Particle Sensor 2.5PM and 10PM - SDS021

This product has been discontinued

Measuring air quality includes the necessity to determine the amount of dust or particulate matter (PM) in the air. Dust is not so bad but really small particles, 2.5µm and 10µm in diameter, can penetrate the lungs causing all sorts of health problems. The measurement of these particles are often called 2.5PM and 10PM and they are measured in micro-grams per cubic meter of air (µg/m³).

The SDS021 sensor uses laser based light scattering to detect both 2.5µm and 10µm sized particles. It has an integrated fan to maintain constant airflow across the sensing chamber. The sensor does all the internal processing and temperature compensation and outputs both measurements over an easy to use serial interface every second.

A four pin interface cable is included with the sensor. One end of the cable is a 1.25mm pitch connector that connects to the sensor. The opposite end of the cable is four, breadboard-friendly, male pins that make it easy to connect to any platform.

Once power is applied the sensor will start reporting readings every second. Only three connections (5V, GND, RX) are required but if you want to send commands to the module you’ll need a fourth wire (TX). We’ve written a handful of example sketches to demonstrate how to read the 2.5PM and 10PM measurements as well as graph the output and sleeping/waking the module via software to conserve power.

The sensor requires 5V to operate so we recommend using this with a RedBoard, Teensy, or other platform that can provide a good 5V at 60mA. The serial interface is 3.3V so use a logic level converter where needed.

Walking and/or movement of the sensor will cause airflow variations across the sensing chamber but the variance is not estimated to have significant impact on the measurements.

We do not plan to regularly carry SparkX products so get them while they’re hot!

Experimental Product: SparkX products are rapidly located and produced to bring you the most cutting edge technology as it becomes available. These products are tested but come with no guarantees. Live technical support is not available for SparkX products. Head on over to our forum for support or to ask a question.

Features

• Voltage: 5V
• Current: 60mA (laser/fan on), less than 4mA during sleep (laser/fan off)
• Precision: 0.0 to 999.9 µg/m³
• Accuracy: +/- 10µg/m³, +/-15% at upper threshold of 999µg/m³
• Outputs 2.5PM and 10PM readings every second
• Software controlled sleep and wake

Documents

• SDA021 Datasheet
• Serial Interface Specification
• Example sketches to get your started
• Good Wikipedia article on particulates