Gas Sensing Solutions to exhibit at Sensor China Expo 2018

"China is one of our largest export markets," said Lily Liu, Business Development Manager at GSS.

"We make regular trips to China to support our partners with technical training and advice on designing solutions using our sensors. We will be actively looking for additional partners to help us further grow our presence in China. Naturally, we will also be talking to manufacturers seeking the very best in CO₂ sensor technology as our next generation, LED-based sensors set new standards for low power, fast response and robustness."

GSS has a multi award-winning technology that is the basis for its next generation CO₂ sensors. Its proprietary mid-infrared LEDs use very little power and turn on almost instantly - giving sensor readings in less than a second. As a result, GSS has pioneered the development of solid-state NDIR CO₂ sensors that can be powered by batteries for up to 15 years.

Alternative sensors use IR sources that require significantly more power per measurement and also take much longer to reach a stable condition for a measurement, resulting in the need for mains power. Also, being solid-state means that GSS sensors are very robust and stable enabling them to be used in harsh conditions of vibration and pressure changes, such as on vehicles, aircraft or even spacecraft.  

GSS has three families of standard products that each focus on a particular strength of its technology. Therefore, designers can select the most appropriate sensor according to the needs of their specific application. The CozIRâ family has particularly low power consumption and so provides a long term, low maintenance solution for battery-powered ambient air monitoring systems.

The SprintIRâ family provides high speed sensing up to 100% CO₂ concentration, for when an ultra-fast measurement result is required. And the ExplorIRâ is for measuring up to 100% CO₂ levels in tough applications, such as those subjected to harsh environments, vibrations, and handling.

Within each family there are further sub-brands according to specific features, such as size, output and Temperature + Relative Humidity (RH) integration. As the company manufactures its sensors, it also offers a custom CO₂ sensor design service.

GSS will have demos on its stand to show these three strengths. The CozIR-LP shows how a battery-powered CO₂ sensor can be used for Demand Control Ventilation. The SprintIR-6S demo shows how fast the sensor responds to changes in CO₂. The ExplorIR robustness is proven by having it working inside a ball being thrown around the stand.

CO₂ sensors work by measuring how much light is absorbed by CO₂ molecules in the 4.2 and 4.4 microns range as it passes through the sample gases, which is called Non-Dispersive Infra Red (NDIR) absorption. The amount of absorption indicates how much CO₂ is present. GSS developed proprietary LEDs that are specifically tuned to emit at these wavelengths.

The LEDs use very little power and turn on almost instantly, enabling sensor readings to be made in less than a second. As a result, GSS has pioneered the development of CO₂ sensors that can be powered by batteries for long periods of up to ten years.