Nippon Precision Circuits (NPC)^* will start delivering the sample of the industry's first small, power-saving digital temperature sensor ICs, the SM6632 series. The SM6632 series is ideal for monitoring the temperature of portable AV systems and small portable terminals.

NPC has offered a wide lineup of high-accuracy, analog-output temperature sensor ICs and temperature switch ICs. By combining the technologies of these temperature sensors and the technologies of many analog and digital circuits, such as A/D converters, interface circuits, and temperature compensation circuits, NPC has cultivated in developing many ASSPs for long time, NPC plans to continue proposing digital-output temperature sensor ICs in short time that can satisfy the diversifying needs of customers. As the first of such products, the SM6632 series has the simplest configuration.

The portable AV systems and portable small terminals of the recent years have increasingly required temperature sensor ICs to monitor the temperature of the system and correct the temperature of the devices. These temperature sensor ICs have seen increasing demand to offer good cost effectiveness and to reduce the number of components so that the more compact, smaller application systems can be created. In addition, the recent portable systems have promoted integration of instructions by using a serial bus line, in order to integrate components, lower the cost, and simplify the set design. As a result, employment of a serial interface data format supporting these systems is essential.

The SM6632 series employs a highly versatile 3-wire serial interface that is compatible with SPI^*1/MICROWIRE^*2. The output format is "sign bit + 10 bits". The temperature resolution is 0.25° per LSB, so you can easily replace conventionally-used products. Successive approximation (SAR) is used for the A/D conversion. As a result, a high conversion speed that satisfies the interface specifications and the maximum current consumption of 0.25 mA during interface operation, substantially lower than the existing products, has been achieved.

The sample will be delivered in a small VSOP-8S type package, but shipment of a lead-less type sample is scheduled for November 2003.
NPC plans to expand the lineup of its temperature sensor products that can satisfy your wide-ranging needs.

^* : Main office: 2-4-3 Fukusumi, Koto-ku Tokyo, President: Yoshifumi Gomi
^*1: SPI is a trademark of Motorola, Inc.
^*2: MICROWIRE is a trademark of National Semiconductor Corp.