TUSS4470: Best TI 24-bit ADC/front-end to digitize TUSS4470 for ESP32-S3 (ultrasonic water-level in NiCd cell)

Hello TI team,

I am building an industrial ultrasonic level probe to measure electrolyte height inside an aircraft-style NiCd battery cell. The transmit/receive front end is the TUSS4470 and the transducer is a STEMINC (SimanTech) ceramic piezo cylinder at 120 kHz (product family: https://www.steminc.com/PZT/en/piezo-cylinder-nickel-electrode). I need guidance on the best TI 24-bit data-acquisition architecture to capture:

• VOUT (TUSS4470 analog envelope/log-amp output)

• OUT3 / OUT4 (digital timing/comparator outputs, optional for TOF/time-gate assist)

and feed them to an ESP32-S3 MCU (3.3 V I/O, SPI), then publish a 24-bit resolution level estimate over Modbus TCP/IP and MQTT.

What I am looking for

1. ADC choice (true 24-bit):

• Delta-sigma, SPI, 3.3 V digital I/O compatible.

• ENOB/noise floor suitable for <= 1 mm resolution over a short acoustic path.

• Throughput: envelope capture in the 200–500 kSPS range (higher if it materially improves SNR/timing).

2. Front-end topology recommendations:

• Best practice for single-ended VOUT -> ADC (or SE -> fully differential amp -> differential ADC).

• Suggested input range and biasing around 0–3.3 V or +/-1.25 V / +/-2.5 V differential.

• Anti-alias / charge-kickback filter values matched to your recommended ADC.

• Whether an instrumentation/FDA (for example, THS4551/OPA family) is advisable ahead of the ADC for the envelope.

3. OUT3/OUT4 capture:

• Preferred method to time-stamp with the MCU vs. sampling on a second ADC channel (for example, ADS131M-family).

• Any TI app notes showing mixed envelope + digital TOF capture with TUSS devices.

4. Performance targets / constraints:

• Level resolution: <= 1 mm after digital processing.

• Industrial environment (EMI/ESD) -> robust input protection.

• Power: 3.3 V logic; analog rails are flexible if needed.

• Prefer TI parts that avoid the use of level shifters with the ESP32-S3.

Initial parts considered (open to better fits):

• ADS127L11 / ADS127L01 (24-bit, high-speed delta-sigma)

• ADS1261 / ADS1262 (24-bit, low-noise delta-sigma with PGA/diagnostics)

• ADS131M02 / ADS131M04 (simultaneous 24-bit; potential second channel for reference/noise)

System sketch (conceptual):
TUSS4470 (VOUT, OUT3/OUT4) -> [optional FDA/LPF] -> 24-bit TI ADC (SPI) -> ESP32-S3 -> Modbus TCP/IP + MQTT

Questions:

• Which ADC + front-end would you recommend for this use case with a 120 kHz piezo?

• Do you have an application note or reference design pairing TUSS4470 with a 24-bit TI ADC and MCU?

• Suggested RC values, input range, VOCM, and layout/grounding tips for best SNR with the TUSS envelope?

• Any caveats on digitizing VOUT directly vs. reconstructing the envelope from a higher-bandwidth receive path?

Thank you for any part-level guidance, reference schematics, and filter/value suggestions. I can provide burst frequency details, echo duration, and sampling plans if needed.