Fundamentals of Current Measurement: Part

2 – Current Sense Ampli9ers

By Steve Leibson Related Product Highlight

Contributed By DigiKey's North American Editors
2018-11-07 MCP6H01 Operational AmpliDer
Microchip's MCP6H01 op amp, ideal for 9 V
Editor’s note: Part 1 of this three-part series discussed the and 12 V applications, has a wide supply
nuances of current sense resistors. Part 2, here, discusses voltage of 3.5 V to 16 V and rail-to-rail output.
the design and use of ampli<ers to boost the voltage LMG5200 80 V GaN Half-Bridge Power Stage
developed across them to usable levels. Part 3 discusses Texas Instruments' LMG5200 GaN power stage
is a versatile building block for various types of
the use of funnel ampli<ers to amplify current high-frequency, switch-mode power
measurements in applications where the load is being applications.
driven by higher voltages.
INA240 Current-Sense AmpliDers
Texas Instruments' INA240 current-sense
Current sense resistors, also called shunts, are the ampliDers offer a wide common-mode range,
technology of choice for measuring current =ow. In order precision, zero-drift topology, and excellent
to not adversely affect current =ow, they have a small common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR).
value that produces a proportionally small voltage across
them. As a result, designers must utilize circuitry that About this author
ampliDes this small voltage for upstream conversion by an Steve Leibson
analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Steve Leibson was a systems
engineer for HP and Cadnetix, the
The small voltage across the shunt resistor must usually Editor in Chief for EDN and
Microprocessor Report, a tech
be boosted from tens or hundreds of millivolts to tenths of blogger for Xilinx and Cadence
a volt or volts. This task is frequently performed by an (among others), and he served as the
technology expert on two episodes of “The Next Wave
operational ampliDer (op amp), or a current sense with Leonard Nimoy.” He has helped design engineers
ampliDer. A current sense ampliDer is a specialized op develop better, faster, more reliable systems for 33
amp with an added laser trimmed, precision resistor years.

network incorporated into the device to set its gain.

About this publisher
Typically, ampliDer voltage gains are on the order of 20 to
60, and sometimes even larger. DigiKey's North American Editors

The current sense ampliDer may or may not include the

current shunt resistor in the same package. For high-
power applications, an external shunt resistor is preferable
because of the power dissipation which results in heat.

The most common signal chain conDguration for

monitoring current =ow includes the shunt resistor, an
analog front-end (AFE), an analog-to-digital converter, and
a system controller (Figure 1). An AFE, such as an
operational ampliDer or dedicated current sense ampliDer,
converts the small differential voltage developed across
the shunt resistor into a usable voltage for the ADC.

Figure 1: The easiest way to measure current Eow is with a

current shunt resistor (far left), across which a voltage
develops that’s proportional to the current Eowing through
it. An AFE ampli<es the low voltage across the shunt
resistor in order to use the ADC’s full measurement range.
(Image source: Texas Instruments)

There are two basic ways to wire a shunt resistor into a

circuit for low and high side current measurements. Both
approaches have advantages and disadvantages.

Low side current measurements

A low side current measurement places the current shunt

resistor between the active load and ground. The most
appropriate circuit for making low side current
measurements is shown in Figure 2. The circuit uses a
Texas Instruments INA181 current sense ampliDer,
although many other ampliDers can also be used for low
side measurements.
Figure 2: A low side current measurement circuit using a
Texas Instruments INA181 places the current sense
resistor between the active load and ground. (Image
source: Texas Instruments)

Low side current measurements are simple to implement

because the sense voltage across the current shunt
resistor is ground referenced. This conDguration allows
the current sense ampliDer to be a low voltage part
because the voltage being sensed is only on the order of
millivolts above the ground reference. In this conDguration,
the sense voltage does not ride on a higher voltage so no
common mode rejection is required. The low side
measurement method is the simplest, lowest cost method
to implement.

The disadvantage of low side current measurement is that

the load is no longer ground referenced due to the
placement of the shunt resistor, causing the low side of
the load to sit several millivolts above ground.

No ground reference can become a problem if there’s a

short circuit between a load and ground. Such a short can
occur, for example, if a metal-enclosed load such as a
motor has a winding short to its ground referenced case.
The current sense resistor may not be able to detect such
a short circuit.

Additionally, the ampliDer’s common mode input voltage

must include ground to make a low side measurement.
This is usually not a problem for ampliDers running on
positive and negative power supplies, but it can be an
issue for those with a single supply. Therefore, a common
mode voltage range that contains ground becomes an
important criterion when selecting an appropriate
ampliDer to make low side measurements.
There’s one more important aspect to making low side
current measurements. Note that the Texas Instruments
ADS114 ADC in Figure 2 is referenced directly to ground,
and that the ADC’s low side input node is located close to
the INA181 current sense ampliDer’s input ground
reference connection.

For current sensing using small voltages developed across

low resistance shunt resistors passing high load currents,
it’s important to remember that all grounds may not be at
the same potential. It’s quite easy to develop millivolts of
differential between one ground point and another in a
system when the ground networks or ground planes are
carrying the high currents associated with many power
applications. As a precaution, always be sure to keep
related ground references wired together in very close
proximity to each other to minimize voltage differences
between them.

To remove this source of error, the ADC’s ground reference

pin must be connected in close proximity to the low side
of the current sense resistor and the low side input of the
current sense ampliDer. The connection point simply
cannot be any convenient part of the ground plane. To be
doubly sure, make a note of this requirement directly on
the schematic, and show a star connection for the ground
references to really underscore the point.

Likewise, the current sense ampliDer’s input offset voltage

disproportionately affects the ampliDcation accuracy the
when the voltage across the current sense resistor is
small. For that reason, it’s best to select an ampliDer with a
very low input offset voltage. The INA181 ampliDer shown
in Figure 2 above has an input offset voltage of ±150
microvolts for low side measurement conDgurations
where there’s no common mode voltage present.

Despite the few disadvantages, the low side current

measurement conDguration is a good choice if the load
need not be ground referenced, and if internal short
circuits between the load and ground are either not an
issue or need not be sensed by the current measuring
circuitry.

However, for designs that must meet functional safety

requirements, the high side current measurement
technique is a better choice.

High side current measurements

A high side current measurement inserts the current shunt

resistor between the power source and the active load as
shown in Figure 3, using a Texas Instruments INA240
current sense ampliDer as an AFE. This device’s common
mode input voltage can greatly exceed its supply voltage,
making it a good choice for high side current
measurements.

Figure 3: A high side current measurement circuit places

the current sense resistor between the power source and
the active load. (Image source: Texas Instruments)

High side current measurements have two key advantages

over low side measurements. First, it’s easy to detect a
short circuit originating from within the load to ground
because the resulting short circuit current will =ow
through the current shunt resistor, developing a voltage
across it. Second, this measurement technique is not
ground referenced so differential ground voltages
developed by high currents =owing through the ground
plane will not affect the measurement. However, it’s still a
good idea to carefully place the ADC’s ground reference
connection close to the ampliDer’s ground.

The high side current measurement technique has one

main disadvantage. As discussed above, it requires that
the current sense ampliDer have high common mode
rejection because the small voltage developed across the
current shunt rides just below the load supply voltage.
Depending on the system design, this common mode
voltage can be quite large. The INA240 current sense
ampliDer in Figure 3 has a wide common mode range of -4
to 80 volts.

Integrated gain resistors or not?

Figures 2 and 3 illustrate low and high side current

measurement conDgurations, both employing current
sense ampliDers with integrated gain setting resistors.
These integrated resistors offer many design advantages
including simpliDcation of the design, reduction of board
components, and laser trimmed gain accuracy. The one
big drawback to the use of such ampliDers is that the gain
is permanently set at the factory. This isn’t a problem if the
gain setting is appropriate for a given application.
However, if the application calls for a unique gain because
the shunt resistor’s value was selected to satisfy other
criteria, then an op amp combined with discrete resistors
is a better choice.

Figure 4 shows a current sense ampliDer circuit for high

side current measurements based on a Microchip
Technology MCP6H01 op amp and discrete gain setting
resistors.

Figure 4: High side current measurement con<guration

using discrete resistors and an op amp. (Image source:
Microchip Technology)

In this circuit, the ampliDer gain is set by the ratio of R2

divided by R1. Also note that R1* = R1, R2* = R2, and that
the current shunt resistor RSEN should be much, much
smaller than either R1 or R2. That’s not usually a problem
because the current shunt resistor’s value is generally on
the order of milliohms or even fractions of a milliohm for
very high current applications.

The equations in Figure 4 make it clear that the use of an

op amp and discrete resistors requires a bit more
component speciDcation than when using current sense
ampliDers with internal gain setting resistors.
Conclusion

Current sense ampliDers transform the low voltages

developed across shunt resistors into larger voltages more
compatible with ADC conversion. There are two types of
current sensing measurement possible: low side and high
side. Low side measurements insert the current sense
resistor between the load and ground, while high side
measurements insert the current sense resistor between
the power supply and the load. Both low side and high side
measurement conDgurations have advantages and
disadvantages, so the choice requires some thought and
consideration for a given application.

When measuring current, it’s possible to use either a

purpose-built current sense ampliDer with the gain set at
the factory using integrated, laser trimmed resistors, or an
appropriate op amp and discrete resistors. The Drst choice
reduces the number of board components and simpliDes
the AFE’s design. However, if the AFE design requires a
custom gain to accommodate a speciDc value of shunt
resistor and ADC input voltage range, the second choice is
more appropriate.

Disclaimer: The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the various

authors and/or forum participants on this website do not necessarily reEect
the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of DigiKey or oTcial policies of
DigiKey.

! 1-800-344-4539 218-681-6674 " [email protected] # 218-681-3380

United States Copyright © 1995-2023, DigiKey. All Rights Reserved.

Local Support: 701 Brooks Avenue South, Thief River Falls, MN 56701 USA

Do Not Sell / Do Not Share My Personal Information