The LM26NV can be applied easily in the same way as other integrated-circuit temperature sensors. It can be glued or cemented to a surface. The temperature that the LM26NV is sensing will be within about +0.06°C of the surface temperature to which the LM26NV's leads are attached to.

This presumes that the ambient air temperature is almost the same as the surface temperature; if the air temperature were much higher or lower than the surface temperature, the actual temperature measured would be at an intermediate temperature between the surface temperature and the air temperature.

To ensure good thermal conductivity, the backside of the LM26NV die is directly attached to the GND pin (pin 2). The temperatures of the lands and traces to the other leads of the LM26NV will also affect the temperature that is being sensed.

Alternatively, the LM26NV can be mounted inside a sealed-end metal tube, and can then be dipped into a bath or screwed into a threaded hole in a tank. As with any IC, the LM26NV and accompanying wiring and circuits must be kept insulated and dry, to avoid leakage and corrosion. This is especially true if the circuit may operate at cold temperatures where condensation can occur. Printed-circuit coatings and varnishes such as Humiseal and epoxy paints or dips are often used to ensure that moisture cannot corrode the LM26NV or its connections.

The junction to ambient thermal resistance (θ_JA) is the parameter used to calculate the rise of a part's junction temperature due to its power dissipation. For the LM26NV the equation used to calculate the rise in the die junction temperature is as follows:

Equation 1.

where

• T_A is the ambient temperature
• V⁺ is the power supply voltage
• I_Q is the quiescent current
• V_DO is the voltage on the digital output
• I_DO is the load current on the digital output

Table 7-1 summarizes the thermal resistance for different conditions and the rise in die temperature of the LM26NV and a 10k pull-up resistor on an open-drain digital output with a 5.5V power supply.