Ams introduces highly accurate relative humidity and temperature sensor ics for space - and power-constrained designs

     Ams AG, a leading global supplier of high-performance sensors and analog ics, has announced the introduction of ENS210, a single-grain sensor IC that enables extremely accurate pre-calibrated measurements of relative humidity and ambient temperature. The ENS210 measures just 2mm x 2mm x 0.75mm and is packaged in a molded plastic surface mount package, making it suitable for use in smartphones and wearable devices including health monitoring wristbands.

     The ENS210 provides Kelvin digital temperature outputs with accuracy up to ±0.2°C in the range 0°C to 70°C. It also measures relative humidity and outputs it in digital form with an accuracy of up to ±3.5%. The product is already calibrated when delivered to the customer, so the sensors do not need to be adjusted on the production line. The product provides digital output through an I2C interface without the need for signal processing by the main device's application processor or microcontroller.

     The ENS210 consumes only 40nA of current in standby mode and 7.1µA(sampling at 1Hz) in active measurement mode, thus consuming very little energy from the batteries of handheld and portable products. The product can operate in a wide input voltage range of 1.71V to 3.6V, meaning that a system equipped with a dual voltage supply of 1.8V/3.3V does not require additional level regulation power at the point of load.

     When used in wearable devices, the ENS210's relative humidity and ambient temperature readings help improve the accuracy and reliability of body motion measurements that are highly dependent on ambient conditions. It can also provide sophisticated automation or performance enhancement for temperature regulators and connected home appliances such as air conditioning and purification systems, refrigerators, clothes dryers, microwave ovens, kitchen pumps and weather monitoring devices.

     The product can also be paired with AMS 'CCS811 or CCS801 gas sensor ics, which detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the air, providing a complete system solution for indoor air quality monitoring. Ams provides application software and development boards that enable Oems to quickly integrate AMS 'environmental sensor solutions into final product designs.

     Giovanni de Majo, Senior Marketing Manager at AMS Semiconductor, said: "By integrating relative humidity and ambient temperature sensing into a small IC, AMS can help consumer electronics Oems improve product performance and enable them to offer valuable new features to users while taking up very little space on a space-constrained circuit board." In addition, the ENS210's digital output capabilities are user-friendly and require no additional processing by an application processor or MCU."