Accurately Measuring High Currents With A Precision Current Sense Amplifier
by Simon Bramble, Analog Devices, Hayes, U.K., How2Power Today, Dec 15 2025
Focus:
Digital multimeters can measure up to 10 A with high precision, while Hall effect sensors
can measure up to 200 A (with precision and isolation). Still higher current levels can be
measured using current sense resistors but with a tradeoff. The voltage across the sense
resistor should be small enough to provide the maximum voltage to the load and to minimize
heat dissipation, but large enough to enable the voltage to be measured with a high
accuracy. A current sense amplifier IC discussed here—the LTC6102—facilitates
the measurement of a low voltage across the sense resistor and produces an amplified,
ground-referenced output voltage with a high level of accuracy. This article presents the
current sense circuit and discusses dc and ac current measurement, calibration, and
example buck converter and car battery applications.
What you’ll learn:
- How to accurately measure currents from amps to hundreds of amps (800 A) using a current sense resistor and the LTC1602 current sense amplifier
- How to implement a small form factor solution for measuring high currents
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