Capacitance type pressure sensor detects absolute pressure
17 October 2007
Electronics Technology
Alps has completed development of a capacitance type pressure sensor (HSPC Series) to detect absolute pressure. The sensor can be used to detect, for example, air pressure in tyres, ambient air pressure and blood pressure.
Installation of a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), which enhances safety by monitoring the air pressure in a car's tyres, is being made compulsory in the United States and becoming increasingly widespread throughout the world. Being battery driven, TPMS components are required to feature low current consumption. At the same time, components must be compact to allow for installation inside the tyre.
As with TPMS, devices for measuring blood, air and other pressures are becoming energy-efficient, with low current consumption, and small enough to be easily portable. Under these circumstances, demand is increasing for highly sensitive devices that can detect the tiniest changes in pressure.
This product detects air, blood and other pressures by means of changes in capacitance. Pressure is detected when pressure changes cause the diaphragm on the moveable electrodes to flex, the capacitance between the fixed electrodes changes, and the degree of this change is converted into an electrical signal.
The capacitance-type pressure sensor is generally characterised by high sensitivity and low current consumption, and Alps claims that it is the industry's smallest thin-walled capacitance-type pressure sensor at 4,8 mm long x 4,8 mm wide x 1,8 mm high.
The product also minimises the influence of temperature changes on pressure detection, and due to the ability of the ceramic packaging to withstand changes in temperature, its operation is possible in a wide range of operating temperatures. Reliable pressure detection is possible even in the volatile temperature changes of the automotive environment.
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