Melexis Broadens Horizon with New Automotive Inductive Resolver Range

Melexis is broadening its lineup of automotive-grade inductive resolvers for electric motor applications like power steering, traction motors, and brake boosters. The new MLX90517 complements the existing MLX90510 by providing raw signals, which allows for off-chip compensation in the ECU (Electronic Control Unit).

With an external compensation algorithm, the MLX90517 achieves an accuracy of better than ±0.36˚ at speeds of up to 660,000 e-rpm and doesn’t require any IC programming. It works with a set of PCB-based coils, which can be adjusted according to the motor’s pole-pair count.

This resolver supports both on-axis (end-of-shaft) and off-axis (side-of-shaft or through-shaft) sensing, giving engineers flexible options for implementing coils in tight mechanical spaces. The three-phase coil design improves linearity through harmonic filtering, which isn’t possible with two-coil systems.

“The MLX90510 and MLX90517 offer engineers the flexibility to choose between on-chip and off-chip compensation,” said Lorenzo Lugani, product manager for inductive sensors at Melexis.

The MLX90517 is developed as an Asil-C SEooC (safety element out of context) following ISO 26262 standards, supporting up to Asil-D system integration. It includes built-in protections for overvoltage and reverse-polarity – ±24V on the supply and ±18V on the outputs – making it durable in tough electrical conditions.

This resolver is AEC-Q100 qualified and can operate in temperatures ranging from -40 to +160˚C. It is available in a tssop-16 package.