Sensors

Würth Elektronik has revealed two reflective optical sensors. These are simple devices, with an infra-red emitter and a photo-transistor, both facing upwards, but work at an unusual wavelength. “These contain both emitters and detectors for 940nm wavelength,” said the company. The “sensors filter out visible light up to 800nm, rather than just up to 700nm, so they are less susceptible ...

PhotonDelta, the European hub for photonics, will launch a worldwide competition for new applications for photonics chips at PIC Summit 2024 (Eindhoven 15 October). Partners include imec, LioniX International, Smart Photonics, Phix Photonics Assembly, Ephiphan and Bright Photonics and engineering community platform Werolver. Engineers are invited to use photonics ICs in designs to tackle challenges in, for example, healthcare, AI, ...

Sony has expanded its LYTIA image sensor portfolio with a 50MP CIS designed for high-end and flagship smartphone cameras designated LYT-818. The device has a sensor size of 1/1.28″ and a pixel size of 1.22 μm. This combination of a large sensor and increased pixel size is claimed to enhance image quality with  low noise and impressive HDR capabilities. The ...

Melexis has expanded its Triaxis magnetic sensing IC range with stacked dual-die variants of the MLX90425 and MLX90426. Featuring a 5 mT stray field immunity (SFI) and 360° rotary detection of the magnet, these ICs support safety requirements for steering wheel and accelerator pedal position sensing, enabling a higher level of autonomous driving. The push for higher vehicle autonomy creates ...

LEM is aiming at electric vehicle state-of-charge estimation with a ±1.5kA current sensor. To be called the SMU series and designed to be built into the ‘battery disconnect unit’, the sensors “reach 1% of accuracy up to 1,300A and <1.7% up to 1,500A”, according to the company. The units measure 29.1 x 35.5 x 49.9mm, plus the dimensions of the ...

Raspberry Pi has announced a 12.3Mpixel AI camera, based on Sony’s IMX500 intelligent sensor, which “supports on-board processing for a variety of neural network models, leaving the processor in the host Raspberry Pi free to perform other operations,” according to Raspberry Pi. Alongside the image sensor is a RP2040 microcontroller for neural network frame firmware, a DSP and ram, and ...

From rotating magnets, Melexis is intending to generate two quadrature outputs with “minimal jitter as well as consistent 90° phase shift regardless of magnet pole pitch” from single IC containing two magnetic Hall sensors. The aim is to replace pairs of accurately-spaced single Hall sensor ICs with a single new IC, called MLX92253, that uses precision angles to replace precision ...

There is an audio revolution on the horizon, says Robb Zimmerman, as engineers are revisiting the coil-based transducer design. With the 100th anniversary of the dynamic driver speaker’s invention approaching, it is an ideal time to reflect on familiar, coil-based transducers that reproduce sound in almost every true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud available today. Over the years, speaker technology has ...

NXP is aiming at ASIL D safety approval with a vehicle battery junction box controller IC, intended to fire the pyrotechnic disconnect switch during a serious fault, as well as report faults over a serial bus. MC33777A, as it will be known, redundantly measures currents, voltages and temperatures, then deduces situations – a short circuit or a crash, for example ...

  Infineon has announced a 5V version of its compact (13.8 x 14 x 7.5mm) CO2 sensor. “The sensor is based on the photoacoustic spectroscopy principle, where CO2 molecules within the sensor cavity absorb infrared light, generating small pressure changes that are detected by an acoustic detector,” according to the company. “CO2 concentration is then delivered in the form of ...