Renesas has invented a non-contact industrial rotary inductive position sensor that works up to 600,000rpm and has a propagation delay less than 2μs.

Renesas inductive position sense other board
This image is part one of the snippets of information available

Beyond that, the company is not saying much as the IC (or ICs) is is not scheduled for mass production until Q2 next year.

It is said to be based on a Vernier technique and supports 14bit accuracy (with 19bit resolution).

Renesas inductive position sense other boardAs is this

There is a dual-coil sensor made from PCB tracks, said Renesas, and a metallic target, and the technology supports auto-calibration and auto-linearisation.

“The sensor technology will operate reliably in harsh environments, where it can be exposed to high temperatures, dust, moisture, vibration and electromagnetic interference.” said the company, claiming: “The induction sensors are immune to stray fields, require no maintenance and are less susceptible to error than magnetic sensors.”

Operation will be from 3.3 or 5V and across -40 to +160°C, with ±18V protection on both supply and output pins, and short-circuit protection. UART, ABI and I2C interfaces are likely to be provided.