New Industry Products

MCU includes AFE for Single- and Three-Phase Smart Meters

March 11, 2015 by Jeff Shepard

Toshiba Corporation today announced the launch of a new microcontroller, the TMPM311CHDUG, as the latest addition to its ARM® Cortex®-M3-based TX03 series. This MCU is designed for smart meter applications. Sample shipments will start in April, with mass production scheduled to start in September, 2015. A power measurement analog front-end (AFE) for single-phase and three-phase smart meters requires simultaneous high-precision current measurement, voltage measurement and power calculation. A 24-bit delta-sigma (∆∑)-type AD converter incorporated in the new product enables high-precision current measurement, voltage measurement and power calculation at the same time. This ensures the realization of high-end smart meters and metrology devices.

Key Features of the TMPM311CHDUG include: Built-in four-channel 24-bit ΔΣ-type AD converter: Measures current and voltage simultaneously, with high precision. The allowance for measurement error of single-phase power calculation is within 0.1 %. Three-phase power meter solution: Simultaneous current and voltage measurement for up to eight channels is supported by using two units of the microcontroller in an interlocking manner. Built-in low-noise variable gain amplifier in each conversion channel of the 24-bit ΔΣ-type AD converter: Enables high-precision measurement for current from a current sensor. This supports both power calculation meter and various sensor equipment.

A built-in temperature sensor: Enables various temperature corrections. In combination with TMPM411F20, which incorporates two Cortex-M4F cores and performs measurement and communication controls on one chip, and enables tamper detection in the power failure and interrupt detection for measurement and communications at super-low power consumption, TMPM311CHDUG can realize a smart meter system that integrates measurement and communication on a board. The device is packaged in a LQFP48 (7mm × 7mm, 0.5mm pitch).