Honeywell's three-axis digital compass chip, the HMC5843, is a surface-mount multi-chip module designed for low-field magnetic sensing.
The HMC5843 incorporates a digital interface for use in low-cost digital compass and magnetometry applications
It also includes Honeywell's 1043-series solid-state magnetoresistive sensors and its ASICs containing amplification, strap drivers, offset cancellation, and a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter, as well as a serial bus interface.
Honeywell's anisotropic magnetoresistive technology features precision in-axis sensitivity and linearity and very low cross-axis sensitivity designed to measure both direction and magnitude of the earth's magnetic fields, from tens of micro-gauss to 6 gauss, the company said.
The HMC5843 also features several operation modes with an eye to power management: continuous measurement, single measurement, idle, sleep modes. Potential applications for the digital compass chip include consumer electronics, auto navigation and portable navigation systems, and magnetometers, Honeywell said.