Introduction
The SparkFun Formaldehyde Sensor - SFA40 (Qwiic) . The SFA40 is a compact electrochemical indoor gas sensor calibrated to measure concentrations of formaldehyde gas with low cross-sensitivity to other common indoor gases like ethanol and nitrogen dioxide. The SFA40 communicates over I2C so naturally we've put it on a Qwiic board to easily power and communicate with it in the Qwiic ecosystem.
In order to follow along with this tutorial you'll need the SparkFun Formaldehyde Sensor - SFA40 (Qwiic) along with the following items:
- SparkFun RedBoard IoT - RP2350 (or other Arduino development board)
- Qwiic Cable
- USB-C Cable
Topics Covered
This document contains three main sections: Quick Start Guide, Hardware and Software.
The Quick Start Guide goes over assembling the Formaldehyde Sensor in a Qwiic circuit with a compatible Arduino development board and jumps right into installing and uploading an example from the SparkFun SFA40 Arduino Library to get data from the sensor in just a few minutes.
The Hardware pages include a hardware overview that provides a detailed overview of the Formaldehyde Sensor - SFA40 (Qwiic) and all major components on the board. The Hardware Assembly page goes over the steps required to assemble and use the board to measure formaldehyde concentrations with a compatible Arduino development board.
The Software pages give instructions on how to install the SparkFun SFA40 Arduino Library and use some of the examples included in it.
Resources and Documentation
The Resources page has the board design files (KiCad files & schematic), relevant documentation (datasheets, white papers, etc.) and other helpful links. The Support page has a troubleshooting section that includes any helpful tips specific to this board as well as information on how to receive technical support from SparkFun.