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Push Pull vs. Open Drain Output How To Choose

Digital solid-state magnetic sensors from Coto Technology offer two output configurations: Push-Pull and Open Drain, each with distinct advantages. Push-Pull provides low power consumption and high speed, while Open Drain allows for load driving and multiple sensor connections. The choice between them depends on design requirements such as circuit simplicity, voltage interfacing, and load switching needs.

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25 views2 pages

Push Pull vs. Open Drain Output How To Choose

Digital solid-state magnetic sensors from Coto Technology offer two output configurations: Push-Pull and Open Drain, each with distinct advantages. Push-Pull provides low power consumption and high speed, while Open Drain allows for load driving and multiple sensor connections. The choice between them depends on design requirements such as circuit simplicity, voltage interfacing, and load switching needs.

Uploaded by

workshop
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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PUSHPULL vs.

OPEN DRAIN
HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST OUTPUT CONFIGURATION
IN DIGITAL SENSING APPLICATIONS
Digital solid-state magnetic sensors, Depending on the specific part type, the sensor may have been
such as Coto Technology’s designed to be unipolar (turns on and off according to a specific
RedRock® TMR sensors, have two field polarity), omnipolar (operates in either a North pole or
output options – Push-Pull and South pole field), or bipolar (latches on in a North field and
Open Drain. A firm under- releases in a South field). Advantages of push-pull are very low
standing of each option helps power consumption, (< 100 nA for some part types) very high
engineers to produce efficient, operating speed, and unambiguous, noise-free outputs.
cost effective, forward-thinking
designs for their devices. Vdd VSYS VDD
A push-pull output (Figure 1a), also called a “totem pole” output, RPULLUP
1 1
provides an unambiguous voltage output signal which is normal-
0.1mF 1.0mF
ly driven to a high-logic level when only a low magnetic field is 2 2
RR132 RR122 VOUT
present, but which is driven low in a magnetic field that is higher VOUT
than the operating threshold (Bop) for the part. This type of 3 3
response is called “active low,” because the output voltage is
GND GND
driven low when the sensor is activated. By “high” we mean an
output voltage that is at least 90% of the supply voltage (Vdd), Fig. 1b: RR132 TMR magnetic sensor Fig. 1a: RR122 TMR magnetic sensor
open-drain application circuit push-pull application circuit
and by “low” we mean < 10% of the supply voltage. When the
field magnitude drops to the release threshold (Brp), the output is
driven high again. The difference between the magnetic field For certain applications, however, an open drain configuration
magnitudes that turn the part on and off is termed the “hystere- (Figure 1b) may be more useful. In this configuration a single
sis,” and it’s an inherent feature that prevents a switch from internal MOSFET is normally non-conducting in the absence of a
“chattering” when the magnetic field is close to the threshold magnetic field that is greater than Bop. While a push-pull sensor
between on and off. has two MOSFETs that alternately conduct to provide high or low
output signals, an open drain sensor has only one MOSFET. When
a magnetic field turns the open-drain sensor on, the MOSFET
Digital solid-state magnetic sensors, such as
conducts, allowing current to sink through the pull-up resistor to
Coto Technology’s RedRock® TMR sensors, have
ground. A load in the same line (an LED is shown in Fig. 1b) can
two output options – Push-Pull and Open Drain. be powered directly, provided the current does not exceed
A firm understanding of each option helps 20 mA. The voltage at Vout can also be sent to an external logic
engineers to produce efficient, cost effective, circuit.
forward-thinking designs for their devices.

(401) 943-2686 | [email protected] | www.cotorelay.com Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. | ODCHOICE02242022
PUSHPULL VS. OPEN DRAIN: Choosing the Best Output Configuration in Digital Sensing Applications

The advantages of the open-drain configuration are three-fold: VSYS


first, the ability to directly drive a load; second, (and probably
more importantly) the ability to switch external sources that may Fig. 2: Open drain RR132 TMR
Vdd magnetic sensor configured
have higher or lower voltages than Vdd; and third, multiple RPULLUP for multiple-OR operation.
open-drain sensors (such as the RR132) can be connected in a Vout goes low if any of the
1 VOUT sensors is turned on by a
multiple-OR configuration. Figure 2 shows an example with four
1.0mF magnetic field.
sensors. If a magnetic field turns one or more of the sensors ON, 2
RR132
the common bus line shown in red is pulled low. This circuit has
many applications such as resistor ladders for level sensing and 3
loop circuits for security applications, where a response is
GND
required if any one of many sensors is triggered.

Push-Pull (Totem Pole) Open Drain


• Extremely low power consumption (down • Can tie many outputs together for
to under 100nA for some versions) since no multiple-OR functionality
external pull-up resistor is required
• Can switch higher or lower voltage than
Advantages • High operating speed Vdd supply voltage
(up to 10 KHz switching)
• Can drive loads ≤ 20mA directly
• Stable, unambiguous logic-high or logic-low
outputs
• Not designed to drive external loads – logic • Higher power consumption than
signal only push-pull because of drain through
Disadvantages load resistor when ON
• Can’t combine Vout signals for multiple
sensors onto a common bus • Slower switching than push-pull
(faster with smaller load resistor values)

Table 1: Summary of the relative advantages of RedRock® push-pull and open-drain digital TMR magnetic sensors

Summary
The choice of either push-pull or open-drain outputs with For further background reading on push-pull and open-drain,
RedRock® TMR sensors offers circuit designers a unique opportuni- digital devices, consult The Art of Electronics by Horowitz and Hill,
ty: choose a push-pull device for extreme circuit simplicity and low Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-37095-7.
parts count, or opt for an open-drain device when there is a need
To find out more about the sensors described here, or to request
to interface to a different system voltage; or if load switching is
part samples, please visit:
required; or if putting multiple device outputs on a common bus is
www.cotorelay.com or contact [email protected].
desirable.

Advanced Magnetic Sensing Technology

(401) 943-2686 | [email protected] | www.cotorelay.com Copyright 2022. All rights reserved. | ODCHOICE02242022

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