Graham Prophet
EDN
A highly-accurate absolute pressure sensor from Omron Electronic Components Europe can detect height differences of as little as 50 cm. Based on Omron's MEMs technology, the tiny sensor module can measure altitude, atmospheric pressure or water depth in wearable electronics, activity monitors, industrial and marine instruments and mobile phones and cameras.
The 2SMPB-01-01 absolute pressure sensor is the company’s most accurate ever pressure sensor, providing readings relative to a perfect vacuum to ±6 Pa. The module measures 3.8 × 3.8 × 1 mm maximum, small enough to integrate into portable instruments. It provides an I2C output for easy integration into digital electronics. The device includes a built-in 24-bit, low-noise analogue-to-digital converter, and is individually factory-calibrated with calibration parameters stored in non-volatile memory.
The sensor provides relative pressure accuracy of 6 Pa, absolute pressure accuracy in the range –400 to +400 Pa, and pressure resolution of 0.06 Pa. The sensor uses piezo resistance in a full bridge circuit to detect pressure, and is fully temperature compensated giving an absolute temperature accuracy of ±2 °C.
The 2SMPB-01-01 has power consumption of 9 µA typical (the average value in its 1 sample/sec high-accuracy mode, 500-600 µA while operating) further simplifying its integration into portable and other battery powered electronic systems. It can operate in three different power modes: standard, high-accuracy and low-power mode and is packaged in an 8 pin QFN with surface mounting terminals.
