Melexis Expands Groundbreaking Triphibian Technology for Low-Pressure Applications

­Melexis introduces new low-pressure variants across its Triphibian® pressure sensor family, supporting configurable pressure spans as low as 2 bar. Available for the MLX90830, MLX90833, and MLX90834, the new variants extend Triphibian technology, which uniquely measures both gas and liquid pressures, into the thermal management loop for EVs and AI data center liquid cooling.

Existing variants support pressure measurement up to 70 bar for demanding applications including refrigeration loops and oil measurement. The new low-pressure variants extend this capability to media such as coolants, due to their excellent glycol compatibility.

Cooling systems are critical to the performance and reliability of increasingly complex electronic and electromechanical systems. In EV battery thermal management, as well as in liquid cooling of high-density data centers, pressure measurement helps verify correct coolant circulation, supports diagnostics, and protects high-value components from faults that could otherwise go undetected. However, adding reliable pressure sensing in low-pressure environments remains challenging. Conventional MEMS or ceramic sensing approaches can struggle to deliver robust measurements across gas, liquid, and frozen media. They may also create integration challenges and require module-level calibration, adding system cost, development effort, and mechanical complexity at a time when many manufacturers are under pressure to optimize designs.

Triphibian 2 bar

The new low-pressure Triphibian® variants address these challenges by bringing Melexis’ pioneering gas, liquid, and frozen media pressure sensing technology to applications with a 2 or 4 bar operating range. Combining a unique suspended-cantilever MEMS pressure sensing element with signal processing, conditioning and an output driver in a compact, factory-calibrated SOIC16 wide-body package, the devices are designed for direct contact with gas, liquid, and frozen media. This simplifies the integration of robust pressure sensing into compact low-pressure system designs.

For engineers, this package-level integration gives manufacturers two clear routes to implementation. The devices can be used in standalone pressure modules or directly integrated into larger system assemblies like pumps or coolant distribution units. This approach allows pressure to be measured closer to the point where it matters, while helping designers avoid the constraints of larger standalone modules, reduce calibration effort, and mechanical integration complexity.

Key benefits include:

●        Low-Pressure Triphibian Coverage: new variants support configurable pressure spans starting at 2 bar, extending the family’s usable span coverage from 2 to 70 bar while enabling direct measurement in gas, liquid, and frozen media.

●        Compact Integrated Architecture: combines the MEMS pressure sensing element, digital signal processing (DSP), and output driver in a factory-calibrated SOIC16 wide-body package.

●        Reduced Calibration Burden: each sensor is calibrated by Melexis across multiple pressure and temperature points, removing module-level end-of-line calibration effort.

●        Automotive-Grade Robustness: includes protection against overvoltage up to +40 V and reverse voltage down to -40 V and is developed as a Safety Element out of Context (SEooC) under ISO 26262, supporting up to ASIL B system integration.

●        Flexible Output and Temperature Options: available across Analog, SENT and LIN variants, with digital versions supporting on-chip temperature information and the option to connect an external NTC where pressure and temperature data are required.

“Our pressure spans starting at 2 bar bring direct sensing to compact liquid-media systems, removing the complexity traditionally associated with module-level integration and calibration,” says Karel Claesen, Product Line Director at Melexis. “Whether driving next-gen automotive systems or powering AI data centers, Triphibian technology delivers the critical monitoring required to ensure continuous hardware operation.”

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