Melexis has introduced the MLX90642, a thermographic sensor featuring a 32×24 pixel InfraRed (IR) array that redefines market expectations. It offers a drastically improved signal-to-noise ratio, global shutter readout, and onboard temperature calculation. The MLX90642 improves performance in smart cooking, HVAC, fire hazard prevention, power electronics overheating detection, and hotspot localisation.
The accurate detection of temperature through non-contacting sensors is a crucial safety requirement in a wide range of industries, spanning from consumer goods to industrial designs. Nevertheless, designers of such systems encounter a multitude of challenges that necessitate resolution. Within these challenges, cost and accuracy are often the key bottlenecks, as is the need to incorporate an additional microcontroller unit (MCU) alongside existing thermography sensors to compute and enable precise temperature matrix output, further increasing costs and component count.
Enclosed within a compact four-lead TO39 package, the MLX90642 is enhanced by its factory calibration, allowing for direct temperature reporting without a dedicated MCU. This functionality helps to drive smaller, more efficient, and lower-cost designs. Performance is also redefined with the MLX90642. It features accurate low-noise operation with a Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) of 65mK at a 2Hz refresh rate. The refresh rate can be configured up to 16Hz as required. The MLX90642 features a robust design with improved immunity to external thermal gradients and a wide working temperature of -40°C to 85°C.
The MLX90642’s functionality plays a pivotal role in enhancing the quality and precision of thermal images, surpassing that of existing solutions. For consumer applications such as cooking or HVAC control, the sensor can help to enable closer monitoring, increased efficiency, better user satisfaction, and safety, and pave the way for smart applications that mandate greater feedback to automate usually manual tasks.
This technology will serve as a platform for the creation of new smart designs that can enhance the sustainability and functionality of operations. Examples of these applications encompass AI-enhanced machine vision, such as smart building occupancy monitoring or gesture recognition services. These applications necessitate heightened accuracy and reduced noise, thus enabling extended detection distances with high refresh rates.
To cater to a wide array of operations, the sensor is available in two field of view (FOV) options: 45°x35° and 110°x75° , both featuring 768 highly accurate IR pixels. The MLX90642 demonstrates a current consumption of 28mA, a 3.3V supply voltage, and an I2C compatible digital interface to further ease integration considerations.
