World’s smallest differential pressure sensor

Jon Lawson

Sensirion, the manufacturer of high-quality sensors for the measurement and control of humidity, gas and liquid flows, is showcasing a genuine innovation – the world’s smallest differential pressure sensor.

Sensirion’s new SDP3x digital differential pressure sensor measures just 5mm x 8mm x 5mm and opens up countless new integration and application possibilities, including for the measurement of air flows in medical technology or the consumer goods industry.

The new SDP3x differential pressure sensor is considerably smaller than other sensors in its segment. It can be built into devices which previously lacked sufficient space for any sensory technology at all.

Thanks to the small sensor, existing devices can also be made considerably smaller. The new sensor is particularly suitable for portable or mobile medical devices in the field of home care (medical ventilation) or for products in the consumer goods industry.

The SDP3x sensor measures differential pressure and is ideal for the measurement of mass flow in a bypass configuration.

And it’s not just its small size that's impressive – it also stands out thanks to its accuracy, long-term stability, and no zero-point drift.

The new SDP3x is reflow solderable and available in a pick-and-place package on tape and reel for industrial manufacturing.

The small sensor also offers fast signal processing and response time and includes various other digital functions such as multiple I2C addresses and interrupts.

All of these new features make Sensirion's SDP3x series differential pressure sensor the perfect choice for cost-sensitive applications requiring high unit volumes.

The fully-calibrated and temperature-compensated differential pressure sensors are available in a variety of versions. The SDP31 is digital with an I2C interface, and the SDP36 has an analog output signal.

Both versions measure a bi-directional flow range of up to 500 Pa. In 2016, new products with extended measurement ranges and different features will be added to the SDP3x series. The different versions in the SDP3x series cater to all customer needs.

The SDP3x differential pressure sensor is manufactured with the latest generation of Sensirion's CMOSens chips and is the cornerstone of the new sensor platform for measurement of differential pressure and gas flow.

As with all sensors using the patented CMOSens Technology, the SDP3x also integrates the sensor element and the evaluation circuit into a single CMOS silicon chip. The result is an ultra-precision system that offers long-term stability for sophisticated and cost-sensitive applications.