Infineon Sensors to Power Volkswagen Electric Power Steering Systems

Infineon Technologies AG has announced that Volkswagen AG Business Unit Braunschweig will use Infineon’s TLE4998C4 programmable linear Hall sensor in electric power steering systems for its vehicles.

Two Hall sensors from Infineon will be responsible for accurate steering torque sensing in each of Volkswagen's electric power steering systems produced in its facility in Braunschweig, Germany. The devices will measure the steering force exerted and the steering angle, and relay this information to the control unit of the electric power steering system. The latter, in turn, then ensures that the control of the motor responsible for the electric power steering is optimized in terms of the required assist force and energy. The Hall sensors are incorporated in the sensor module of the system supplier to the Braunschweig Business Unit – Valeo Schalter und Sensoren GmbH.

Fundamentally, the TLE4998 Hall sensors are suited for applications requiring accurate rotation and position detection. Automotive applications include, for example, pedal, throttle or gear stick position detection, suspension control or direct torque sensing for electric power steering systems. The special characteristics of Infineon’s Hall sensors are advantageous in this arena. Their temperature compensation and high long-term stability due to stress compensation contribute to a consistently high and robust precision of the signals – throughout the vehicle’s service life and regardless of weather conditions. The TLE4998 Hall sensors support system reliability by a protected digital interface.

The TLE4998 is designed so as to be capable of compensating for temperature fluctuations and mechanical stress over the lifetime of a vehicle. It has a sensitivity stability three to four times better than that of sensors without stress compensation.

The three interface versions of the TLE4998 family are TLE4998C (SPC), TLE4998P (PWM) and TLE4998S (SENT). Each is available in two packages: PG-SSO-3 with three pins and PG-SSO-4 with four pins. The PG-SSO-4 package version, which is only 1mm thin, allows inserting Infineon’s TLE4998 Hall sensors into even very small air-gaps, as are common in the electric power steering system.

Infineon TLE 4998 programmable linear Hall sensor

Infineon