Combined miniature humidity, pressure and temperature sensor

The world's first sensor to integrate humidity, pressure and temperature, the Bosch Sensortec BME280 is now available from Acal BFi. The sensor has a best-in-class response time of less than a second for humidity determination, exceptional ambient temperature measurement and low energy consumption. The BME280 is the ideal solution for high performance applications including indoor navigation, home automation control, personalised weather stations and innovative sport and fitness applications. A precise altitude measurement function makes this sensor a perfect match for applications such as indoor navigation with floor tracking, where exceptional accuracy, low temperature drift and high resolution are required, says the company. Designed specifically for mobile and battery powered applications where space is limited and low power consumption is key, the BME280 has a small footprint of just 2.5mm x 2.5mm2, a height of 0.93mm in a space-saving 8-pin LGA package, and a current consumption of only 3.6µA at 1HZ, and 0.1uA in sleep mode. The humidity sensor measures relative humidity (0% to 100%) across a wide temperature range from -40C to +85C, with a best-in-class response time of less than one second. The humidity measurement accuracy is ±3% with a hysteresis of 2% or better, and the temperature reading accuracy is within 0.5C. Offering excellent overall precision, the relative accuracy of pressure readings is ±0.12hPA, which equates to ±1m of altitude difference at a resolution of 1.5cm, aiding GPS applications in achieving a faster and more precise position. Martin Kemp, European business development director, sensors, Acal BFi said: “We are delighted to launch Bosch Sensortec’s BME280 to the European market. The addition of this unique, best-in-class sensor greatly adds to Acal BFi’s current sensor portfolio and enhances our ability to provide our customers with the most innovative and high quality sensors on the market”.