Aiming at automotive and industrial applications, the triple-air-core-gauge MLX10420 driver has a serial interface and drives two 360° meters and one 90° meter. The device uses sin/cos PWM drivers and serial commands to control two sets of CMOS power bridges. An on-chip oscillator sets 9-bit-per-quadrant-resolution PWM and a 10-bit angle display. Other features include a power-on self -test, which detects open- or short-circuit outputs for each meter and provides a real-time-angle-tracking scheme to avoid display errors. The device enables communication with the microprocessor using a three-wire serial link and provides an error-status output pin. Available in an SSOP20 package, the MLX10420 costs 98 cents (10,000).

Melexis Microelectronic Integrated Systems, www.melexis.com