Posted in | News | Gas Sensor

Completion of New MEMS-based Gas Flow Sensor by Omron Corporation and STMicroelectronics

OMRON Corporation, a world leader in automation technology, and STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronic applications, today announced the completion of the development of a MEMS-based gas flow sensor with industry-unique built-in correction for differences in gas composition.

OMRON will start sample shipments of the new sensor in November 2012.

As with electricity-consumption measuring, gas metering is moving from conventional mechanical solutions to smart electronic meters with automatic meter-reading functions. There are over 400 million mechanical gas meters in the world and most major gas providers are readying to replace their traditional meters with more accurate and reliable electronic devices.

MEMS-based gas-flow sensor first to embed automatic ‘gas-quality’ compensation.

In addition to higher precision and reliability, the OMRON/ST sensor solution enables the development of smart gas meters that are much smaller, less expensive, and more power-efficient than the conventional equipment, resulting in substantial cost savings for the utility companies and end users alike. Industry analysts expect the global smart gas meter market to exceed 10 million units a year by 2015.1

The new gas-flow sensor combines OMRON’s state-of-the-art MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) thermal flow transducer with ST’s high-performance analog front-end IC, delivering high-precision gas flow-rate measurement with excellent reproducibility. Gas meters built around the OMRON/ST solution do not need to be configured for a certain type of gas at the time of shipment or installation, as they are intrinsically compensated for both temperature and pressure variations and a built-in circuit compensates for the variation of multiple gas composition. The sensor is dust-resistant to comply with international gas-meter standards.

“The successful collaboration with OMRON in gas metering expands ST’s foothold in the increasingly important field of ‘intelligent measurement’ and sets us to replicate the great success we have achieved in smart electricity metering,” said Marco Cassis, Executive Vice President and President, Japan and Korea Region, STMicroelectronics.

"We are very much excited to introduce a new powerful one-stop solution that enables a simple and very accurate Smart Gas Meter System for global markets through the successful collaboration with STMicroelectronics. By enabling IT-based smart metering, this new technology will significantly contribute to energy saving," said Yoshio Sekiguchi, Senior General Manager of the Micro Devices Division of OMRON Corporation.

Device specifications:

Model number G4 G6
Measurable flow range 0 to 7.2m3/h 0 to 12m3/h
Accuracy 3%RD (0.04 to 0.6m3/h)
1.5%RD (0.6 to 6m3/h)
3%RD (0.06 to 1m3/h)
1.5%RD (1 to 10m3/h)
Gas composition correction Yes2
Operating temperature range -25 to 55 Celsius (temperature characteristic: 0.5% RD/10 Celsius)
Dust isolation Have passed tests that conform to the EN14236 standard3
Power consumption 0.051mA/h4
Output format I2C
External dimensions 81.7mm (L), 55.1 (W), 62.3 (H)

About OMRON

Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, OMRON Corporation is a global leader in the field of automation. Established in 1933, Omron has more than 36,000 employees in over 35 countries working to provide products and services to customers in a variety of fields including industrial automation, electronic components, social systems, healthcare, and the environment. The company has regional head offices in Singapore (Asia Pacific), Beijing (Greater China), Amsterdam (Europe, Africa, and the Middle East), Chicago (the Americas), Gurgaon (India), and Sao Paulo (Brazil). For more information, visit OMRON's website at http://www.omron.com/

About STMicroelectronics

ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power technologies and multimedia convergence applications. From energy management and savings to trust and data security, from healthcare and wellness to smart consumer devices, in the home, car and office, at work and at play, ST is found everywhere microelectronics make a positive and innovative contribution to people's life. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.

In 2011, the Company’s net revenues were $9.73 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.

1 Pike Research smart gas meter report

2 The correction coefficient is set according to the range of gas types used

3 5.7, Immunity to contaminants in gas stream

4 Depending on measurement conditions

Citations

Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

  • APA

    STMicroelectronics. (2019, February 24). Completion of New MEMS-based Gas Flow Sensor by Omron Corporation and STMicroelectronics. AZoSensors. Retrieved on October 15, 2024 from https://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=4828.

  • MLA

    STMicroelectronics. "Completion of New MEMS-based Gas Flow Sensor by Omron Corporation and STMicroelectronics". AZoSensors. 15 October 2024. <https://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=4828>.

  • Chicago

    STMicroelectronics. "Completion of New MEMS-based Gas Flow Sensor by Omron Corporation and STMicroelectronics". AZoSensors. https://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=4828. (accessed October 15, 2024).

  • Harvard

    STMicroelectronics. 2019. Completion of New MEMS-based Gas Flow Sensor by Omron Corporation and STMicroelectronics. AZoSensors, viewed 15 October 2024, https://www.azosensors.com/news.aspx?newsID=4828.

Tell Us What You Think

Do you have a review, update or anything you would like to add to this news story?

Leave your feedback
Your comment type
Submit

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.