Revolutionary new crankshaft and camshaft sensors for HEV engine platforms

Allegro MicroSystems has released two new state-of-the-art giant magnetoresistance (GMR) crankshaft and camshaft sensors. The ATS16951 (crankshaft) and ATS16351 (camshaft) sensors are unique and offer manufacturers a single-vendor solution excellent for hybrid vehicle engines, with usage cases extending to two-wheelers, off-road vehicles, and application designs needing extended air gap performance. The sensors will assist engine designers to lower system complexity, cost, and energy consumption – increasing efficiency and minimising carbon footprints.

With up to 40% better edge repeatability and lower amounts of jitter than competing and legacy solutions, the ATS16951 back-biased GMR crankshaft sensor provides automakers new ways to improve fuel efficiency with higher-precision ignition and valvetrain timing. Its large air gap simplifies design-in, extends design margin and tolerance capability, and enables a broader range of sensor installation locations.

With an industry-leading air gap 50% larger than current options, the ATS16351 True Power On State (TPOS) GMR camshaft sensor improves design-in flexibility and stray field immunity. It can be positioned virtually anywhere, which is increasingly important as some hybrid engines now contain four camshaft sensors. Tight spaces often connect with high current transients, and engine designers need camshaft sensors that work seamlessly via the resulting stray fields. The device's differential GMR architecture offers a level of immunity not currently provided in legacy or competing solutions.

These sensors include the company's Target Profile Diagnostic feature, which makes it attainable to assess a target throughout the manufacturing and detect any slight tooth anomalies before an engine is installed into a vehicle, stopping potential warranty returns and increasing customer satisfaction.

"Our new GMR crankshaft and camshaft sensors optimise performance for emerging hybrid vehicle applications. They're unique to the market and outperform competing technologies due to their high air gaps and level of accuracy," says Peter Wells, Speed and Sensor Interface Business line director at Allegro. "The industry is transitioning to xEVs quickly, and the ATS16951 and ATS16351 both offer a level of precision that will help give automakers the increases in motor efficiency they're targeting."