Integrated Device Technology (IDT) has announced the addition of family of SiC-based relative humidity (RH) sensor chips to its portfolio of advanced sensor products.

The IDT HS300x family of relative humidity sensors feature a ±1.5 percent RH accuracy and six-second response time (rated over a 20 percent to 80 percent RH range in still air and does not require airflow). Since humidity sensors consume the most power when they are taking a measurement, the fast response time to a stable measurement reduces the amount of sampling needed. This is especially important for battery-powered applications, where lower power consumption equates to longer battery life.

In addition to high-accuracy and fast response times, the HS300x family features excellent long-term stability of 0.1 percent RH per year as a result of a robust SiC construction and an innovative design. This improves useful lifetime and lowers its effective cost.

IDT's humidity sensors are suitable for a wide range of applications, including measurement of water vapour content in medical oxygen, measurement of humidity in appliances such as refrigerators, as well as monitoring the humidity of air in industrial processes, climate control systems (HVAC), weather stations, and portable personal health devices.

"We're excited to add high-performance humidity sensors to our portfolio of industry-leading sensor products," said Sailesh Chittipeddi, executive vice president global operations and chief technology officer at IDT. "IDT's humidity sensors can be used alone or integrated with IDT's gas and flow sensors to provide a complete environmental sensing solution. These products each provide a compelling value proposition that, when coupled with IDT's long-standing reputation for quality and support, make IDT's products the preferred solution for many industrial, medical, and automotive applications."

The HS300x family consists of four devices "“ the HS3001, HS3002, HS3003, and HS3004 offering RH measurement accuracy of ±1.5 percent, ±1.8 percent, ±2.8 percent and ±3.8 percent, respectively. All devices feature an extremely low 1uA quiescent current for additional power savings, and an extra wide 5 percent to 95 percent sensing range for more precise control at the humidity extremes. The devices are offered in a compact 3.0 à— 2.4 à— 0.8 mm LGA package. The HS300x devices and evaluation boards are available now.