Low-Cost, Precision, High-Side
Current-Sense Amplifier
____________________________Typical Operating Characteristics (continued)
(V+ = +12V, VRS+ = 12V, ROUT = 1kΩ, TA = +25°C, unless otherwise noted.)
START-UP DELAY
MAX4172-10
V+ to PG POWER-UP DELAY
MAX4172-11
VOUT
500mV/div
GND
PG
2V/div
GND
V+
2V/div
GND
VSENSE = 100mV
5µs/div
V+
2V/div
GND
10µs/div
100kΩ PULL-UP RESISTOR FROM PG TO +4V
______________________________________________________________Pin Description
PIN
NAME
FUNCTION
1
RS+
Power connection to the external sense resistor. The “+” indicates the direction of current flow.
2
RS-
Load-side connection for the external sense resistor. The “-” indicates the direction of current flow.
3, 4
N.C.
No Connect. No internal connection. Leave open or connect to GND.
5
GND
Ground
6
OUT
Current Output. OUT is proportional to the magnitude of the sense voltage (VRS+ - VRS-). A 1kΩ
resistor from OUT to ground will result in a voltage equal to 10V/V of sense voltage.
7
PG
Power Good Open-Collector Logic Output. A low level indicates that V+ is sufficient to power the
MAX4172, and adequate time has passed for power-on transients to settle out.
8
V+
Supply Voltage Input for the MAX4172
_______________Detailed Description
The MAX4172 is a unidirectional, high-side current-sense
amplifier with an input common-mode range that is inde-
pendent of supply voltage. This feature not only allows
the monitoring of current flow into a battery in deep dis-
charge, but also enables high-side current sensing at
voltages far in excess of the supply voltage (V+).
The MAX4172 current-sense amplifier’s unique topolo-
gy simplifies current monitoring and control. The
MAX4172’s amplifier operates as shown in Figure 1.
The battery/load current flows through the external
sense resistor (RSENSE), from the RS+ node to the RS-
node. Current flows through RG1 and Q1, and into the
current mirror, where it is multiplied by a factor of 50
before appearing at OUT.
To analyze the circuit of Figure 1, assume that current
flows from RS+ to RS-, and that OUT is connected to
GND through a resistor. Since A1’s inverting input is
high impedance, no current flows though RG2 (neglect-
ing the input bias current), so A1’s negative input is
equal to VSOURCE - (ILOAD x RSENSE). A1’s open-loop
gain forces its positive input to essentially the same
voltage level as the negative input. Therefore, the drop
across RG1 equals ILOAD x RSENSE. Then, since IRG1
_______________________________________________________________________________________ 5