ams OSRAM — AS7050 Biosignal Analog Front End

ams OSRAM has launched a flexible, high-performance analog front end (AFE) for portable and wearable products which measure vital signs such as heart rate and blood oxygen saturation (SpO2).

The AS7050 provides up to eight LED driver outputs and samples up to six photodiode inputs, and supports external electrodes. This gives a low-noise interface for the optical and electrical components used to perform photoplethysmography (PPG) and electrocardiography (ECG), the common methods for measuring blood pressure, SpO2, and heart activity.

The AFE provides 2 ADC channels for concurrently digitizing PPG and ECG measurements, as well as automatic photodiode offset control. The embedded ECG AFE satisfies the requirements of the IEC 60601-2-47 standard for medical equipment.

By providing many interfaces to external LEDs and photodiodes, the AS7050 gives OEMs the flexibility to choose and modify the configuration of optical components to suit their application. Supplied in a 2.5 mm x 2.5 mm x 0.5 mm wafer-level chip-scale package, the AS7050 is small enough to be accommodated in height-constrained products such as earbuds.

Makers of portable and wearable devices will also benefit from the power-saving features of the AS7050. These include a hardware sequencer to offload functions from the host processor, and an adjustable LED driver with current control.