At embedded world 2026, on the DigiKey booth, Lucy Barnard speaks with Enda Nicholl, Strategic Marketing Manager for Magnetic Sensors at Analog Devices about ADI’s Multiturn technology simplifying actuation and control.
Nicholl began his career in Germany as a mechanical design engineer before transitioning into mechatronic sensors and interface products, and for the last 20 years, he has been at ADI, the past decade of which he has been focused specifically on building out ADI’s magnetic sensor business.
ADI itself is celebrating 60 years in business, having grown from its roots in analog components such as operational amplifiers into a global semiconductor powerhouse. Today, the company supplies around 75,000 parts to approximately 125,000 customers worldwide and employs some 26,000 people.
The discussion focuses on the ADMT4000 – the first single-chip multiturn position sensor. What sets it apart from conventional magnetic sensors, inductive sensors, optical encoders, and resolvers is its ability to count rotations continuously, without any electrical power or mechanical contact. While all other sensors are limited to a single 360° turn before resetting, the ADMT4000 tracks both angle and cumulative rotation across a range of 46 turns – roughly 16,560° of absolute position.
The technology operates on a principle called shape anisotropy. A nanowire spiral is fabricated on silicon, and as a magnet rotates in front of it, magnetic domains shift around the spiral. Built on a GMR process sensitive to changes in magnetic field direction, the resistance in each leg of the spiral shifts accordingly. When the ASIC powers up, it can detect any movement that occurred while the device was unpowered – meaning the sensor operates from the energy of the magnet itself, not from electrical power.
Since its release in November 2024, the team has been busy supporting customers across a broad range of sectors, and the sensor has found applications beyond ADI’s initial industrial and automation focus, including robotics, cobots, emerging humanoid platforms, medical equipment, aviation, and consumer electronics.
The ADMT4000’s greatest value lies in linear and rotary actuators. In linear actuators that convert rotary motion to linear motion, the sensor can eliminate the need for a separate linear position sensor, enabling designers to shrink actuator size by as much as two-thirds. In rotary actuators, combining single-turn and multiturn sensing on the input side can remove the need for an output encoder entirely, again reducing the overall footprint significantly.
Electrical design engineers do not need deep magnetic expertise to integrate the ADMT4000, though it does operate within a specific magnetic window, requiring some care in magnetic system design. For harsh environments, ADI recommends shielding. To support designers, the company has released a magnetic reference design — a magnet with an integrated shield and PCB shield — and, more recently, a simulation tool. The tool allows engineers to design custom magnets or verify off-the-shelf magnets against the sensor’s requirements.
Looking ahead, ADI is preparing to release the ADMT4000 in a smaller 5 × 5mm package for space-constrained applications, with availability expected within months. Beyond that, a growing portfolio is in development based on customer feedback, including higher turn-count variants and other feature improvements.
Watch the full interview below.
