HW 1: M&E 2015

1. The Pt100 resistance temperature detector (RTD) is the gold standard for temperature
measurements. It consists of a platinum resistor, which is designed (trimmed) so that its
resistance R satisfies the equation R = R0(1 + T), where R0 = 100, = 0.385% and T is
the temperature in Centigrade.
Consider the case where a Pt100 is used to sense the temperature inside a mobile phone:
A. If the resistance of a Pt100 thermistor is to be measured over the so-called military
temperature range (-55C to 125C) by a precision Keithley Model 2002 multimeter
determine the best-case inaccuracy of the resulting temperature measurement, i.e.
assuming that the multimeter is configured for the highest possible accuracy. Specify and
motivate your chosen configuration.
B. Determine the resolution limit associated ONLY with the thermistors thermal noise.
Then determine the best-case resolution limit taking into account the multimeters own
finite resolution and conversion time, during which its internal dual-slope ADC
effectively integrates the input signal.

2. A thermopile consists of 16 thermocouples, each with a resistance of 1k and a

sensitivity of 0.5mV/C.
A. Given that the output of the thermopile is integrated over a 1ms period, and that the
measurement is made at room temperature (20C), determine the resolution limit
associated with the thermopiles own thermal noise.
B. Consider the case when rather than being integrated, the thermopiles output is
boosted by an amplifier with a gain of 100. If the amplifier has a ENBW of 500Hz and a
1/f corner frequency of 10Hz, calculate the resolution limit for measurements made over
a one minute interval.
Note: k = 1.38 x 10-23J/K.

Very Important!!!
1. Your answer should be submitted in pdf format, and should not be longer than
THREE pages in length => two pages for text and one page for any scanned drawings.
2. Please name the file in the following manner: Name_Surname_HW1.pdf
3. Dont forget to include a (brief) motivation with your answers!