Platform delivers ozone detection for wearables and monitoring devices

Renesas Electronics Corporation today expanded its popular ZMOD4510 OAQ gas sensor platform with an IP67-qualified waterproof package and a new AI-based algorithm that facilitates ultra-low-power selective ozone measurements. The enhanced device is the industry’s first fully calibrated, miniature digital OAQ sensor solution with selective ozone measurement capabilities, providing visibility into the air quality in users’ immediate environments for a personalised experience.

“Measuring outdoor air quality really is about location, location, location, as levels can vary dramatically from street to street and even on opposite sides of the same street,” said Uwe Guenther, senior director, Sensing Solutions, IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit at Renesas. “The enhanced ZMOD4510 gives manufacturers the selective high-precision sensing, ultra-small size, and long battery life they need for battery-powered devices like smartwatches and phones that offer customers a convenient and customised view of their immediate air quality environment.”

The company’s unique software-configurable ZMOD platform provides design flexibility for smart sensing systems, enabling firmware updates in the field to facilitate new, application-specific capabilities such as selective ozone detection.

The device’s ability to quantify selective Ozone levels in concentrations as low as 20ppb, coupled with its low power, small size and outstanding flexibility, makes it an excellent solution for mobile and wearable devices, as well as industrial applications, including wireless security cameras and parking meters.

The new waterproof packaging enables the sensor to function in harsh and submersible environments. The IP67-rated sensor sustains excellent accuracy and high performance while removing the necessity for expensive waterproofing systems – all in a tiny 3mm x 3mm x 0.9mm LGA package. The sensor is supplied fully calibrated in the hydrophobic and oleophobic package, and clients can apply a conformal coating on their circuitry rather than adding an external membrane to the module.

The device is calibrated to the US EPA Air Quality Index for measuring ozone and is extremely resistant to siloxanes, allowing exceptional reliability for use in harsh environments.