Chopped Hall effect sensor

• US 7,425,821 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2006
• Issued: 09/16/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Allegro Microsystems Incorporated (Sanken Electric Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Allegro Microsystems Incorporated (Sanken Electric Company Limited)
• Inventors: Monreal, Gerardo, Romero, Hernan D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Ha
• Assistant Examiner(s): CAMPBELL, SHAUN M
• Application Number:
  US11/550,849
• Publication Number:
  US 20080094055A1
• Time in Patent Office: 698 Days
• Field of Search: 324/117.H
• US Class Current: 324/117.00H
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 3/02 with provision for altering or correcting the law of variation
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/02 Measuring direction or magnitude of magnetic fields or magnetic flux G01R33/20 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 33/07 Hall effect devices

Abstract

A chopped Hall effect sensor topology includes a switched Hall plate, an amplifier responsive to an output of the switched Hall plate and a filter stage responsive to the output of the amplifier and including an anti-aliasing filter and a selective filter that is tuned to the modulation frequency. The switched Hall plate includes a Hall element and a Hall plate modulation circuit that modulates the Hall offset signal component or the magnetic signal component. In embodiments in which the Hall offset signal component is modulated by the switched Hall plate, the amplifier, if chopped, includes an even number of additional modulation circuits. In embodiments in which the magnetic signal component is modulated by the switched Hall plate, the amplifier contains an odd number of modulation circuits. The described topology provides a low noise, fast response time Hall effect sensor.

Claims

1. A Hall effect sensor comprising:

a Hall element having an output at which is provided a Hall output signal that varies in response to a magnetic field, the Hall output signal comprising a magnetic signal component and an offset signal component;

a Hall plate modulation circuit having an input responsive to the Hall output signal and having an output at which is provided a modulation circuit output signal, wherein the Hall plate modulation circuit is operable to modulate the magnetic signal component or the offset signal component at a modulation frequency f_CLK;

an amplifier having an input responsive to the Hall plate modulation circuit output signal and an output at which is provided an amplifier output signal; and

a filter having an input responsive to the amplifier output signal and an output at which is provided a sensor output signal, wherein the filter comprises an anti-aliasing filter and a discrete time selective filter tuned at the modulation frequency to remove the offset signal component, wherein the anti-aliasing filter provides a bandwidth limited signal for filtering by the selective filter, wherein the anti-aliasing filter removes frequency components above a predetermined frequency selected to prevent aliasing by the discrete time selective filter.

2. The Hall effect sensor of claim 1 wherein the amplifier is a chopped amplifier.

3. The Hall effect sensor of claim 2 wherein the amplifier is chopped at the modulation frequency.

4. The Hall effect sensor of claim 2 wherein the amplifier is chopped at a different frequency than the modulation frequency.

5. The Hall effect sensor of claim 1 wherein the amplifier is a closed loop amplifier.

6. The Hall effect sensor of claim 5 wherein the amplifier comprises a feedback network that is adjustable to adjust the gain of the amplifier.

7. The Hall effect sensor of claim 1 wherein the Hall plate modulation circuit is operative to modulate the offset signal component and wherein the Hall effect sensor comprises an even number of modulation circuits between the output of the Hall plate modulation circuit and the input of the filter.

8. The Hall effect sensor of claim 7 wherein the amplifier comprises:

a summing node having a first input coupled to the output of the Hall plate modulation circuit, a second, feedback input, and an output;

a first modulation circuit having an input coupled to the output of the summing node and an output;

a gain stage having an input coupled to the output of the first modulation circuit and an output;

a second modulation circuit having an input coupled to the output of the gain stage and an output; and

a feedback network having an input coupled to the filter and an output coupled to the second input of the summing node.

9. The Hall effect sensor of claim 8 wherein the input of the feedback network is coupled to a selected one of an input of the anti-aliasing filter or an output of the anti-aliasing filter.

10. The Hall effect sensor of claim 8 wherein the input of the feedback network is coupled to an output of the selective filter.

11. The Hall effect sensor of claim 8 wherein the feedback network is chopped.

12. The Hall effect sensor of claim 1 wherein the Hall plate modulation circuit is operative to modulate the magnetic signal component and wherein the Hall effect sensor comprises an odd number of modulation circuits between the output of the Hall plate modulation circuit and the input of the filter.

13. The Hall effect sensor of claim 12 wherein the amplifier comprises:

a summing node having an input and an output;

a first modulation circuit having an input coupled to the output of the summing node and an output;

a gain stage having an input coupled to the output of the Hall plate modulation circuit and to the output of the first modulation circuit and an output;

a second modulation circuit having an input coupled to the output of the gain stage and an output coupled to the filter; and

a feedback network having an input coupled to the filter and an output coupled to the input of the summing node.

14. The Hall effect sensor of claim 13 wherein the input of the feedback network is coupled to a selected one of an input of the anti-aliasing filter or an output of the anti-aliasing filter.

15. The Hall effect sensor of claim 13 wherein the input of the feedback network is coupled to an output of the selective filter.

16. The Hall effect sensor of claim 12 wherein the amplifier comprises:

a summing node having an input and an output;

a gain stage having an input coupled to the output of the Hall plate modulation circuit and to the output of the summing node and an output;

a first modulation circuit having an input coupled to the output of the gain stage and an output coupled to the filter; and

a feedback network having an input coupled to the filter and an output coupled to the input of the summing node, wherein the feedback network is chopped.

17. The Hall effect sensor of claim 16 wherein the input of the feedback network is coupled to an input of the anti-aliasing filter.

18. The Hall effect sensor of claim 16 wherein the input of the feedback network is coupled to an output of the anti-aliasing filter.

19. The Hall effect sensor of claim 16 wherein the input of the feedback network is coupled to an output of the selective filter.

20. The Hall effect sensor of claim 1 wherein the anti-aliasing filter has an input responsive to the amplifier output signal and an output at which a low-pass filtered signal is provided and wherein the selective filter has an input coupled to the output of the anti-aliasing filter and an output at which a selective filter output signal is provided and wherein the selective filter comprises:

a plurality of sample and hold circuits arranged in pairs, each sample and hold circuit having an input coupled to the output of the anti-aliasing filter and an output; and

an averaging circuit having a plurality of inputs each coupled to the output of a respective one of the sample and hold circuits and an output at which the selective filter output signal is provided, wherein each of the sample and hold circuits samples the low-pass filtered signal at the modulation frequency and at a phase separated from the phase of the other sample and hold circuit of the same pair by 180 degrees and at a phase arbitrarily separated from the phase of the sample and hold circuits of the other pairs.

21. The Hall effect sensor of claim 20 wherein the selective filter output signal comprises a plurality of signal averages, each signal average being based on samples of the anti-aliasing filter output signal taken within a single cycle of a modulation clock signal having the modulation frequency.

22. The Hall effect sensor of claim 20 wherein the selective filter output signal comprises a plurality of signal averages, each signal average being based on a plurality of samples of the anti-aliasing filter output signal used to provide a previous signal average and a new sample of the anti-aliasing filter output signal.

23. The Hall effect sensor of claim 1 wherein the anti-aliasing filter has an input responsive to the amplifier output signal and an output at which a low-pass filtered signal is provided and wherein the selective filter has an input coupled to the output of the anti-aliasing filter and an output at which a selective filter output signal is provided and wherein the selective filter comprises:

a first sample and hold circuit having an input coupled to the output of the anti-aliasing filter and an output;

a second sample and hold circuit having an input coupled to the output of the anti-aliasing filter and an output; and

an averaging circuit having inputs coupled to the outputs of the first and second sample and hold circuits and an output at which the selective filter output signal is provided, wherein the first sample and hold circuit samples the low-pass filtered signal at times t=t0+N·

T_SF and wherein the second sample and hold circuit samples the low-pass filtered signal at times t=t0+(N+1)·

T_SF, wherein t0 is an arbitrary time, N is an integer and T_SF is 1/(2·

f_CLK), where f_CLK is the modulation frequency.

24. The Hall effect sensor of claim 1 wherein the filter further comprises a smoothing filter.

25. The Hall effect sensor of claim 1 further comprising:

a plurality of Hall elements, each having an output at which is provided a Hall output signal that varies in response to a magnetic field;

a plurality of modulation circuits, each having an input responsive to the Hall output signal from a respective one of the plurality of Hall elements and an output at which is provided a modulation circuit output signal; and

an element responsive to each of the modulation circuit output signals for providing the modulation circuit output signal to the amplifier as a mathematical combination of the plurality of modulation output signals.