On April 3, GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies announced ChipCap, a next-generation relative humidity and temperature sensor for the HVAC, automotive, medical and appliance industries. Overall, ChipCap can reduce the cost of humidity and temperature sensor integration by 50 percent or more. The product is fully factory calibrated, eliminating end user calibration, the costly calibration process and need for expensive calibration equipment. This can ultimately save the end user $30,000 to $50,000 in capital equipment costs and even more in calibration labor.
“ChipCap offers a full factory calibrated solution,” said Bryan Conner, global product manager, Gas & Moisture for GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies. “It doesn’t require further signal conditioning, therefore reducing the overall design time in integration and time to market for new products. By eliminating the need for calibration, end users increase throughput and lower cycle time once in production.”
ChipCap is the only device on the market that offers both digital and analog configurations on a single, 5VDC-powered chip. Its package is highly resistant to chemical vapors and other contaminants and the sensors are pre-calibrated, offering high interchangeability. The sensors fully recover from condensing environments and may be used across a range of 0 to 100 percent RH and -50°C to 150°C.
The sensors change capacitance in direct proportion to ambient relative humidity. A thin film platinum changes resistance in proportion to temperature. The integral design reduces overall cost and complexity and improves reliability in applications. ChipCap is designed for high volume applications and is supplied in SOIP-14 package designed for insertion surface mount technology circuit boards. The small size saves space on the PCB, reducing board cost.
About GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies
GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies is part of GE Enterprise Solutions, a $5 billion business helping customers compete and win in a changing global environment by combining the power of GE’s unique expertise and intelligent technology to drive customers’ productivity and profitability. GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies is a leading innovator in advanced measurement, sensor-based and inspection solutions that deliver accuracy, productivity and safety to its customers. The company designs and manufactures sensing instruments that measure temperature, pressure, moisture, gas and flow rate for demanding customer applications. It also designs, manufactures and services inspection equipment, including radiographic, ultrasonic, remote visual and eddy current, that monitors and tests materials without disassembly, deforming or damaging them. GE Sensing & Inspection’s products are used in a wide range of industries, including oil & gas, power generation, aerospace, transportation and healthcare. The company has 4,700 employees at more than 40 facilities in 25 countries worldwide.
