Measuring small differential voltages in the presence of large common-mode voltages:In applications such as motor control, power-supply current monitoring, and battery cell-voltage monitoring, a small differential voltage must be sensed in the presence of a high common-mode voltage. Some of these applications require galvanic isolation, others do not. Some applications use analog control, others use digital control. Four cases of such measurements will be considered, each requiring unique considerations. They are: 1) galvanic isolation with analog output; 2) galvanic isolation with digital output; 3) no galvanic isolation, analog output; 4) no galvanic isolation, digital output. Differential Signals Versus Common-Mode Signals Figure 1 shows the input of a measurement system. VDIFF represents the differential voltage, the signal of interest. VCM represents the common-mode voltage, which contains no useful information about the measurement and could in fact reduce the measurement accuracy. The common-mode voltage could be an implicit part of the measurement system, as in a battery cell-voltage monitoring application, or it could be created by a fault condition where the sensor accidentally comes in contact with a high voltage. In either case, that voltage is unwanted, and it is the job of the measurement system to reject it, while responding to the differential-mode voltage.