New thermopile-based detectors for CO2 sensors

Renesas Electronics Corporation has expanded its environmental sensor portfolio with its first family of thermopile-based detectors with integrated optical filters for optical (NDIR) CO2 sensors. The four new single- and dual-channel analog detectors for CO2 gases achieve what is claimed to be the industry’s best performance, quality, and longevity in a TO-5 package, making them excellent for usage in a mixture of industrial, medical and IoT applications that need high reliability, high accuracy and operation in high temperatures.

These new detectors offer fast response times with a time constant ranging from 18ms to 25ms and a high SNR ranging from 1,981 to 4,953 to ensure the accuracy needed for mission-critical applications where high reliability is a must. The devices are certified for high-temperature environments, supporting applications working with extended temperature ranges up to 125C.

The new thermopile-based detectors complement the company’s current environmental sensor lineup for air quality detection. Customers can consolidate CO2 sensors based on the new detectors with a mixture of Renesas sensors such as its ZMOD4410 IAQ platform providing embedded AI and an IP67-rating package option, and/or its HS3001 high-performance, highly accurate relative humidity and temperature sensor. Together with its MCUs, this combination allows customers to produce a complete environmental sensing solution for medical or industrial applications.

“With more people spending longer hours indoors during current events, many home, healthcare, educational, and work environments are adopting HVAC systems and equipment with increasingly sensitive detection features to ensure healthy CO2 levels,” said Uwe Guenther, senior director, Sensing Solutions, IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit at Renesas. “Renesas’ new family of thermopile-based detectors support the development of the highest performance CO2 sensors, enabling manufacturers of HVAC systems and other medical and industrial applications to meet the changing requirements for CO2 detection at an affordable price point, delivering real-time feedback for these mission-critical applications while maintaining high accuracy and reliability.”