Texas Instruments: A novel converter uses inductance for sensing

For years, engineers have measured the voltage across an inductor to sense changes in a circuit or the surrounding field. Until last year, however, no one had apparently thought of using the phenomenon as the basis for creating a dedicated, mass-produced sensing circuit. But a bolt of lightning struck the minds of Texas Instruments’ designers and product managers recently, causing them to invent the LDC1000 — the industry’s first inductance-to-digital converter (LDC). 

The converter can use the inductive properties of coils, springs, and other devices to form sensors that deliver higher resolution, better reliability, and greater flexibility than other sensing solutions that might fit the application, at do so at a lower system cost and with less power consumption. The number of potential applications for this device seems to be growing by leaps and bounds.