Paving the way for more sustainable refrigerants

Building on our pioneering XENSIV™ PAS CO2 sensor, we are now taking the benefits of photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) technology to new use cases. The next bold addition to this family is a series of groundbreaking refrigerant leakage sensor solutions for gases such as methane, propane, R-32 and R454B.

Regulatory pressures have mandated the phase-out of refrigeration gases with high ozone-depletion potential (ODP) such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). Now, the commercial refrigeration industry is even transitioning away from replacement alternatives such as hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) in favor of more climate-friendly choices offering lower global warming potential (GWP) than HFCs (e.g. A2L and A3 refrigerants). However, these lower-GWP products potentially present new flammability and toxicity hazards. To mitigate the risk of explosion or occupational health incidents with these new-generation refrigerants, an increasing number of safety standards require the deployment of refrigerant leakage detection systems. Typical examples include the ASHRAE Standard 15, the UL Standard 60335-2-40, EN 378 and the International Fire Code (IFC).

Infineon is meeting these new leakage detection challenges with its XENSIV™ family of sensors leveraging the photoacoustic spectroscopy principle. PAS is a way of detecting gases acoustically. Pulses of light from an infrared source are propelled through an optical filter tuned to the absorption wavelength of the gas to be measured (different gases absorb light in a specific wavelength of the infrared spectrum). With each pulse, the gas molecules inside the measurement chamber shake and produce a pressure wave as a result of the filtered light absorbed by the molecules.

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