Description:

Unlike most temperature sensors, the TMP006 does not require contact with the object it is measuring. It uses a very sensitive thermopile to measure the infrared energy being emitted from the surface of the object.

What is a Thermopile?

A thermopile is essentially a whole lot of thermocouples aligned in parallel, but wired in series. Each thermocouple will generate a microvolt-level signal proportional to the temperature differential from the hot end to the cold end. And by wiring them in parallel, the output is the sum of all outputs of all of the thermocouples. By multiplying the output like this, very small temperature differences can be measured.

How It Works:

Simply point the sensor towards what you want to measure and it will detect the temperature by absorbing IR waves emitted. The embedded thermopile sensor generates a very very small voltage depending on how much IR there is, and using some math, that micro voltage can be used to calculate the temperature. It also takes the measurement over an area so it can be handy for determining the average temperature of something.

The sensor works with 3-5V logic, so no level shifting is required. It features two address pins that, when connected properly, allows up to 8 of these units to operate on one I2C bus.