December 5, 2013 – Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB, Country Manager In-gyu Kim), a global leader in high-performance analog-intensive mixed-signal ICs, announced today the launch of a new family of relative humidity (RH) and temperature sensors. This family simplifies RH sensing designs and provides industry-leading power efficiency and ease of use. Silicon Labs’ second-generation RH sensing solution, the Si701x/2x sensors, integrate proven humidity measurement technology using polymer insulating films with standard CMOS mixed-signal ICs. The new family provides precise RH sensing capabilities suitable for home automation, HVAC, refrigerators, healthcare, remote monitoring, automotive, and industrial equipment. Combined with Silicon Labs’ extensive portfolio of energy-friendly microcontrollers and wireless ICs, the Si701x/2x family enables industry-leading solutions capable of measuring, controlling, and reporting environmental conditions to a wide range of connected devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT).

The Si701x/2x sensor family offers an excellent alternative to conventional RH sensing methods. Conventional methods utilize discrete resistive or capacitive RH sensing elements along with analog circuitry for temperature compensation and signal conditioning. Such discrete solutions typically require a significant amount of Bill of Materials (BoM) and PCB area, resulting in lower reliability and exposure to contamination risks. Customers must also perform RH/temperature compensation during PCB assembly, and there are issues regarding the incompatibility of discrete solutions with Surface Mount Technology (SMT) manufacturing. RH sensor module suppliers attempt to resolve these manufacturing issues, but this results in higher system costs and does not improve reliability or the risk of contamination.

In contrast to discrete designs, the Si701x/2x monolithic ICs reduce manufacturing costs and complexity while offering superior ease of use. The BOM costs required by the Si701x/2x family are negligible, fully compensated, and fully SMT compatible. The high-density CMOS design provides reliability for the longest possible duration, and an optional filter cover offers additional protection against contamination. A factory-installed cover, consisting of a sealed Teflon membrane on the top of the IC, protects the sensor not only during PCB assembly but throughout the entire device lifespan, shielding the sensing element from dust, contaminants, and cleaning agents during operation.

The Si701x/2x sensors offer the lowest power consumption in the integrated RH/temperature sensor market. With a 3.3V power supply voltage and 8-bit resolution, the Si701x/2x sensors consume an average on-chip power of just 1.9 µW when taking one sample per second. This represents up to six times lower power consumption compared to competitor RH sensors. Thanks to this energy efficiency, the Si701x/2x family is the best choice for power-sensitive applications and helps extend battery life.

The Si701x/2x product family, offering the industry's highest level of RH sensing precision, is suitable for most RH and temperature sensing applications with stringent precision requirements. The Si701x/2x sensors maintain a maximum precision of ±3% RH over a wide humidity range (0 to 80%) compared to competitor RH/temperature sensors. These sensors also maintain a maximum temperature precision of ±0.4° over a wide temperature range (-10 to +85 °C) compared to competitors. Furthermore, the Si701x/2x product family provides the lowest RH drift of less than 0.25% per year, ensuring RH precision for a very long period.

The Si701x/2x product family is the industry's only integrated RH/temperature sensor product that supports two-zone temperature measurement. The new Si7013 device supports second-zone temperature sensing with programmable linearization techniques, eliminating the need for additional analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and calibration software in the system. Applications such as thermostats requiring a second-zone temperature sensor can now utilize the Si7013 and efficiently measure the analog voltage of an external thermistor.

“Mark Thompson, Vice President and General Manager overseeing Silicon Labs’ access, power, and sensor products, said, ‘The new Si701x/2x family delivers cutting-edge technology in RH sensing, offering ultra-low power, ease of use, small size, precision, reliability, and compatibility with standard manufacturing processes.’ The Si701x/2x sensors are the only single-chip RH/temperature sensing solution offered by a broad base of semiconductor suppliers, and can be combined with Silicon Labs’ energy-friendly MCUs, Zigbee, sub-GHz wireless ICs, and other sensor products to address wireless sensing applications for IoT.’”