Contactless temperature measurement will be possible for the first time in portable consumer electronics, claims Texas Instruments, courtesy of the industry's first single-chip passive infrared MEMS temperature sensor. The TMP006 digital temperature sensor provides manufacturers of mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and notebooks, the ability to measure device case temperature using IR technology. It will replace estimations based on system temperature says the company. The sensor can measure the temperature of objects outside a phone, for example, which could lead to new apps for developers to create. The device integrates an on-chip MEMS thermopile sensor, signal conditioning, a 16bit ADC, local temperature sensor and voltage references and includes an I²C/SMBus digital interface on a single 1.6x1.6mm chip. It uses only 240µA quiescent current and 1µA in shutdown mode, which is 90% less power than competitive solutions, claims the company. It supports a wide temperature range of -40 to +125°C with an accuracy of ±0.5°C on the local sensor and accuracy of ±1°C for the passive IR sensor. According to the company, the device is 95% smaller than any other thermopile sensor.
