June 6, 2011 – PRNewswire — Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE:TXN) developed a single-chip passive infrared (IR) micro electromechanical system (MEMS) temperature sensor for contactless temperature measurement in portable consumer electronics. The TMP006 integrates an on-chip MEMS thermopile sensor, signal conditioning, a 16-bit analog-to-digital-converter (ADC), local temperature sensor and voltage references on a single 1.6mm2 chip.
The TMP006 digital temperature sensor can be used to accurately measure a smartphone, tablet, or other device’s case temperature, or to measure external temperature outside the device. It is an entirely digital product for contactless temperature measurement that is 95 percent smaller than other thermopile sensors, as it integrates the MEMS sensor and supporting analog circuitry.
The TMP006 both offers "advanced thermal management of processors," and allows app developers to "creatively tap into" the temperature measurement functionality, said Steve Anderson, SVP of TI’s High Performance Analog business. The MEMS device is primarily intended to improve user comfort by reporting device temperature, but other applications, such as those that allow users to take a room temperature, are additional benefits.
The MEMS package uses 240uA quiescent current and 1uA in shutdown mode, which TI says is a 90% drop in power consumption from competitive products. It operates in -40 to +125C with typical local sensor accuracy of +/- 0.5C and +/- 1C typical accuracy for the passive IR sensor. It includes a I2C/SMBus digital interface.
An evaluation module is available now, as is an IBIS model to verify board signal integrity requirements, along with full source code for calculating object temperature and applications notes. For more information, visit www.ti.com/tmp006-pr.