News at ROHM Semiconductor

ROHM Semiconductor Offers Downloadable White Paper on Benefits of Using Hall Effect IC Switches in Portable Electronics

Updated white paper details the application of Hall effect IC switches as a superior alternative to mechanical switches; Details commonly available Hall IC topologies

02.12.09

Hall Effect IC Switches in Portable Electronics

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – February 12, 2009 – ROHM Semiconductor now offers the updated white paper, “Applications for Hall Effect IC Switches in Portable Electronics, 2nd Edition” as a free download on the company’s website. The white paper explains how designers of portable consumer electronic products, such as cell phones, portable computers, digital cameras, navigation systems, can use Hall effect ICs as an effective alternative to mechanical switches to achieve increased reliability as well as cost and/or performance advantages. Topics covered in the Hall effect IC white paper include:

Applications in Portable Electronics, including:

Open/Close Detection
Screen Orientation
Function Selection and Control
Hall Effect Technology Basics
Hall Effect IC Topologies

The white paper concludes with a summary of the features and benefits of ROHM’s complete family of Hall ICs, including its availability in the industry’s smallest chip-scale package; the industry’s lowest average current (as low as 3.5 µA); fully-integrated compensation; push-pull CMOS logic output that eliminates the need for external pull-up resistors; integrated dynamic offset cancellation that yields high sensitivity to allow for less precise placement of the permanent magnet; and an ESD rating of 8kV and -40C to +85C operation, both important for reliable operation in handheld devices.

“ROHM’s updated Hall effect IC white paper provides designers with a useful overview of Hall effect switch principals and topologies,” said Steve Chutka, ROHM Semiconductor Field Application Engineer. “The paper offers specific examples of portable applications to show how ROHM’s CSP-packed ICs offer optimum design benefits for the most demanding, space-limited applications.”