Melexis unveils the MLX90296, a new micropower linear Hall-effect sensor that draws less than 5 µA at 100 Hz and integrates digital filters for enhanced performance. Its flexible architecture is available in multiple pre-configured variants under different part numbers, enabling short lead times and allowing it to suit a wide range of battery-powered applications, including keyboards, game controllers, long linear strokes, and more.
Linear sensors play a critical role in enabling precise and reliable motion detection across diverse applications. In gaming, they translate user input from triggers, push buttons, and joysticks into accurate, responsive control signals. For smart IoT devices, such as HMI knobs and anti-tampering sensors, provide essential position and motion information for automated operation. In industrial systems, including solenoid valves, elevator floor alignment, fluid-level monitoring, and tactile sensing, linear sensors deliver consistent, measurable feedback that drives accurate system performance.
Traditional mechanical potentiometers suffer from wear and limited configurability, while legacy Hall-effect and linear sensors often fall short of the latest requirements for power efficiency, miniaturization, or precision. The MLX90296 addresses these challenges with a micropower design, compact DFN-4L footprint, and fully digital signal path. Its internal DSP-based filtering and tight tolerances ensure high accuracy, while multiple pre-configured variants under different part numbers allow the sensor to meet the diverse requirements of battery-powered devices quickly and efficiently. Ultra-low power operation — 7 nA in standby, 50 µA at a 1 kHz enable rate, 5 µA at a 100 Hz enable rate, and 1.9 mA when continuously enabled — combined with a fast 25 µs enable time, ensures energy-efficient performance ideal for battery-powered devices.
The IC’s digital architecture provides configurable filtering and five sensitivity options (3.5 mV/mT to 60 mV/mT), enabling precise, repeatable linear measurements while improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This allows either smaller magnets or extended detection distances without sacrificing accuracy. Design flexibility is further enhanced by bipolar operation, which detects both magnetic polarities for the full range, while unipolar operation measures a single magnetic pole — providing additional options for extended sensitivity and flexible magnet placement.
These capabilities are delivered in a compact DFN-4L package (1.6 mm × 1.2 mm × 0.4 mm) with a 1.8V or 3.3V working voltage and pin-to-pin compatibility with other common micropower 1D linear sensors on the market, enabling easy integration into tight spaces and rapid adoption. Robust thermal stability ensures consistent accuracy across the -40°C to 105°C operating range, while the tri-state output, integrated voltage regulator, and analog output driver (ratiometric output) simplify system-level design.
Its combination of digital configurability, ultra-low power, flexible polarity options, and compact footprint enables designers to implement accurate, contactless linear sensing in space-constrained devices, while ensuring reliable performance throughout the product’s lifetime — from gaming controllers to smart IoT interfaces and industrial automation systems.
The MLX90296 is available now.
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