MAXQ314 is a dedicated analog front end that measure voltage, current and temperature using an integrated ADC. Other values such as power are calculated from that data. The MAXQ314 also has an integrated temperature sensor that provides the die temperature on demand. The internal current amplifier produces up to 32x gain and the voltage amplifier gain is 1x.

Internal DSP derives calculated values and communicates with a master device using I²C protocol. DSP continuously scans input channels and collect raw voltage a current samples, calculate power (real, reactive, apparent), responds to register write and read commands from the master. Clock source comes from an internal 8MHz oscillator that does not require external components.

Device must be initialized by the master with configuration and calibration parameters following every power-up or reset cycle. Output registers are in “meter” units, and need to be scaled with the input circuit to yield meaningful physical values, two conversion coefficients, that specify the ratio between the input and the output of the corresponding transducer are needed. Four parameters (Voltage gain factor, Current gain factor, phase-angle compensation and low pass filter coefficient) can be calibrated to optimize system performance. The AUX pin can be configured to output a 16-bit RMS current value.

An evaluation kit will be available soon as an aid in developing and prototyping applications based on the MAXQ314. The EV kit is a reference design that contains also a schematic of the board, from which a developer can begin designing their own system.