for fast applications in conjunction with detectors and arrays, such as in-line (color) measurement and control in automated processes, such as printing and analysis, it is independently programmable digitally for each channel above 5 bits in 16 stages via the SPI interface.

The programming of the transimpedance regulates the reference programming for the conversion (equivalent to a reference voltage for a conventional A/D voltage converter). As this is implemented independently for each channel, each channel can have its own reference current or current range (Full Scale Range—FSR). All necessary references are implemented internally.

A bi-directional 12-bit SPI interface with a clock up to 16MHz manages the communication to and from the ASIC. The SPI clock is used simultaneously for the A/D converter, which uses a sampling rate of up to 100kS/s for all four channels.