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TMP006 suitable for higher temperature ranges?

Clay Cowgill
Prodigy 40 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: TMP006

Is is possible to use the TMP006 with larger PIR input ranges by using external materials/techniques to condition the input?

In particular, I'm looking for something that can get up closer to the 1000C range-- would an external IR filter be suitable for blocking some of the energy hitting the thermopile and thus 'scale down' the sensing range of the part?  (For example if some material was found to result in only passing 10% of the IR spectrum would that result in 10x the input range?)  

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 27715 points

    Hello Clay,

    The main concern is that you don't saturate the TMP006's IR sensor in order to maintain a usable sensor voltage reading, so an optical filter or attenuator would be necessary for an application such as the one you describe. Of course, the TMP006 itself can not be operated at temperatures above 125C, so the device would need to be far enough away from the hot target object. In order to get any sort of usable accuracy, you would absolutely have to perform a calibration at minimum-scale and maximum-scale target object conditions, but I can not estimate what the accuracy in such a scenario might be.

    Best regards,

     

  • 0
    Genius 5430 points

    Clay;

    What you've described is an optical attenuator, AKA an "ND filter". Neutral density filters are wide-spectrum attenuators; they are specified as ND 1.0, ND 2.0, etc. The numerical figure represents the attenuation in tens of dB--- 1.0 is 10dB (1/10), 2.0 is 20 dB (1/100), 3.0 is 30dB (1/1000), etc.

    The peak wavelength of your hot source may necessitate a recalibration of the TMP006 output.

    They are available from Edmund Optics, Newport,  and other vendors.

  • 0 in reply to Neil Albaugh
    Prodigy 40 points

    Thanks for the info, gentlemen!

    I might just spend a few bucks and get an ND8 filter and see what happens then (thanks for the pointer to those).  Is there any reference material available that describes the absorption characteristics of the package material vs. wavelength?  (I'm assuming it's not a 'perfect' black body.)

    Is it also safe to assume that going over-range on the thermopile (>125C target) would just result in saturation of the output and not device damage provided that the operating temperature of the part remained within the normal operating range?

    Thanks,

    -Clay

  • 0 in reply to Clay Cowgill
    TI__Mastermind 27715 points

    Clay,

    The TMP006 absorbs IR energy in the 4-8um band, as shown below.

    You are correct - if a hot enough target object was present the thermopile voltage would just saturate at 5.12mV. Unless the TMP006 local temperature exceeded 125C, the part would not be damaged.

    Best regards,

    Ian Williams