Urbanised spaces often tend to trap and develop bad air quality as they get more insulated for energy efficiency purposes. The concentration of CO2 is an indicator for bad air quality yet market solutions for monitoring this gas are bulky and costly or simply not good enough for a widespread adoption.
The XENSIV PAS210 makes use of new sensor technology and implements a high sensitivity MEMS microphone as a detector, enabling the significant miniaturisation of CO2 sensors. As a result, it is suitable for smart home applications and building automation i.e. demand controlled ventilation, as well as various indoor air quality IoT devices such as air purifiers, thermostats, weather stations, and personal assistants.
The sensor helps to improve the indoor air quality in an energy efficient manner. Based on an extensive portfolio of patents around the PAS technology, PAS210 will not only enable high volume and cost sensitive CO2 sensing applications but is also expected to pave the road for the detection of other gases in the future.
On a single PCB, the CO2 sensor integrates the photoacoustic transducer including the detector, the infrared source and the optical filter. It also holds a microcontroller for signal processing and algorithms as well as a MOSFET to drive an infrared source. All the components are developed and designed in-house. For instance, the XENSIV PAS210 uses the high SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) MEMS microphone XENSIVE IM69D130 as a detector.
The sensor saves more than 75 percent space in customer end products compared to existing commercially available real CO2 sensors. Its direct ppm readings, surface mounting capability and simple design allow for an easy and fast integration in low and high volume applications alike.
The integrated microcontroller converts the MEMS microphone output into a ppm reading, which is available either via the serial I²C, UART or PWM interface. XENSIV PAS210 CO 2 measurement capabilities cover a range from 0 ppm to 10,000 ppm with an accuracy of ± 30 ppm or ±3 percent of the reading. In a pulsed mode, the XENSIV PAS210 CO2 sensor is designed to have a lifetime of ten years.
