From life and environmental sciences to industrial materials and food processing, the ability to measure chemicals can provide significant insight that can improve safety, efficiency and awareness. In laboratories, mining operations and materials manufacturing, electrochemical sensors such as potentiostats or corrosion sensors serve as important tools for providing feedback and managing hazardous substances within production systems. This ensures not only the proper functioning of processes, but also the safety of employees and operations.

ON Semiconductor, a leading intelligent power and sensing technology company, today announced the launch of its cutting-edge miniature analog front-end (AFE), the CEM102.

AFE supports high-accuracy electrochemical sensing at very low currents. The small form factor and industry-leading power consumption enable engineers to develop versatile, compact solutions for industrial, environmental, and healthcare applications such as air and gas sensing, food processing, and agricultural monitoring, as well as medical wearables such as continuous glucose monitors.

The CEM102, an ultra-compact, low-power solution, is ideal for applications that rely on battery-powered electrochemical sensors. Industrial safety equipment, such as portable gas detectors, alert workers to potential hazards when they are in remote environments or require mobility.

The CEM102 is designed to be used with the RSL15 Bluetooth® 5.2 capable microcontroller, which provides the industry's lowest power Bluetooth Low Energy technology.

Also as integrated electronic solutions, biosensors and environmental sensors accurately measure chemical currents while operating over a wide supply voltage range and with very low system power consumption.

The seamless integration of both components, along with their compact size and industry-leading power efficiency, play a key role in making devices smaller and ensuring long-lasting functionality – essential elements of battery-powered solutions.

The combined product is part of Onsemi’s analog and mixed-signal portfolio and is designed to simplify development and drive integration and innovation for next-generation current sensor technology, providing designers with optimal flexibility to create high-performance, energy-efficient, interconnected applications.

Additionally, this solution offers higher accuracy, reduced noise, and lower power consumption compared to other products. It also enables a simplified bill of materials (BoM), easy calibration, and reduced manufacturing complexity.

With a wide supply voltage range of 1.3 to 3.6 V, the CEM102 operates on a 1.5 V silver oxide battery or a 3 V coin cell. It consumes only 50 nA in passive mode, 2 uA in sensor bias mode, and 3.5 uA in active measurement mode with the 18-bit ADC continuously converting. That means 14 days of operation on a single 3 mAh battery, or several years with a larger battery.

The CEM102 features: △A two-channel solution for electrochemical measurements (system level) △Support for 1 to 4 electrodes △Very low system current consumption △Support for two battery voltage ranges of 1.3-1.65 V or 2.375 - 3.6 V △High-resolution ADC, multiple DACs for continuous bias settings, factory-tuned system △Abnormal sensor condition and host processor wake-up detection △Small size - 1.884 x 1.848 mm packaging.