Mouser Dedicates Solutions Site to Resistor-Based Current Sensing

Mouser Electronics, Inc., is a leading distributor of semiconductors and electronic components with a broad network of over 800 industry-leading manufacturers. The company’s range of products includes passives, semiconductors, electromechanical components and interconnects. 

Mouser has a customer-centric focus and specializes in new product introduction (NPI) to provide its customers with the latest product innovations and solutions. Recently, the company launched a new offering for its customers in the form of a site dedicated to current sensing solutions for motion control developed by Microchip Technology and Vishay Intertechnology. 

 

 

Current Sensing

Current sensing is a method used by engineers to measure electric current. Current sensors used to do this are either closed- or open-loop. Closed-loop current sensors are much preferred in battery-powered circuits due to their small footprint features, low operating power requirements, and lower cost. 

Open-loop current sensors are used to measure AC and DC currents. Moreover, they provide galvanic isolation of current, where the primary current of the circuit is measured separately from the output of the sensor. 

Current sensing is particularly needed for closed-loop control in power supplies, and for motor control. Hall effect and current sense coil current sensing methods, resistor-based sensing is the preferred approach. Despite being low-cost, using resistors for current measurement requires accuracy and reliability when considering high- versus low-side, determining the resistor value, choosing the right type of resistor, and the physical connection.

 

Mouser’s New Resource Site 

Mouser’s new site offers customers including engineers and buyers a repository from which to obtain robust and reliable current sensing solutions from Vishay and Microchip. The website provides a comprehensive catalog with links to a wide range of products from Vishay and Microchip including current sense resistors and amplifiers. 

Products can be viewed with an overview, further details, key features, and applications for use. Compared to Hall effect and current sense coil current sensing methods, resistor-based sensing is the preferred approach. Both Vishay and Microchip offer customers highly reliable and accurate current sense solutions for motor control during the measurement of high and low-side currents. 

In addition to product information, Mouser’s current reference site provides a whitepaper, “Basics and Trade-offs of Resistor-Based Current Sensing Whitepaper”. This whitepaper details the issues and trade-offs that customers will face including the selection of the most suitable resistor, determination of resistor value, physical connection, and low-side vs high-side sensing, and the associated amplifier electronics. 

 

Vishay and Microchip

In 1962, the company Vishay Intertechnology was founded and grew to be the world’s leading manufacturer of foil resistors and foil resistance strain gages. In 1985, Vishay developed itself to become a broad-line manufacturer of electronic components. Today, Vishay stands as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of passive electronic components and discrete semiconductors. 

Microchip Technology is a provider of intelligent and secure embedded control solutions. Microchip caters to the embedded design needs of its customers with a product portfolio including devices such as cost-competitive memory and analog devices to high-performance PIC microcontrollers (MCUs) and dsPIC Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs). Microchip’s offerings are available to its customers within the automotive, consumer, industrial, aerospace and defense, computing, and communications markets.