Apocalypse: Deconstructing Infineon's innovations in IoT sensors

In 1883, University Professor Warren Seymour Johnson (1847-1911) obtained his first patent for the "electric remote control thermometer", which could automatically adjust the temperature of a room. Widely used in large buildings around the world, Johnson founded the company to sell the system, the predecessor of Johnson Controls.

From the story of Johnson Controls, we can see that the innovation of end products is inseparable from the differentiated innovation of sensors, and now this relationship is getting closer. For example, on smartphones, more people now care about camera capabilities (image sensors), self-driving cars compete with perception capabilities (various active and passive sensors), and popular operation and maintenance monitoring systems in factories also rely on various sensors (MEMS , pressure, vibration, etc.).

For more than 100 years, sensors have continuously improved the convenience of people's work and life. With the development of semiconductor technology and Internet of Things technology, new opportunities and missions have been given to the sensor market. Smaller, more accurate, more energy-efficient and cheaper sensors are being born at an accelerated rate.

As one of the most important components of the Iot, and also the starting point of the Iot technology, sensors can not only realize data collection in the real world, but also a new way of human-computer interaction experience. From speech recognition to gesture recognition, it can be said that a Smart, digital homes and societies are inseparable from sensors everywhere.

As Infineon, which has accumulated 40 years of experience in the field of sensor product research and development and has a rich portfolio of sensing technology products, it is natural that it has already prepared various measures to deal with this rapidly growing market.

Over the past 10 years, Infineon has shipped more than 20 billion sensors, covering a wide range of applications including automotive, industrial and IoT.

Why Infineon can always lead the sensor market?

This article attempts to deconstruct Infineon's innovation in sensors from multiple dimensions, and explore the deep reasons why Infineon continues to lead the development of sensors in the Iot era.

• Innovative Combination

The first type of innovation comes from combinations. The concept of combinatorial innovation comes from Schumpeter, and its connotation is to realize innovation through the recombination of basic elements. Infineon's XENSIV PAS CO2 sensor is an innovation in this way, which combines Infineon's high-sensitivity MEMS microphones, microcontrollers, MOSFETs and other technologies to achieve the best cost-effective CO2 sensing solution.

The content of indoor carbon dioxide has a vital impact on human health. Studies have shown that when the concentration is too high, it will make people feel dizzy. In addition, in an environment with insufficient ventilation, the risk of transmission of various viruses such as the new crown will also increase. Therefore, effective detection of indoor carbon dioxide concentration to automatically perform ventilation can ensure human health in many aspects.

PAS has the advantages of high sensitivity, good selectivity, long life, and small measurement volume, but the cost is high, so it is difficult to popularize in the cost-sensitive IoT market. By optimizing the MEMS microphone for low-frequency signal acquisition, Infineon has realized a lower-cost pickup, which greatly reduces the cost of pickup.

• Innovative Migration

The second type of innovation is migration. One of the best cases today is the migration of data to the cloud, thereby creating a rich industry demand. As one of the main suppliers of automotive pressure sensors, Infineon has been using piezoresistive sensors, which are widely used in various fields including pressure gauges for liquid or gas in automobiles, side airbags, pedestrian protection, tire pressure, etc. Today, more and more consumer products require touch to sense pressure, and migration innovation can rapidly expand the application scenarios of pressure sensors while the basic principles remain the same.

Piezoresistive sensors have proven their high reliability in Infineon's decades of automotive installations.By migrating pressure sensors to the IoT and consumer fields, Infineon can be flexibly applied in various scenarios that need to collect air pressure and wind speed values, and even realize fall detection. The specific product forms range from mobile phones, smart watches to predictive maintenance of HVAC, air conditioners and even drones and other rich application fields.

In addition, there are innovative processes, innovative cooperation, innovative business models, and innovative applications.let's talk in next article.

Adapted by 冀凯 July 13, 2022; Soured by infineon. https://news.eeworld.com.cn/MEMS/ic616233.html