Data Sheet
Datasheet SHT20 
www.sensirion.com  Version 3 – December 2011  8/14
Command 
Comment 
Code 
Trigger T measurement
hold master 
1110‟0011 
Trigger RH measurement
hold master 
1110‟0101 
Trigger T measurement
no hold master  
1111‟0011 
Trigger RH measurement
no hold master 
1111‟0101 
Write user register 
1110‟0110 
Read user register 
1110‟0111  
Soft reset 
1111‟1110 
Table  6   Basic  command  set, RH stands  for  relative  humidity, 
and T stands for temperature 
Hold  master  or  no  hold  master  modes  are  explained  in 
next Section. 
5.4  Hold / No Hold Master Mode 
There are  two different operation modes to communicate 
with  the  sensor: Hold  Master  mode  or No  Hold Master 
mode. In the first case the SCL line is blocked (controlled 
by sensor) during measurement process while in the latter 
case the SCL line remains open for other communication 
while the sensor is processing the measurement. No hold 
master  mode  allows  for  processing  other  I
2
C 
communication  tasks  on  a  bus  while  the  sensor  is 
measuring. A communication sequence of the two modes 
is displayed in Figure 15 and Figure 16, respectively. 
In the hold master mode, the SHT2x pulls down the SCL 
line while measuring to force the master into a wait state. 
By releasing the SCL line the sensor indicates that internal 
processing  is terminated and that  transmission  may be 
continued.  
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
S 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
ACK 
1 
1 
1 
0 
0 
1 
0 
1 
ACK 
I
2
C address + write 
Command (see Table 6) 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
S 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
ACK 
Measurement 
I
2
C address + read 
Hold during measurement 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
0 
1 
1 
ACK 
0 
1 
0 
1 
0 
0 
1 
0 
ACK 
Data (MSB) 
Data (LSB) 
Stat. 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 
52 
53 
54 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
NACK 
P 
Checksum 
Figure 15  Hold master communication sequence – grey blocks 
are controlled by  SHT2x.  Bit  45 may be changed  to  NACK 
followed by Stop condition (P) to omit checksum transmission. 
In no hold master mode, the MCU has to poll for  the 
termination of the internal processing of the sensor. This is 
done by sending a Start condition followed by the I
2
C 
header (1000‟0001) as shown in Figure 16. If the internal 
processing is finished, the sensor acknowledges the poll of 
the  MCU  and  data  can  be  read  by  the  MCU.  If  the 
measurement  processing  is  not  finished  the  sensor 
answers  no  ACK  bit  and  the  Start  condition  must  be 
issued once more. 
For  both  modes,  since  the  maximum  resolution  of  a 
measurement  is  14  bit,  the  two  last  least  significant  bits 
(LSBs,  bits  43  and  44)  are  used  for  transmitting  status 
information.  Bit  1  of  the  two  LSBs  indicates  the 
measurement type („0‟: temperature, „1‟ humidity). Bit 0 is 
currently not assigned. 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
S 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
ACK 
1 
1 
1 
1 
0 
1 
0 
1 
ACK 
I
2
C address + write 
Command (see Table 6) 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
Measurement 
S 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
NACK 
measuring 
I
2
C address + read 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
Measurement 
S 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
ACK 
continue measuring 
I
2
C address + read 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
35 
36 
37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
0 
1 
1 
ACK 
0 
1 
0 
1 
0 
0 
1 
0 
ACK 
Data (MSB) 
Data (LSB) 
Stat. 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 
52 
53 
54 
0 
1 
1 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
NACK 
P 
Checksum 
Figure  16   No Hold  master communication  sequence  –  grey 
blocks  are  controlled  by  SHT2x.  If  measurement  is  not 
completed upon “read” command, sensor does not provide ACK 
on bit  27 (more of  these  iterations  are  possible). If  bit  45 is 
changed to  NACK  followed  by Stop condition (P)  checksum 
transmission is omitted.  
In the  examples given in  Figure 15  and Figure  16 the 
sensor  output is  S
RH
  = „0110‟0011‟0101‟0000‟. For  the 
calculation of physical values Status Bits must be set to „0‟ 
– see Chapter 6. 
The maximum duration for measurements depends on the 
type of measurement and resolution chosen – values are 
displayed in Table 7. Maximum values shall be chosen for 
the communication planning of the MCU. 










