Analogue front end offers oscilloscope alternative

The NJU9103 analogue front end (AFE) IC with an integrated programmable gain amplifier (PGA) from New Japan Radio is available from Rutronik UK. It can be used to process analogue signals with an amplification of up to 512 times. Being able to configure the front end via a serial peripheral interface (SPI) provides an array of application opportunities.

The AFE is well suited for pressure and temperature sensors, flowmeters, thermostats, digital panel meters, and PLCs.

The internal 16-bit ΔΣ A/D converter can perform sampling rates from 0.814 to 6.51ksps and is equipped with a single-ended, differential and pseudo-differential input. NJU9103 provides the optimum gain for pressure and flow sensors thanks to versatile setting options.

In addition to its wide input range, NJU9103 is characterized by its small package size of 2.3×2.3mm (DFN8) or 3.5×6.4mm (SSOP8).

By combining NJU09103 with an STM32F429 microcontroller from ST, cost-effective sensor signal processing is a quite simple and straightforward task.

Signal analysis and synthesis are easy to implement with the respective evaluation boards of the front end and the microcontroller along with a few passive components.

The sinus signal can be visualized with the aid of a connected display.

It operates similar to an oscilloscope but can output additional information on the slew rate, resolution, and accuracy of NJU9103.