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    Acoustic Front-End for
    Flow Metering
    Ultra-sound transceiver chipset for water and heat flow smart meters

Modern utility-grade flow meters rely on precise ultrasonic sensing to measure water and heat usage accurately - all while operating on extremely tight power budgets. For battery-powered smart meters deployed in residential and industrial environments, off-the-shelf ICs often fail to meet the necessary performance, integration, and efficiency requirements.

To enable the next generation of compact, long-life flow meters, customers turn to Cyient Semiconductors for a custom mixed-signal ASIC that provides reliable acoustic measurement, temperature sensing, and robust signal processing in a compact, low-power design.

At the core of connected industry

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Smart metering (gas/water/electricity)

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Smart metering (gas/water/electricity)

Secure, low-power communication for real-time utility monitoring

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Time-of-flight
for robotics

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Time-of-flight
for robotics

Precision sensing for navigation and obstacle detection in automation

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Lighting, building automation, and HVAC

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Lighting, building automation, and HVAC

Fire detection, CCTV/video surveillance cameras, intruder alarm, thermostats & controls

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NFC and RFID systems

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NFC and RFID systems

Seamless smart infrastructure integration with telecom expertise

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Encoders for robotics

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Encoders for robotics

High-precision motion control for automation and industrial robotic applications

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Test equipment

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Test equipment

Automated test equipment for semiconductors, digital multimeters, network analyzers, digital oscilloscopes

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Factory automation & control

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Factory automation & control

Flow, level, pressure, and temperature measurement

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Motor drives

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Motor drives

AC variable speed drives, DC drives, servo drives, stepper drives, soft starters/brakes

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Power & energy

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Power & energy

AC/DC supplies, converters, inverters, battery chargers, UPS, generators, and renewable energy (hydro/solar/wind)

Success in action

How we’ve helped leaders in Industry 4.0 and robotics

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LED driver array for industrial printers

Designed an advanced LED driver array using TSMC 0.18µm technology, enhancing industrial printing with precise current control and on-chip diagnostics.

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Laser distance measurement system for Industry 4.0

Developed a System-on-Chip (SoC) for laser distance measurement with precise laser driver pulse steering and a Transimpedance Amplifier (TIA) photodiode front end, achieving accurate distance measurements for automation and manufacturing.

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High precision GPS receiver

Designed a high-precision GPS receiver using TSMC 65nm technology, ensuring accurate location tracking even in challenging environments, enabling applications like surveying and asset tracking.

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Smart metering with acoustic front end

Developed an ultra-sound transceiver using TSMC 0.18µm CMOS technology for accurate flow metering and acoustic sensing, enabling precise water, heat, and electricity usage measurement in smart meters.

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High-performance EPC Gen2 RFID UHF reader

Developed a highly integrated RFID reader IC suitable for fixed and mobile applications. The complete UHF radio transceiver is integrated on-chip, including the digital modem and an ARM Cortex M0+ core. The design features a low-noise, high-linearity optimized receiver to support backscattering communication, ensuring reliable performance in diverse environments.

From design to silicon:
full-spectrum semiconductor expertise

Custom semiconductor design and turnkey ASIC solutions, built for Industry 4.0 and robotics

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The requirements

The chipset must maintain high signal fidelity while operating on a sub-milliwatt power budget and fit into space-constrained smart meter designs. Key requirements include:

  • Accurate ultrasonic time-of-flight measurement using dual transducer elements
  • Driver capable of generating 1 MHz pulses with low impedance
  • Receiver with >21 dB roll-off at 1 MHz and wide 45 dB gain range
  • High-resolution temperature sensing compatible with PT100/PT500 sensors
  • <0.1 °C measurement accuracy
  • Ultra-low-noise analog front-end with 10 pA-level sensitivity
  • Compact, battery-friendly architecture suitable for >10-year meter lifespan
  • Reliable operation across water, heat, and energy metering environments
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Bringing the solution to life

Cyient Semiconductors delivers a custom mixed-signal ASIC that integrates the ultrasound driver, receiver, temperature interface, and analog front-end onto a single, compact chip. The solution is designed for harsh, space-constrained field deployments and supports precision measurement with minimal system-level BOM.

Key Features:
  • Driver: 1 MHz pulse generation | Rout < 5 Ω | TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS
  • Receiver: >21 dB roll-off @ 1 MHz | 45 dB programmable gain range
  • Sensor Interface: PT100/PT500 compatibility | <0.1 °C accuracy
  • Analog Front-End: TIA with 10 pA sensitivity | PGA with 60 dB gain
Every block of the ASIC is optimized to improve reciprocity of upstream/downstream acoustic signals, maintain phase integrity, and reduce group delay errors — all essential for accurate flow calculation.The result is a tightly integrated, low-power chipset that simplifies system design, extends battery life, and maintains high-integrity measurement even in challenging operating conditions.

Where it’s used today

The acoustic front-end ASIC is used in smart water, heat, and multi-utility meters that require:

•    Compact, battery-operated designs with decade-long life
•    High-accuracy ultrasonic flow measurement
•    Integrated sensing and analog processing to reduce overall BOM
•    Reliable operation in variable environmental and installation conditions

Its ability to consolidate multiple sensing functions on-chip enables manufacturers to build smaller, more efficient meter architectures without compromising measurement precision.

Need specialized silicon for
industrial automation? 

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