New Simulation & Optimization Platform Enables Custom Coil Designs for Industrial, Robotics and Medical Systems

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced a new family of magnet-free inductive position sensor (IPS) ICs that can be fully customized for various coil designs compatible with a wide range of industrial applications such as robotics, medical and healthcare, smart buildings, home appliances and motor commutation. Built for high resolution, precision, and robust performance, the new RAA2P3226, RAA2P3200, and RAA2P4200 sensor ICs offer a cost-effective alternative to traditional magnetic and optical encoders, which can be bulky, expensive, and require frequent maintenance. Renesas also launched a web-based design tool that allows customers to easily create custom sensing elements to meet their specific system needs.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251009455739/en/

Operating on non-contact coil sensor technology, Renesas IPS products use a simple metallic target and dual-coil or single-coil configurations to detect absolute rotary, linear, or arc positions. These sensor ICs are designed to maintain stable operation even in environments with elevated temperatures (-40 to 125°C), particulate matter, moisture, mechanical vibration and electromagnetic interference. Moreover, they are immune to stray magnetic fields and require no maintenance, unlike magnetic- or optical encoder-based sensors. Their durability and low upkeep make them a reliable and cost-effective sensing solution for motor drives, actuators, valves, service robots and infrastructure applications, where reliability and long-term performance are critical.

All three products offer high precision in detecting target positions, with accuracy better than 0.1 percent of the full-scale electrical range. Two of the products, the RAA2P3226 and RAA2P3200 operate at 600K RPM (electrical) with propagation delays under 100ns, which is imperative in high-speed motor applications. The advanced RAA2P3226 supports dual-coil sensing with up to 19-bit resolution and 0.01° absolute accuracy, providing the high-precision performance required for robotic applications. The RAA2P4200 targets low-speed applications such as medical devices and power tools and the RAA2P3200 is optimized for high-speed motor commutation. All three products include automatic calibration and linearization to simplify integration and improve system-level performance.

In addition to these three products, Renesas will also introduce automotive-grade IPS, RAA2P452x and RAA2P4500, which will be available later this year. The dual-channel RAA2P452x allows customers to achieve ASIL D safety compliance when paired with Renesas MCUs. This automotive-grade solution offers a cost-effective option for low-speed body control and chassis systems without compromising quality.

Designing with inductive position sensors typically involves integrating a PCB, an IC with passive components, and a metal target mounted to the moving part. The most complex part is the external sensing element, such as the transmitter and receiver coils, which must be precisely configured to realize accuracy and customized to the system’s mechanical and environmental requirements. Renesas’ web-based Inductive Position Sensor Coil Optimizer tool tackles this challenge by automating coil layout, simulation, and tuning, significantly reducing the learning curve for developers. With this tool, engineers can also obtain accurate performance estimates and overcome manufacturing constraints by optimizing the coil layout.

“Our new web-based coil design tool is a game changer for inductive position sensing,” said Leopold Beer, Vice President of the Sensors Division at Renesas. “In the past, developers had to rely on chip suppliers for technical expertise when working with inductive position sensors. We completely removed this hurdle. This intuitive tool lets developers fully customize the sensing element and automatically fine-tunes it to achieve maximum accuracy and robustness at the system level. This dramatically lowers the barrier of entry and enables more customers, regardless of their expertise level, to confidently integrate inductive position sensing into their designs.”

Key Features of the RAA2P3226, RAA2P3200 and RAA2P4200

RAA2P3226

• Dual-coil IPS for full inductive robotic joints, logistic and industrial robots/Cobots
• Output interfaces: UART, ABI, Step-Dir, I²C
• Up to 19-bit resolution and 0.01° absolute accuracy (integrated Vernier)
• Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to compensate for air-gap variations
• 16-point linearization feature to improve the accuracy
• True-power-on position information at the start-up
• Rotary on-axis and off-axis, arc and linear implementations possible
• Industrial-grade temperature range: -40°C to 125°C
• Supply voltage: 3.0V to 5.5V

RAA2P3200

• High-speed, low-latency IPS for motor commutation, E-bikes and industrial robots/Cobots
• Output interfaces: SPI, UART, ABI, UVW or Step-Dir
• Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to compensate for air-gap variations
• 16-point linearization feature to improve the accuracy
• Rotary on-axis and off-axis, arc and linear implementations possible
• Industrial-grade temperature range: -40°C to 125°C
• Supply voltage: 3.0V to 5.5V
• Overvoltage, reverse polarity, and short-circuit protection

RAA2P4200

• Single-coil design for low-speed service robots, power tools and medical applications
• Output interfaces: Analog, PWM, I²C
• Automatic Gain Control (AGC) to compensate for air-gap variations
• 16-point linearization feature to improve the accuracy
• Rotary on-axis and off-axis, arc and linear implementations possible
• Industrial-grade temperature range: -40°C to 125°C
• Supply voltage: 3.0V to 5.5V
• Overvoltage, reverse polarity, and short-circuit protection
• Replacing the ZMID4200 device

Winning Combinations

Renesas combined the RAA2P3226 with other compatible devices to develop two winning combinations: Mini BLDC Servo and Turntable System. Winning Combinations are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimized, low-risk design for faster time to market. Renesas offers more than 400 Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from the Renesas portfolio to enable customers to speed up the design process and bring their products to market more quickly. They can be found at renesas.com/win.

Availability

The RAA2P3226, RAA2P3200 and RAA2P4200 are available in volume production, along with evaluation kits. The automotive-grade RAA2P452x and RAA2P4500 will be in production in Q4/2025. The Inductive Position Sensor Coil Optimizer is available now and supports all Renesas IPS products. For more information, visit https://www.renesas.com/IPS.

About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) empowers a safer, smarter and more sustainable future where technology helps make our lives easier. A leading global provider of microcontrollers, Renesas combines our expertise in embedded processing, analog, power and connectivity to deliver complete semiconductor solutions. These Winning Combinations accelerate time to market for automotive, industrial, infrastructure and IoT applications, enabling billions of connected, intelligent devices that enhance the way people work and live. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Instagram.

(Remarks) All names of products or services mentioned in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251009455739/en/