Silicon Labs introduces new ultra-low-power temperature sensors

     Silicon Labs has announced the launch of a new temperature sensor with high accuracy and industry-leading energy efficiency. Silicon Labs' ultra-low-power Si705x temperature sensor consumes only 195nA (typical average current value) at a sampling rate of one per second, which significantly reduces self-heating and can operate for years on a button battery. Unlike traditional digital temperature sensors, the Si705x series maintains its high accuracy over the entire operating temperature and voltage range, offering four levels of accuracy up to +/-0.3 ° C. These sensors are ideal for applications such as HVAC, white goods, computer equipment, asset tracking, cryogenic transport storage, industrial control and medical devices. In addition, Silicon Labs offers AEC-Q100 certified versions for use in the automotive sector.

     The traditional method of temperature sensing is to use a thermistor or embedded MCU temperature sensor, which has very low accuracy and very high power consumption. While accuracy can be improved through final calibration on the production line, this leads to additional processing costs and challenges, while accuracy remains vulnerable to voltage changes. In contrast, the Si705x sensor, with its patented signal processing technology, provides stable temperature accuracy over the entire operating voltage and temperature range without the need for final calibration on the production line. In addition, the integrated low-power analog design provides the best cost-effective solution, providing up to 35 times more energy efficiency than other temperature sensor products.

     The Si705x sensor is available in a compact 3mm x 3mm DFN package with an industry-standard I2C interface for easy configuration. Each device offers a temperature resolution of up to 14 bits for high precision measurements, and the temperature range from -40°C to +125°C is also suitable for consumer electronics, industrial and automotive applications. The minimum supply voltage can be as low as 1.9V, which allows the Si705x sensor to be connected directly to the battery without the need for an off-chip voltage regulator.

     Ross Sabolcik, vice president and general manager of analog, power and Sensor products at Silicon Labs, said, "Temperature is the most common environmental metric for embedded developers to measure, and today's designers expect their temperature sensing solutions to be energy efficient, accurate and cost-effective. "When it comes to temperature sensing, you often can't have it both ways, but the Si705x series offers the best energy efficiency options while maintaining accuracy across the entire operating voltage and temperature range, so developers don't have to worry about performance."

     The Si705x temperature sensor is the latest in Silicon Labs' expanding line of environmental and light sensors for the iot, consumer and industrial automation markets. Silicon Labs' sensor family also includes relative humidity (RH) and temperature sensors, proximity and ambient light sensors, UV index and ambient light sensors, capacitive touch sensing sensors, as well as isolated AC current sensors and high-voltage DC current sensors for power management.

     The Si705x temperature sensor is pin and software compatible with Silicon Labs' popular Si70xx RH and temperature sensor family of products. This compatibility allows existing RH sensor designs and software to be easily reused for applications that require only temperature measurement.