Texas Instruments TMP006 temperature sensor: Device reshapes noncontact temperature sensing

The TMP006 single-chip passive IR MEMS temperature sensor enables accurate measurement of device-case temperature. Contactless temperature sensing provides advantages over the current approach of approximating case temperature from the system temperature. Users can also employ the TMP006 to measure temperature outside the device. The TMP006 integrates an on-chip MEMS thermopile sensor, signal conditioning, a 16-bit ADC, a local temperature sensor, and voltage references on a 1.6×1.6-mm chip. It uses 240-μA quiescent current and 1 μA in shutdown mode and supports a temperature range of −40 to +125°C with a typical accuracy of ±0.5°C on the local sensor and ±1°C for the passive IR sensor. It also includes an I²C/SMBus digital interface. The TMP006 sells for $1.50 (1000).

Texas Instruments, www.ti.com