KYOTO, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OMRON Corporation (TOKYO:6645)(ADR:OMRNY) today announced the release in January 2013, of an absolute pressure sensor1 capable of accurately detecting 50cm altitudinal variations through highly precise sensing of air pressure fluctuation. By fully exploiting the latest MEMS technology, one of Omron's core competencies, the company has developed an absolute pressure meter that, despite its subminiature dimensions, is among the world's most accurate and power efficient.
Through the integration of CMOS circuits and MEMS sensors, Omron has
been able to create an absolute pressure sensor measuring only
3.8mm×3.8mm×0.92mm, making it suitable for installation in small mobile
devices and other compact hardware. The sensor's power efficiency also
makes it well-suited for use in battery-operated applications such as
smartphones and activity monitors2. Installing the pressure
sensors in activity monitors will make it possible to take into account
the altitudinal variation involved in one's daily activities and
exercise such as climbing up and down stairs or hills, etc. Installing
the sensors in car navigation systems will make it possible, for
example, to provide accurate navigation guidance inside multistory car
parks and also enable such systems to distinguish between elevated
roadways and the ground-level roads beneath them. The sensors can also
be used in building security applications to detect fluctuations in air
pressure due to, for example, a door opening or a window breaking.
Omron
also plans to release integrated CMOS-MEMS wafers to make it possible to
install other sensors on the same board as the absolute pressure sensor.
Omron will be exhibiting its new MEMS absolute pressure sensor at the Micromachine/MEMS ROBOTECH 2012 exhibition at Tokyo Big Sight from July 11 (Wed) to July 13 (Fri).
Please visit the following link for further product details http://www.omron.com/ecb/
1. |
Absolute pressure sensors measure air pressure relative to a vacuum. |
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2. |
Activity monitors are pedometers that not only measure the number of steps taken when walking or running but also the intensity of bodily movement during other energy-burning activities such as housework. |
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Features:
1. | Subminiature dimensions (3.8mm×3.8mm×0.92mm). | |
2. | Thanks to integration of CMOS circuitry and MEMS sensors, chip size is only 1.9mm×1.9mm×0.5mm. | |
3. | Wide detection range of 300hPa to 1100hPa. | |
4. | Able to accurately detect the relative difference of approximately 6pa in air pressure that exists between 50cm variations in altitude. | |
5. | Low current consumption of 0.5uA to 9.5uA: suitable for use in battery-operated devices (current consumption levels are dependent on measurement conditions and operating modes). | |
6. | A built-in temperature sensor can be used to adjust measurements to compensate for air pressure fluctuation due to changes in air temperature. | |
7. | I2C output, serial communications compatible. | |
Technical information
1. How Omron's MEMS absolute pressure sensor
measures air pressure
Omron's MEMS absolute pressure sensor
employs piezoresistance technologies which the company has cultivated
through long years of developmental work on digital blood pressure
monitors.
Piezoresistance technologies use the "piezoresistance
effect" (the variation in resistivity of a resistive material when
stress is applied to it) to convert pressure into an electrical signal.
Omron's pressure sensor detects variation in atmospheric pressure
relative to a vacuum chamber created inside the sensor chip with MEMS
bonding technology. Absolute pressure measurements are obtained by
detecting the difference in pressure between the vacuum and external
atmospheric pressure.
2. Technological features
Thanks to
the semiconductor circuit design technologies, CMOS process
technologies, and MEMS technologies that Omron has cultivated over many
years, the company has also been able to integrate pressure sensors,
analogue amplifier circuits, digital processing circuits, non-volatile
memory, etc. onto single chips. The company has also been able to
simultaneously reduce chip size, increase chip functionality, and
enhance chip noise immunity, and through the use of MEMS bonding
technology, they have been able to create a large vacuum chamber inside
the body of the sensor chip itself to maximize the sensor's input
dynamic range, and thereby increase the sensor's sensitivity.
3. Altitudinal variation detection measurements
Accurate
detection of altitudinal variations as small as 50cm is possible.
About OMRON
Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, OMRON Corporation
is a global leader in the field of automation. Established in 1933, and
headed by President Yoshihito Yamada, Omron has more than 36,000
employees in over 35 countries working to provide products and services
to customers in a variety of fields including industrial automation,
electronic components, social systems, healthcare, and the environment.
The company has regional head offices in Singapore (Asia Pacific),
Beijing (Greater China), Amsterdam (Europe, Africa, and the Middle
East), Chicago (the Americas), Gurgaon (India), and Sao Paulo (Brazil).
For more information, visit OMRON's website at http://www.omron.com/