Reference Design For A CO Detector

Reference design for a robust electrochemical carbon monoxide detector.

Carbon monoxide is a dangerous gas that can kill people or animals. Therefore, gas sensors are very important to monitor dangerous levels of CO gas in closed spaces. Sophisticated gas sensor systems are used in medical diagnostics, manufacturing processes, photo-voltaic systems, refineries, vehicles, homes and waste treatment systems to make these areas much safer. So, if you are planning to design a carbon monoxide sensor, then the CO sensor from Zilog is a simple and effective design that you can do.

The Carbon monoxide (CO) detector reference design from Zilog is based on electrochemical-cell sensor technology that makes it more robust than any other CO detector. It is based on Zilog’s Z8 Encore XP microcontroller (MCU) and the Sixth Sense ECO-Sure (2e) CO sensor. The MCU’s on-chip integrated hardware minimizes board space with very few external components. The MCU implements a power management routine to save power. The reference design measures CO levels and translates them into voltages and is fed to the integrated Sigma-Delta Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC).

The module can also be equipped with an optional MaxStream 900 MHz RF module aimed at wireless networking and monitoring applications. This unit runs on three AA size batteries and has a flashing LED indicator to show that the detector is active and with a little modification the design can be used with rechargeable Li-Ion batteries. battery.

This reference design was tested by Zilog. The company also provides additional resources. You can find more data about the reference design on the company’s website. To read more about this reference design click here.