At four times smaller and three times lighter than its NDRI counterparts, the tiny XENSIV PAS CO2 sensor from Infineon Technologies captured the judges’ attention, earning it the LEAP Award in Switches & Sensors.
More than 100 entries were received for the annual competition which celebrates the most innovative and forward-thinking products serving the design engineering space. This year’s winners were chosen by an independent judging panel of 12 engineering and academic professionals.
By leveraging photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS), the XENSIV PAS CO2 overcomes the size, performance and assembly challenges of existing CO2 sensor solutions. The sensor comes in an exceptionally miniaturized module (14 x 13.8 x 7.5 mm3), enabling more than 75 percent space-saving in customer systems. In addition to its compact design, XENSIV PAS CO2 delivers high data quality thanks to its superior accuracy (±30 ppm ±3% of reading).
The sensor directly reads actual CO2 concentration, not a correlation, and is sensitive to ±30 ppm ±3% of reading between 400 – 5000 ppm. High configurability (sampling rate, baseline calibration) and multi-interface options, (UART, I2C, PWM) provide ease of use with the required flexibility. Indoor air quality is increasingly important to monitor in “tight” energy-efficient workspaces; just 1000 ppm CO2 can lead to drowsiness and difficulty concentrating, while levels above 2000 ppm impact cognitive function. Smart indoor AQ sensors can alert users or trigger alarms if rising levels are detected. Also, there is a strong correlation between CO2 concentration and aerosols, which are a transmission pathway for viruses, like Covid-19.
The capability to be manufactured using industry-standard surface mount technology makes it well suited for high volume consumer applications, a feature that is not available in previous real CO2 measurement sensors. The combination of performance and ease of use & manufacturing opens up new opportunities for CO2 measurement in consumer electronics, from smart home hubs and interface devices to wearables.
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