[FAQ] What are some resources for understanding current sense amplifiers and current shunt monitors?

The are many ways to measure current and Texas Instruments has a diverse portfolio to do exactly that!

Here are a few links to get you started measuring current with TI products:

If you don't know where to start with your current measurement design, start with this short document: Introduction to Current Shunt Monitors

If you want to learn all about current shunt monitors implementation and error analysis, watch the TI Precision Labs - Current sense amplifiers video training series.

If you know the device specifications you need, head straight over to the Parametric Search for Current Sense Amplifiers and Digital Power Monitors

If you want to learn more about current shunt monitors, the Technical Article series How to get started with current sense amplifiers is a great resource.  Here are links to part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4.

TI Application Note SLVA704 is an excellent reference for I2C questions.

This e2e thread links to many, many common topics and questions about current sense amplifiers and how to use them.

These Amplifier Cookbook Recipes will get you started quickly with your design:

SBOA300 - Low-Drift, Low-Side, Bidirectional Current Sensing Circuit With Integrated Precision Gain Resistors (with the INA214)

SBOA299 - High-Side, Bidirectional Current Sensing Circuit With Transient Protection (with the INA240)

SBOA295 - High Voltage, High-Side Floating Current Sensing Circuit Using Current Output Current Sense Amplifier (with the INA138)

SBOA297 - Overcurrent Event Detection Circuit (with the INA381)

There are TI Designs to help you with your implementation:

TIDA-00313 - -48V Telecom Current/Voltage/Power Sense with Isolation

TIDA-00328 - 50 mA-20 A, Single-Supply, Low-Side or High-Side Current Sensing Solution

TIDA-00302 - Transient Robustness for Current Shunt Monitor

TIDA-00614 - 30A Range Bidirectional Current Shunt Monitor Ref Design

In general, Current Shunt Monitors are used to measure mA to A with good accuracy.  There are some devices that are often better suited to measuring low currents starting with the INA190 current sense amplifier, but others may use a true instrumentation amplifier, an operational amplifier, or a programmable gain amplifier.  If you are interested in low current measurement, we encourage you to look into the INA190 and also these TI Designs for a start:

TIPD135 - 10uA-100mA, 0.05% Error, High-Side Current Sensing Solution Reference Design

TIPD156 - Low-Drift Bidirectional Single-Supply Low-Side Current Sensing Reference Design

TIPD104 - Current Sensing Solution, 10uA-10mA, Low-side, Single Supply

TIPD129 - 0-1A, Single-Supply, Low-Side, Current Sensing Solution

If you need to measure current with a Common Mode voltage of more than 80V, there are a few options.  Please look into:

Extending Voltage Range of Current Shunt Monitor application note (which uses the INA168).

TIDA-00332 - High Voltage 12 V – 400 V DC Current Sense Reference Design

TIDA-01608 - Isolated Current Sense with Integrated Shunt Resistor and I2C Interface Reference Design

TIDA-01590 - Reference Design for 1200V Isolated I2C High Side Current Sensing for Solar Combiner Boxes

TIDA-00639 - 600V Uni-directional Current/Voltage/Power Monitoring for Solar Smart Combiner Box Reference Design

INA149 (High Common Mode Voltage Difference Amplifier).

AMC1100 and AMC1200 (4.25kV peak Isolated Amplifier for Current Shunt Measurements).

TIDA-00528 - 40 V to 400 V Uni-directional Current/Voltage/Power Monitoring Reference Design. 

If you are interested in over-current detection, please look into:

INA300, INA301, INA302, INA303, INA381, INA200, INA203, and INA206 products

This video: Introduction to Optimized Over-Current with the INA300

This document: TI Over-Current Detection Products

If you are looking for High-Voltage, High-Current, non-invasive, isolated, fluxgate and magnetic current monitoring, please look into:

DRV425, DRV411 and DRV401 products

TIPD205 - ±100A Bus Bar Current Sensor using Open-Loop Fluxgate Sensors Reference Design (DRV425)

The DRV425-BUSBAR-EVM which lets you try out an instantiation of TIPD205.

TIDA-01467 - Over-the-Trace Three-Phase Current Sensing using Fluxgate Sensors Reference Design (DRV425)

TIDA-00201 - Differential Signal Conditioning Circuit for Current and Voltage Measurement Using Fluxgate Sensors (DRV401)

TIPD184 - 100A Closed-Loop Current Sensor Reference Design using Bi-Polar Supplies (DRV411)

TIPD180 - ±50A Current Sensor using Closed-Loop Compensated Hall Element Reference Design (DRV411)

Thank you for using TI products!