Index across environment (temperature/humidity/pressure/gas/light), pressure–flow–force, inertial & pose, magnetic/current/position, distance & imaging & ranging, bio/medical signals, key specs, design pitfalls, and quick pairings.
Environmental
Temperature (Thermistor/RTD/IC)
NTC/PTC, RTD (Pt100/1000) and silicon ICs; bridge/ADC or I²C/SPI; HVAC/compensation/thermal mgmt.
Humidity/Temp (RH/T)
Capacitive/conductive with on-die heater; I²C; indoor, warehousing and medical.
Barometer / Altimeter
MEMS piezo/capacitive with low noise and temperature compensation; I²C/SPI.
Gas (MOX / NDIR / E-chem / PID)
VOC (MOX), CO₂ (NDIR), CO/NOx (E-chem); analog/digital for air-quality/safety/industrial.
Ambient Light / Color / UV
ALS/CCT/RGB/IR with shading compensation; I²C; adaptive display & color control.
Pressure / Flow / Force
Pressure (Abs/Gauge/Diff)
MEMS piezo/cap sensors, kPa–MPa ranges; analog/digital for fluids & process control.
Differential Pressure / Flow
Pitot/diaphragm with compute; I²C/analog for filter monitoring & HVAC.
Force / Load Cell (Strain/Bridge)
Strain bridges + INAs/ΔΣ; analog outputs for weighing and force loops.
Capacitive / Proximity
Cap-touch and proximity; I²C; HMI and liquid-level sensing.
Inertial & Pose
Accelerometer (2/3-axis)
±2–200 g with µg/√Hz noise; I²C/SPI; tilt & vibration sensing.
Gyroscope
±125–4000 °/s with ARW metrics; stability and navigation.
IMU (6/9DoF + Mag)
Hard/soft-iron calibration with fusion for pose/SLAM.
Inclinometer
Low-drift, temperature-compensated for machinery and wind turbines.
Magnetic, Current & Position
Hall Switch / Latch
Threshold devices for on/off detection; motor speed and reed replacement.
Linear Hall / AMR / GMR / TMR
High sensitivity/low drift for current and position sensing.
Current Sensors (Shunt/Hall/Fluxgate)
Shunt + CSA, isolated Hall and fluxgate; analog/digital for power/drive.
Encoder / Resolver / LVDT
ABZ/SSI and sin/cos with excitation for servo & precision positioning.
eCompass
Magnetometer with fusion for navigation/heading.
Distance, Imaging & Ranging
ToF LiDAR (VCSEL + SPAD)
20 mm to meters with strong ambient-light rejection; I²C/SPI.
Laser Ranging / Scanner
Time-of-flight/phase measurement for retail and robotics.
Ultrasonic Ranger / Flow
ToF/phase-diff with temperature comp for obstacle/level/fuel.
mmWave Radar (24/60/77 GHz)
Range/velocity/angle; SPI/CAN/ETH for automotive/security.
Image Sensor (CMOS)
Global/rolling shutters, HDR and MIPI CSI-2 for vision.
Thermopile / IR Array
Contactless temperature & thermal maps; I²C; body temp/inspection.
Bio / Medical
PPG / HR / SpO₂
Multi-wavelength with ambient cancellation; I²C; wearables.
ECG / Bio-Potential
µV-level with notch and RLD; medical and fitness devices.
Respiratory Flow / Pressure
Low ΔP with high sensitivity for ventilators/CPAP.
Key Specs & Selection
Accuracy & Error
Absolute/relative, FSS and temperature coefficients.
Resolution / Noise
RMS & density, ENOB and ARW (for gyros).
Range / Bandwidth
Dynamic range, response time and sampling rates.
Linearity / Hysteresis
Repeatability and long-term drift considerations.
Temperature & Environment
Operating temps, humidity, shock/vibe and IP ratings.
Interface / Power
I²C/SPI/analog/PDM, Iq & duty-cycling for battery apps.
Calibration / Compensation
Factory/field calibration, offset/scale and alignment.
Package / Mechanical
Port direction, assembly stress and dust/filters.
Design Hooks & Pitfalls
AFE & Filtering
Bridge/Hall/mic → low-noise INAs/TPAs; anti-alias + digital IIR/FIR.
Reference & Clock
ADC ref/clock noise limits SNR; IMU/ToF need low-jitter time bases.
Layout & Mechanical Stress
Pressure/IMU stress sensitivity; avoid screw hotspots; add elastomers/vents.
EMC / ESD / EMI
Keep current sensors/magnetometers away from high currents; port TVS & guard rings.
Temp Drift & Compensation
2-point/multi-point cal, LUT/model comp; micro-heaters for humidity.
Self-Heating & Delay
Thermal time constants and airflow; correct ToF/optical self-heating.
Alignment & Calibration
IMU axis alignment/iron cal; resolver phase zeroing.
Contamination Protection
PTFE vents/filters; select for oil/salt-fog environments.
Power Management
Duty-cycle sampling, FIFO interrupts and low-power modes.
Data Quality & Fusion
Outlier removal/drift tracking; fusion (Kalman/complementary) and health metrics.
Quick Pairings
Motor / Motion
IMU + encoder/Hall + current sensors + low-latency ADC for FOC.
Gas / Environment
NDIR CO₂ + RH/T + wind/diff-pressure with I²C gateway.
Distance / Obstacle Avoidance
ToF + ultrasonic + IR fusion; async sampling with decision arbitration.
Energy / Power
Isolated Hall/fluxgate + shunt/precision amps with temp comp.
Medical Wearables
PPG + accelerometer (artifact rejection) + body temp + low-power MCU/BLE.
