With MSA XCell Sensor Technology
Frequently Asked Questions
- The ALTAIR 4XR Multigas Detector uses the NEW MSA XCell Sensors. Aren’t all electrochemical and catalityc bead sensors basically the same?
All sensors are not the same. Sensors ate the haert of an instrument; sensor performance can vary greatly depending upon manufacture. Most multigas detectors use the same sensors from the same few global suppliers. MSA has designed a superior gas detection sensors platform specially optimized for MSA gas detectors, MSA XCell Sensors are designed for longer life, faster response and higher performance when used with MSA’s ALTAIR 4XR Multigas Detector.
MSA has designed and manufactured gas detection sensors and instruments for decades. Our experts are there to support you with any product or application concerns, allowing you to focus on your core business. - I read that every MSA XCell Sensor is built with an embedded application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). What is an ASIC and why is it important?
An ASIC is a microchip specifically designed for one application. ASIC’s are most commonly associated with consumer electronics that have been greatly reduced in size over the years (i.e. cellular phones). In ASIC development a complete electronic circuit with multiple larger components is reduced to one tiny microchip dedicated to a specific purpose, such as sensor control.
In recent years MSA has developped its own sensor ASIC. This chip contains a microprocessor, all circuit to drive and conpensate the sensor, and a digital signal converter.
Every MSA XCell Sensor contains an ASIC. This chip is much more than a smart sensor, digital XCell Sensor perform real-time environmental correction and provide plug-and-play capabilities, greater RF immunity and a higher overall performance level.. Due to digital output, this sensor is not backward-compatible with older MSA instruments, but instead estabilishes. MSA’s future product platform. - Historicall oxygen (O2) sensor technology is seen as a weak lnk and the first to die in every instrument. How does MSA’s XCell O2 Sensor actually achieve a typical lifesp an of more than four-years?
Most O2 sensors on the market today use a consumable chemical reaction where a piece of lead is consumed and converted to lead oxide. These sensor have a very finite life. Once enough lead is gone, the sensor stops working.
The MSA XCell O2, Sensor uses a non-consumable chemical reaction. O2 is converted to water and then back to O2. The sensor does not”use itself up” each time it sees O2, generating a much longer shelf-life and overall lifespan.