PYREOS SHIPS HIGHER WAVELENGTH “EZPYROTM DIGITAL SMD+” ULTRA LOW POWER, LOW COST INTEGRATED SENSOR
Pyreos, the world’s first supplier of integrated digital SMD pyroelectric sensor subsystems for gas, flame, and analysis applications, and supplier of the world’s smallest SMD pyroelectric detector, announces that it has started shipments of extended-wavelength variants of its ultra-low power, low cost EzPyroTM digital SMD+ sensors covering the Mid Infrared (MWIR/MIR) and the Long Wavelength Infrared (LWIR) spectra. These sensors support wavelengths above 5µm, with the highest currently listed at 12.23µm for anaesthetic gasses and up to 20µm wavelength available subject to filter availability.
SMD+ builds on the established ezPyro SMD range
The established ezPyro range already offers standard wavelengths for detection of gasses such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and other hydrocarbons. This same version of ezPyro is also available for use in motion and gesture sensing applications.
First shipments of this unique new variant are for climate change applications measuring concentrations of refrigerant gases classed as low-GWP (Global Warming Potential). These use two new filter wavelengths (9.5µm/400nm, and 8.42µm/205nm). The detectors can detect various refrigerant gases including R32, R1234YF, R410A, R717 and R125.
Many new MIR / LWIR gases and substances available in the expanded range
The new ezPyro™ SMD+ sensors offer thirty more application-specific filter options for gases and substances in the fingerprint zone. They include more hydrocarbon options, nitric oxide, and refrigerants, and substance analysis such as fats, sugars, proteins and alcohol. These wavelengths and applications are already well established in the Pyreos analog TO39 range of sensors and have now been extended into Pyreos’ digital SMD+ range.
For custom applications or filter specifications, users can test bespoke filters on the ezPyro™ ePY12121 (2.2 µm long pass filter) or ePY12111 (5.0 µm long pass filter).
In a side-by-side test against other pyroelectric and thermopile sensors, the ezPyro™ family delivers higher sensitivity, faster response, shorter switch-on time, lower power consumption, on-the-fly configurability, lower component count and easier integration. These advantages, when combined with the unique thin-film pyroelectric characteristics of higher signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio per unit area and a large dynamic range (DR), make ezPyro™ SMD+ ideal for gas as well as for substance analysis.
EzPyro™ is the only digital SMD pyroelectric available for these applications, and its ASIC reduces component count
The EzPyro™ range is the smallest of its kind and combines one or more pyroelectric sensor elements with a digital application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The package is compact and uses factory configured optical filters integrated with adjustable signal amplification, filtering, digitisation and power management.
Using ezPyro and taking full advantage of the features offered by the internal ASIC enables a reduced system cost. The design cycle can also be accelerated by the industry-standard I2C serial interface feature and by support of daisy-chained multiple sensors. Development tools allow easy-to-implement connectivity to most microcontrollers and the integrated system enables rapid, easy system development for less experienced teams. Hardware-based communication is less software-intensive and reduces the load on microcontroller resources.
The existing family of ezPyro evaluation kits is already compatible with the ezPyro™ SMD+ sensor family. New applications can be trialled using the ezPyro™ SMD prototyping system which supports up to four breakout boards. Sensor evaluation without software development is enabled by Pyreos PC software.
EzPyro™ has very high speed which reduces system power use by up to 10x
The entire ezPyro™ range is especially suitable for low power systems using a peak current consumption of 20 µA when at highest settings and below 4 µA consumption in its low power mode. The low power modes also have very fast wake up times.
The infrared emitter is the main power consumer in an NDIR system and the inherent speed of ezPyro™ SMD+ sensors enables energy saving in NDIR gas measurement systems by allowing the IR source to be pulsed at 25 ms intervals. The “on” time is typically more than 10 times shorter than a normal gas measurement design and can reduce system power consumption by up to 10x.
