Sensors provide accurate control of CO2 levels in lab incubators

Incubators typically only measure up to around five percent CO₂ concentration levels, but some researchers need to have concentrations of up to 20% CO₂ or higher. GSS CO₂ sensors are therefore being used to monitor and control the incubator atmosphere as they can measure concentrations up 100%.

Having stable CO₂ control was rated as the top feature when purchasing a CO₂ incubator according to a recent survey by Lab Manager. Stability is therefore an important requirement for a CO₂ sensor in order to maintain the integrity of research and experiments in incubator applications.

GSS CO₂ sensors are manufactured in-house using proprietary mid-infrared LEDs as the core technology. This solid-state platform provides the durability needed to consistently measure CO₂ in the incubator environment.

In addition, because the sensors use LED technology, they generate minimal heat when taking CO₂ measurements. This has the added benefit of not altering the environment inside the incubator, which could potentially affect the research or experiment being carried out. By contrast, alternative CO₂ sensor designs have to heat up a source of infrared every time they take a measurement, which may need to be accounted for in the incubator.

The ExplorIR range of sensors are available in three measurement ranges of 0-5%, 0-20% and 0-100% to ensure an optimal fit with the environment being measured. Specifically, the ExplorIR-W sensor operates at a temperature range of 0º to 50º C, but is also available with extended temperature range from -25°C to 55°C to suit diverse applications.

The sensor is easy to set up with a UART interface over four pins.