TMP006 Hookup Guide
This Tutorial is Retired!
This tutorial covers concepts or technologies that are no longer current. It's still here for you to read and enjoy, but may not be as useful as our newest tutorials.
JordanDee TMP006 Overview
The TMP006 is a temperature sensor that can detect the temperature of an object without having to make direct contact with it. The sensor has a thermopile which absorbs infrared energy from the object. The thermopile is composed of several thermocouples in series which each produce a voltage when heated. The total voltage is read and stored within the sensor as a number in a register. This number can then be used to calculate the object temperature.
The sensor can measure temperatures between -40°C and 125°C. It can be powered with 3.3V or 5V or anything in between. It can be used with battery powered applications as it is low power and has a typical idle (quiescent) current of 240 µA. It sports a very tiny form factor. You can interface with the chip using I2C and can have up to eight of them on the same I2C bus.
Suggested Reading
These boards aren't too hard to use. If you've done anything with Arduino before, you'll be prepared to work with the TMP006. If you're not exactly sure what this "Arduino" thing is, or if you're not familiar with the topics below, consider reading these tutorials: