Temperature sensor meets space constrained designs

The ENS210, which was on display for the first time at the ams stand, provides a digital temperature output in Kelvin, accurate to a maximum ±0.2°C over the range 0°C to 70°C. It also provides relative humidity measurements as a digital output accurate to a maximum ±3.5%.

Shipped to customers as a calibrated unit, the sensor requires no trimming on the production line. It provides its digital outputs over an I2C interface, eliminating the need for signal processing by the host device’s applications processor or microcontroller.

Housed in a moulded plastic surface-mount package measuring just 2x2x0.75mm, the ENS210 is small enough to be accommodated in smartphones and wearable devices including fitness monitoring wristbands.

Drawing just 40nA in standby mode and 7.1μA in active measurement mode (sampling at 1Hz), the ENS210 drains very little energy from the battery in handheld and portable applications. It operates from a wide input voltage range of 1.71V-3.6V.

In wearable devices, the ENS210’s readings of relative humidity and ambient temperature may be used to enhance the accuracy and reliability of measurements of physical activity that are highly dependent
on environmental conditions.

It can also be used to add sophisticated automation or performance enhancement features to thermostats and to connected home appliances such as air conditioning and purifiers systems, refrigerators, clothes dryers, microwave ovens, kitchen air extractors and weather stations.

The device may also be used alongside the ams CCS811 or CCS801 gas sensor ICs, which measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air, to provide a complete system solution for indoor air quality monitoring. ams provides application software and a development board to enable OEMs to integrate the ams environmental sensor solutions rapidly into end product designs.

“By integrating relative humidity and ambient temperature sensing functionality in a single small IC, ams is helping consumer electronics OEMs to improve the performance of their products, and to offer new features that users find valuable, while occupying a tiny piece of real estate on what are of ten densely populated boards,” said Giovanni de Majo, Senior Marketing Manager at ams. “In addition, the ENS210 offers a user friendly digital output which places no additional processing burden on the applications processor or MCU.”