Sensirion AG
Laubisruetistrasse 50
8712 Staefa ZH
Switzerland
Tel. +41 44 306 40 00
info@sensirion.com

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Company News

Sensirion moved to Staefa

After having reached the limits of capacity in our previous premises, we moved, at the beginning of June 2005,  to Staefa (app. 30 min. from Zurich City) in a building we now own with an area of approx. 9000 sqm / 96900 sq. feet.

The move of our whole operation was a great challenge which, thankfully, all ran very smoothly without any delays in shipping. We nevertheless apologize for any inconvenience which may have occurred during this time.

For further details go to:
http://www.sensirion.com/en/pdf/press/Artikel_ZSZ_Umzug_Staefa.pdf

Temperature & Humidity

Sensirion at the electronicAsia Fair in Hong Kong

Four years after launching the extremely successful SHT sensor family, Sensirion’s combined humidity and temperature sensors are well on the road to success. Due to their universal properties, the highly integrated CMOSens^® sensors are increasingly being used in applications such as HVAC, appliances, dataloggers and consumer electronics, to name just a few.

Besides their easiness to use, the combination of lowest prices, high quality and availability at even very high volumes makes the sensors unique worldwide; and are the first choice for many customers, especially for high volume applications.

Sensirion will exhibit its humidity and temperature sensors at the electronic Asia fair in Hong Kong from Oct. 13^th to Oct. 16^th. The electronic Asia is one of the leading fairs for electronic components worldwide and particularly in Asia. We would like to invite all our customers and everybody interested in humidity sensors to visit Sensirion’s booth (hall 7, booth no. 7F31) to discuss applications, and technical solutions personally with competent Sensirion people. We are looking forward to your visit!

For further details concerning humidity sensors go to
www.sensirion.com/humidity

Gas Flow

PerformanceLine MFC PC1 & PC2

- Ultra Fast Mass Flow Controllers for Coating Applications

Sensirion’s PC1 MFC has successfully been introduced in demanding Semiconductor applications during the last months. With extremely fast switching times of 200ms or less it allows for new ways of working with heavy gases like SF6 or C4F8. Tests at the well-known German Fraunhofer Institutefor Silicon Technology, ISIT, in Itzehoe have shown enormous improvements for the so-called Bosch-Process when using Sensirion MFCs. Faster switching cycles with better repeatability compared to conventional MFCs mean higher yield, more reliable process control, lower costs and improved physical properties of the components produced.

The PC1 is now also available with widely used VCR fittings. Customer specific down mount versions for manifold mount are also available. The flow range starts at 50ml/min (full scale) and goes up to 5000ml/min.

- PC2: New digital MFC with RS485 interface

The ever growing need for small, flexible, simple, and inexpensive Gas Flow Control has motivated Sensirion to develop the new PC2 Mass Flow Controller. Using its digital RS485 interface (standard hardware) the new PC2 offers the possibility to easily switch predefined gas types and flow ranges by simple software commands. Control parameters can be adapted to individual needs like speed, or stability. Some degree of self-tests, e.g. during each start-up, help to monitor long-term behaviour and increase reliability. Up to 256 devices can be addressed using the RS485 interface.

The PC2 features an aluminium down-mount body. The main target market is in demanding analytical instruments. Extremely high stability and repeatability (over time and temperature) make it a highly applicable flow controller in Gaschromatography, Mass Spectrometry, Thermal Analysis, Sample Preparation, to mention but a few.

For further details concerning gas flow sensors go to
www.sensirion.com/gasflow

Liquid Flow

New Microfluidic OEM Flow Sensor Elements

Third generation MEMS based liquid flow sensors for microfluidic systems are being added to the existing CMOSens^® liquid flow product line. These sensors are designed for OEM customers requiring large quantities of small size, low cost sensor elements. Compared with the already existing liquid flow products the higher integration level on chip leads to an impressive reduction of cost, size and weight.

The new, low priced components are designed for integration into analytical instruments, medical devices and life science applications. The components allow detection of media and accurate measurements of very low liquid flow rates down to nano liters per minute with very short response times and stunning repeatability.

As with all Sensirion liquid flow products the liquid media is totally isolated with walls of PEEK(tm) or fused silica (glass) or steel. The semiconductor sensor chip is mounted completely outside of the flow path and senses through the wall of the tubing (US Pat. 6813944).

The largest model of the new product line is designed for flow rates up to 3 ml/min. Response times in the millisecond range help to monitor and control dynamic effects in microfluidic systems. What is particularly impressive is the progress in miniaturization: The latest sensor technology minimizes the weight to 6 grams only while the size has been reduced eight fold. The first samples will be available in September for selected customers.

For further details concerning liquid flow sensors go to
www.sensirion.com/liquidflow

Differential Pressure

SDP1000 - stable and flexible, even at tiny pressure levels

A new member of the SDP family become available some time ago. The SDP1000-L05 (very low pressure range 0 to 125Pa / 0 to 0.5inH20) has been enthusiastically accepted by the market. The SDP1000-L05 offers the superb properties of standard SDP1000. Accuracy and precision, high resolution (0.1Pa), no offset, no drift, no position sensitivity. In short: The SDP1000-L05 offers performance not available so far at low cost.

Based on the SDP1000 our R&D department has designed an outstanding customer specific sensor with a measurement range of 0 to 1.5Pa / 0 to 0.006 inH20. The sensor achieves an accuracy of more than 4% of measured value.

With maximum pressures of 1.5Pa the SDP1000 opens fully new applications, or offers an alternative for markets that have up to know been exclusively covered by expensive large diaphragm sensors or high-value flow sensors. E.g. even lowest air flows in fume hoods can be measured using such an ultra-low pressure sensor.

For further details concerning differential pressure sensors go to www.sensirion.com/differentialpressure

CMOSens®

Overview: MEMS Sensor Generations

First Generation

A miniaturized sensor element on a micro chip. Sometimes an analog amplification is added.

- The miniaturized structures lead to very short response times

- Signal noise and temperature coefficients limit the performance

Second Generation

Sensor element, analog amplification and analog/digital converter are combined on one micro chip.

- Superior signal quality and stability are achieved

- Linearization and temperature compensation take place in external electronics

Third Generation

The fusion of the sensor element with analog amplification, ADC and digital intelligence for linearization and temperature compensation on the same micro chip

- Exceptional price/performance ratio

- Potential to create further miniaturized products

- External memory is needed to store calibration data

Fourth Generation

Memory cells for calibration data are added to the elements on chip.

- Fully digital, ultra small single chip sensor solution

- Best price/performance ratio

- Miniaturization reaches a top level

- Recognized as ultimate solution for mass products