How does a breathalyzer work? What types of technology do they employ?
Most breathalyzers use one of three technologies to detect Blood Alcohol Content or Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC), which is the concentration of alcohol in a persons blood: a semiconductor oxide sensor, a fuel cell sensor or a spectrophotometer, the latter being the technology used in large, table-top breathalyzers often found at police stations. Breathalyzer.net offers breathalyzers with semiconductor oxide sensors and fuel-cell sensors. Semiconductor oxide-based testers, such as the BACtrack S70 and BACtrack S50 and are relatively new and very affordable. An ethanol-specific sensor is used to measure the subject’s BAC. Semiconductor oxide sensors offer many benefits, including low cost, low power consumption and small size. Semiconductor oxide based testers require calibration service on a more frequent basis (every 300-400 tests or once a year) than fuel cell based testers (every 5,000 tests). When used for personal, home and low-volume professional testing, semiconductor oxide
