LPG Gas-Sensing System With SnO2 Thin-Film Transducer and 0.7-μm CMOS Signal Conditioning ASIC

The design and implementation of a complete gas sensor system for liquified petroleum gas (LPG) gas sensing are presented. The system consists of a SnO2 transducer, a low-cost heater, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) with front-end interface circuitry, and a microcontroller interface for data logging. The ASIC includes a relaxation-oscillator-based heater driver circuit that is capable of controlling the sensor operating temperature from 100 degrees C to 425 degrees C. The sensor readout circuit in the ASIC, which is based on the resistance to time conversion technique, has been designed to measure the gas sensor response over three orders of resistance change during its interaction with gases.