MultiSensor ASIC with CAN-Controller for intelligent sensor systems

In this paper, an ASIC is presented, which combines a 12bit analogue digital converter with an 8bit micro controller and a CAN controller on a single chip. This solution allows the construction of a wide field of intelligent sensor systems with minimal area require-ments and has the capacity for possible data processing. The free programmable micro controller can be used to control the measurement cycle, preprocess the sampled data and transfer it via the CAN-Bus. The implementation of various CAN standard protocols is possible, such as CANopen and DeviceNet. Additionally, a complete system including the proposed ASIC for Wheatstone bridge sensors is described and a simple algorithm for characteristic curve linearization is presented.