The challenge to the designer is that because of the small signal output and the requirement of a temperature measurement at the junction of the thermocouple and conversion circuit, complex signal conditioning with precision components is required to get thermocouple data into a language that can be read by a microcontroller. The MAX31856 from Analog Devices was introduced to solve this problem. It features internal cold-junction compensation, linearization, and data conversion, thus replacing up to six components in the discrete design. The device offers support for several thermocouple types, reducing time to market in applications that utilize multiple types.