The Kynix Blog - Sensor

The sensor offers a five-fold increase in proximity detection over previous-generation devices. The sensor’s integrated long-distance proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and 940nm infrared-emitting diode (IRED) eliminate the need for additional light barriers and optical alignment of the IR emitter and photo diode.The device’s small outline saves space and gives design engineers greater flexibility in where and how they locate the sensor.A 16-bit, high-resolution ambient light sensor offers excellent sensing capabilities with sufficient selections to fulfill most applications whether a dark or high-transparency lens design.The devices offer individual programmable high- and low-threshold interrupt features to allow designers to best utilise resources and power on the microcontroller.For the 8-bit proximity-sensing function, VCNL4100 has a built-in intelligent cancelation scheme that eliminates background light issues. The device’s smart persistence scheme prevents false judgment of proximity sensing due to ambient light noise.It provides temperature compensation of -40 to +85 degrees Celsius to keep the output stable under changing temperature.Designers can easily operate proximity and ambient light sensor functions via the device’s I2C (SMBus-compatible) interface protocol.The device operates on a supply voltage range of 2.5V to 3.6V in a lead-free, RoHS-compliant 8.0 × 3.0 × 1.8mm package.Reference:T141AM61STMPE1208SQTRQT1101-ISG 

The range maintained in stock for fast delivery is the general purpose high frequency 113 series comprising eight models with pressure measurement capabilities ranging 50-15,000psi and sensitivity ranging from 0.5-100mV/psi. Seven of the 113 series are ICP sensors requiring no signal conditioning with model 113B03 offering charge output for the highest measuring range to 15,000psi and sensitivity of 0.39pC/psi (±15%).Based on piezoelectric crystal technology, PCB’s pressure sensors are suitable for measuring dynamic pressure changes being able to detect the smallest of pressure fluctuations even in the presence of high static pressures. This makes them useful for transient measurements due to their high frequency responses and fast rise times. Applications include detection of pressure fluctuations in fuel lines and pipelines and cavitation from ship propellers. Dynamic pressure sensors can also be used in loud acoustic applications, for example, when measuring close to a F1 car as microphones are limited to a maximum of 174dB. Model 106B features a range of 8.3psi which is equivalent to 189dB and the company has other models that can exceed these levels.For applications in fracking, PCB offers a range of safe pressure sensors compatible with the long cables typically encountered in such environments. Additional applications include air blast and underwater explosion measurements, peak and total impulse, explosives research and structural loading, shock tube or closed bomb testing, wave velocity and/or time of arrival determinations and explosive testing.Model 105C02 is a subminiature ICP pressure sensor offering measurement range of 100psi with 50mV/psi sensitivity. This tiny sensor features a 17-42.5mm diameter diaphragm and is suitable for use in space restricted applications.Pressure sensors is backed by the company’s guarantee of Total Customer Satisfaction (TCS) and supported with a range of accessories including mounting adaptors to ensure best practice for a quality installation and avoidance of time consuming errors.Reference:13C5000PA4K19C050PA4KMLH100PGM01B 

Toshiba has developed a super high quality image processing technology that achieves image quality comparable to that of larger image sensors. This new technology is able to apply a compact image sensor like the ones in smartphones and in-vehicle cameras. Our technology sequentially processes a continuous series of captured images to realize a high image quality previously attainable with only larger image sensors.With the miniaturization of semiconductors, the number of pixels in image sensors has been increasing year by year. It is now possible to take an image with higher resolution than ever before. However, the size of image sensors has not changed and this leads to increase of noise in the image because the amount of light received per pixel decreases as the pixel count increases. The long time exposure reduces image noise, but the image quality suffers due to camera shake. Conventionally, electronic image stabilization technology has been used to prevent image quality deterioration. In electronic image stabilization, several copies of the image are overlaid to compensate for the noise and a large amount of parallel memory is required to hold the multiple image copies. As a consequence, the noise reduction effect is limited by the number of image copies that can be kept in memory.Toshiba has developed the super high quality image processing technology, allowing the user to acquire a much higher quality image by significantly reducing noise and preventing camera shake without requiring a large amount of memory. This technology generates a very sharp image with less noise by overlaying many continuously recorded images. By correcting camera shake with our proprietary high-precision motion detection technology, the image is sequentially generated using the memory capacity required for just a single image. This new technology effectively and precisely detects everything from tiny vibrations to large camera shake. Random noise is canceled out by overlaying multiple images, and object edges are kept clear and crisp through the same process. The increase in the number of captured images makes it possible to obtain very high image quality using very little memory for storage, which to date has required a highly sensitive large image sensor. In particular, night scenes suffered from increased image noise. Our technology will enable users to produce extremely clear images at low light conditions.Toshiba plans to continue research and development of this technology toward a wide variety of practical uses. Our aim is that our technology will be used in a wide range of applications, including smartphones, tablets, automotive applications, security monitoring, and medical imaging devices such as endoscopes.Reference:OVM7695-RAEAMT9P001I12STCOV05633 

Inflammation is a good thing when it's fighting off infection, but too much can lead to autoimmune diseases or cancer. In efforts to dampen inflammation, scientists have long been interested in CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2)—a protein that sits on the surface of immune cells like an antenna, sensing and transmitting inflammatory signals that spur cell movement toward sites of inflammation. Researchers at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego have now determined the 3D structure of CCR2 simultaneously bound to two inhibitors. Understanding how these molecules fit together may better enable pharmaceutical companies to develop anti-inflammatory drugs that bind and inhibit CCR2 in a similar manner.CCR2 and associated signaling molecules are known to play roles in a number of inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases, including multiple sclerosis, asthma, diabetic nephropathy and cancer. Many drug companies have attempted to develop drugs that target CCR2, but none have yet made it to market."So far drugs that target CCR2 have consistently failed in clinical trials," said Tracy Handel, PhD, professor in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy. "One of the biggest challenges is that, to work therapeutically, CCR2 needs to be turned 'off' and stay off completely, all of the time. We can't afford ups and downs in its activity. To be effective, any small molecule drug that inhibits CCR2 would have to bind the receptor tightly and stay there. And that's difficult to do."Handel led the study with Irina Kufareva, PhD, project scientist at Skaggs School of Pharmacy, and Laura Heitman, PhD, of Leiden University. The study's first author is Yi Zheng, PhD, postdoctoral researcher also at Skaggs School of Pharmacy.CCR2 spans the membrane of immune cells. Part of the receptor sticks outside the cell and part sticks inside. Inflammatory molecules called chemokines bind the external part of CCR2 and the receptor carries that signal to the inside of the cell. Inside the cell, CCR2 changes shape and binds other communication molecules, such as G proteins, triggering a cascade of activity. As a result, the immune cells move, following chemokine trails that lead them to places in the body where help is needed.In this study, the researchers used a technique known as X-ray crystallography to determine the 3D structure of CCR2 with two molecules bound to it simultaneously—one at each end.That's a huge accomplishment because, Kufareva said, "Receptors that cross the cell membrane are notoriously hard to crystalize. To promote crystallization, we needed to alter the amino acid sequence of CCR2 to make the receptor molecules assemble in an orderly fashion. Otherwise, when taken out of the cell membrane, they tend to randomly clump together. "Handel, Kufareva and team also discovered that the two small molecules binding CCR2 turn the receptor "off" by different but mutually reinforcing mechanisms. One of the small molecules binds the outside face of the receptor and blocks binding of the natural chemokines that normally turn the receptor "on." The other small molecule binds the face of the receptor inside the cell, where the G protein normally binds, preventing inflammatory signal transmission. According to Handel, the latter binding site has never been seen before.   

Researchers have proposed a design for the first DNA sequencer based on an electronic nanosensor that can detect tiny motions as small as a single atom. The proposed device—a type of capacitor, which stores electric charge—is a tiny ribbon of molybdenum disulfide suspended over a metal electrode and immersed in water. The ribbon is 15.5 nanometers (nm, billionths of a meter) long and 4.5 nm wide. Single-stranded DNA, containing a chain of bases (bits of genetic code), is threaded through a hole 2.5 nm wide in the thin ribbon. The ribbon flexes only when a DNA base pairs up with and then separates from a complementary base affixed to the hole. The membrane motion is detected as an electrical signal. As described in a new paper, the NIST team made numerical simulations and theoretical estimates to show the membrane would be 79 to 86 percent accurate in identifying DNA bases in a single measurement at speeds up to about 70 million bases per second. Integrated circuits would detect and measure electrical signals and identify bases. The results suggest such a device could be a fast, accurate and cost-effective DNA sequencer, according to the paper. Conventional sequencing, developed in the 1970s, involves separating, copying, labeling and reassembling pieces of DNA to read the genetic information. Newer methods include automated sequencing of many DNA fragments at once—still costly—and novel "nanopore sequencing" concepts. For example, the same NIST group recently demonstrated the idea of sequencing DNA by passing it through a graphene nanopore, and measuring how graphene's electronic properties respond to strain. The latest NIST proposal relies on a thin film of molybdenum disulfide—a stable, layered material that conducts electricity and is often used as a lubricant. Among other advantages, this material does not stick to DNA, which can be a problem with graphene. The NIST team suggests the method might even work without a nanopore—a simpler design—by passing DNA across the edge of the membrane. "This approach potentially solves the issue with DNA sticking to graphene if inserted improperly, because this approach does not use graphene, period," NIST theorist and lead author Alex Smolyanitsky said. "Another major difference is that instead of relying on the properties of graphene or any particular material used, we read motions electrically in an easier way by forming a capacitor. This makes any electrically conductive membrane suitable for the application." Nanomaterials expert Boris Yakobson of Rice University, a co-author on the paper, suggested the capacitor idea. Computational support was provided by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. DNA has four bases. For the simulations, cytosine (C), which naturally pairs up with guanine (G), is attached to the inside of the pore. When a piece of DNA passes through the pore, any G in the strand temporarily attaches to the embedded C, pulling on the nanoribbon and signaling the electrode. The DNA sequence is determined by measuring how and when electrical blips vary over time. To detect all four bases, four nanoribbons, each with a different base attached to the pore, could be stacked vertically to create an integrated DNA sensor. The molybdenum disulfide ribbon is flexible enough to deform measurably in response to the forces required to break up a DNA pair, but rigid enough to have less ongoing, meaningless movement than graphene, potentially reducing unwanted noise in the sequencing signals. The deflection of the ribbon is exceedingly small, on the order of one angstrom, the size of a hydrogen atom. Its pulling force is on the order of 50 piconewtons, or trillionths of a newton, enough to break up the delicate chemical bonds between DNA bases. Researchers estimated how the device would perform in an integrated circuit and found the peak currents through the capacitor were measurable (50 to 70 picoamperes), even for the small nanoribbons studied. The current peaks are expected to be even larger in physical systems. The device size could be tweaked to make it even easier to measure sequencing signals. The NIST authors hope to build a physical version of the device in the future. For practical applications, the chip-sized DNA sequencing microfluidic technology might be combined with electronics into a single device small enough to be handheld. Reference: RFCS04021000BJTT1 RFCS04025000DBTT1 SC02201518    

The availability of the MMC5883MA 3 Axis Magnetic Sensor has been announced by MEMSIC. The newest member of MEMSIC’s Anisotropic Magneto Resistive (AMR) based Magnetic Sensor family, it provides the industry’s highest accuracy, lowest noise and lowest power consumption. All combined in an industry standard small LGA package, and addresses the ever-increasing demands of industrial and drone applications.Dr. Yang Zhao, MEMSIC’s Chairman, President and CEO said: “With more than 300 million units shipped, MEMSIC has a long history of success with its AMR magnetic sensor in a wide range of critical portable and wearable applications. Integrating innovative design architecture and optimised processes, MEMSIC’s new 3-Axis, ± 8 Gauss Full Scale Range (FSR) MMC5883MA provides a reliable, high performance solution for industrial and drone system design and development engineers who need to provide stability and direction sensing for their designs.”The MEMSIC MMC5883MA 3-Axis Magnetic Sensor provides 16-bit operation over a wide ± 8 Gauss operating range with linearity of ±0.2 % FSR, hysteresis of 0.2 % FSR and repeatability of 0.2 % FSR on each of its 3-axis. Its exceptionally high performance enables faster algorithms for hard and soft iron interference correction delivering more precise and faster heading determination. The small, low profile LGA package measures 3.0x3.0x1.0 mm. and operates over the -40 to +85°C temperature range from a supply voltage of 2.16-3.6V. It exhibits extremely low current consumption of only 20uA at seven samples per second data rate and extremely low noise level of only 0.4mGauss total RMS noise making it ideal for drone and industrial markets.The MC5883MA is complete system incorporating on-chip signal processing and an integrated I2C 400kHz FAST mode operation digital interface for direct connectivity to the system microprocessor.The MEMSIC MMC5883MA 3-Axis Magnetic Sensor is available immediately and in production now. Devices pre-mounted on prototyping boards can be purchased directly from MEMSIC. Designers can evaluate and log data using MEMSIC's Universal Evaluation Board.Reference:TLE4976-2KAH180-WG-7AH1801-WG-7