Sensors

Toshiba is aiming at over-temperature detection in mobile devices and home appliances with a family of ICs, intended to work with positive coefficient thermistors. Power consumption is under 12μA with 10μA of that going through the thermistor as sensing current. Lower current (<2μA) versions are planned. Inside is a current source to feed the PTC and a reference voltage with ...

Arron Bickerton, of TTI Europe, observes two trends in the sensor marketplace. The first is supplier consolidation and the second is the rise of digitisation. Over the past five years, many suppliers have acquired disparate types of sensor companies and are now consolidating technologies and narrowing their portfolios. As a result, certain parts are now being made obsolete or are ...

Dr Hao Pang believes the world is on the cusp of an infrared sensing revolution as conventional technologies reach their limits and the focus turns to quantum dots. Infrared data – particularly short-wave infrared (SWIR) – are increasingly important for sectors including medicine, defence, spectroscopy and consumer electronics. Sensors that can effectively and reliably harness this data will allow for ...

Increasing interest – and reliance on – data-based healthcare means device manufacturers are looking for more parameters to integrate into wearable devices, says Dr Joris Roels of Melexis. An increasing proportion of the population is becoming health conscious, and is expecting technology to assist them to get up-to-date information on their current physical condition. There is a clear need to ...

ScioSense has created a gas sensor that outputs CO2, volatile organic compound and air quality indices. Inside the 3 x 3 x 0.9mm LGA package are four separate metal oxide gas sensors, each with its own hot-plate, plus a processor whose algorithms decode the four sensor outputs into: ‘equivalent CO2‘ (400 – 65,000ppm), total volatile organic compounds (0 – 65ppm), AQI-U ...

Melexis is encouraging innovation and drawing on the rich pool of local technology graduates at its newly-opened Innovation Lab. Positioned in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel, the Melexis Innovation Lab is the latest addition to the Belgian company’s site in Bevaix, near Geneva. The lab was opened in December 2022 and is a centre for pre-development of sensor technology products ...

Superior Sensor Technology has introduced pressure sensors for medical ventilators, with over-sampling to expand dynamic range. Called the VN series, they “incorporate an over-sampling technique to effectively eliminate noise outside the band of interest.”, according to the company. The over-sampling “also allows mechanical ventilators to directly use sensor outputs at full speed” and eliminates the need for post-sensor over-sampling. Over-sampling ...

Rohm is to put short wavelength infra-red LEDs and photo diodes in 1.6 x 0.8mm (1608) packages for material detection in portable, wearable and hearable devices. “As SWIR is used to detect the presence of substances and their constituent components by taking advantage of characteristics of water, ice, gases or glucose that absorb specific wavelengths, target applications include light sources ...

STMicroelectronics has introduced automotive-qualified MEMS six-axis inertial-sensing module. ASM330LHB, as it will be known, contains a 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope, and is AEC-Q100 qualified. Used in pairs for fail-safe redundancy, with dedicated companion software, it can be used in functional-safety applications up to ASIL B. “Developed in accordance with the automotive functional-safety standard ISO 26262, the software library has ...

Pepperl+Fuchs has combined laser pulse ranging and piezoelectric 2D scanning to create 3D point clouds. Adopting mems scanner technology from the Fraunhofer Institute for Silicon Technology (Fraunhofer ISIT), the proof-of-concept, dubbed R3000, sweeps a 40° x 30° cone at ranges “from a few centimetres to several hundred meters with millimetre accuracy,” according to P+F. “Ambient light and other environmental influences ...