Sensors and Actuators

Introduction to sensors

Sander Stuijk
(s.stuijk@tue.nl)

Department of Electrical Engineering

Electronic Systems
2

5ES00 = 5CI30 + 5CI31

3 ECTS awarded for each CI course passed
3 Embedded systems

 an embedded system is a device used to

control, monitor or assist the operation of
equipment, machinery or plant.

 “embedded" reflects the fact that the information

processing system is an integral part of the
device.
4 Embedded systems

 embedded systems make up a large percentage of the product cost

embedded systems are the driving force behind the

only silent revolution the world has ever seen
5 Embedded systems

 embedded systems are different from

personal computers
 embedded systems are
 reliable
 consider many demands
(energy, code size, ...)
 designed for a specific application
 often real-time
 often reactive
6 Embedded systems

 an embedded system consists of

 an actuator
 a sensor
 an embedded processor
 and often a communication network

actuator

processor

communication

sensor
7

PRACTICAL NOTES
8 Prior knowledge

 you should be familiar with the following subjects

 signal processing
 electronics

 special lectures and labs are organized for students that lack this
background ...
9 Prior knowledge – signal processing

 you should be familiar with ...

 sinusoidal waves
 complex numbers, phasors and phasor addition rule
 spectral representation of signals, harmonic frequencies and
multiplication
 Fourier transform
 AD/DA conversion: sampling, quantization and under-sampling
 FIR filter
 power and noise

 lectures on this topic are ...

 mandatory for BTI, BTB, BTW, BID, BST, BW
 part of `digital signal processing (5HH30)’
 lecture on Thursday (optional), instruction on Friday
 exam question during exam of 5CI30
10 Prior knowledge – signal processing

 example question
11 Prior knowledge – electronics

 you should be familiar with ...

 passive components (R, L, C)
 operational amplifiers
 complex impedance of a circuit
 circuits needed for AD/DA conversion
 circuits needed for filtering
 transistors

 lectures on this topic are ...

 mandatory for BTI, BTB, BTW, BID, BST, BW
 part of `actuation techniques (5CI31)’
12 Prior knowledge – electronics

 example question
Z4

Z1 i1 Va i2 Z2
V-
- Vout
i3 V+
+
Vin Z3

Figuur 4

5.1 In Figuur 4 is een schakeling met een opamp getekend. Veronderstel dat de
eigenschappen van de opamp ideaal zijn.

a. Wat is de relatie tussen V+ en V- ? (0.2/2.5)

b. Stel de Kirchhoff stroomwet op voor punt Va. (0.2/2.5)
c. Bereken de spanning Va als functie van Z1 ,Z2, Z3 en Vin met behulp van de Kirchhoff
stroom wet. (0.4/2.5)
d. Bereken i2. (0.2/2.5)
e. Beschrijf Vout als functie van Z1 ,Z2, Z3, Vin en Z4 (0.4/2.5)
13 Schedule (Quartile 1)

 physics (BEI, BTN, BBT)

 electronics (BTI, BTB, BTW, BID, BST, BW)

 students join instructions of 5HH30 (digital signal processing)

14 Schedule (Quartile 2)

 physics (BEI, BTN, BBT)

 electronics (BTI, BTB, BTW, BID, BST, BW)

 location to be announced later

15 Exam

 written exam of 3 hours

 includes question on signal processing (if applicable)
 no notebooks allowed

 exam scheduled in Q2 (January 23th) and Q3 (April 17th)

16 Course material

 book
 J. Fraden, Handbook of Modern Sensors: Physics, Designs, and
Applications, ISBN 978-0-387-00750-2
 available online from Springer

 additional material from OASE

 Introducing Electronics
 Signal processing: the basics

 slides, instruction exercises, old exams

www.es.ele.tue.nl/education/SensorsActuators

 video lectures from 2011-2012 (no instructions)

videocollege.tue.nl
17 Course material

 exercises and short questions embedded in slides

 marked in bold with question mark
 solutions provided on slides

 instructions
 exercises available on the website
 solutions provided on blackboard, not available online

 exams
 some previous exams available on the website
 no answers or solutions provided (ask in case of doubt)
 one exam will be practiced in week 14
18 A few words on 5CI31…

Studenten EE, N, BMT

week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6 week 7 week 8
Sept 4/6 Sept 11/13 Sept 18/20 Sept 25/27 Oct 2/4 Oct 9/11 Oct 16/18 Oct 23/25

Woe, uur 7-8 X Instructions X Instructions Instructions X Instructions Instructions

MF 07
Vri, uur 3-4 Actuators Actuators Actuators Displays Displays Actuators Actuators Actuators
MF 07
Vri, uur 7-8 X Advanced Advanced Advanced Advanced Advanced Advanced Advanced
PT 6.05 Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators Actuators

Andere studenten
week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6 week 7 week 8
Sept 4/6 Sept 11/13 Sept 18/20 Sept 25/27 Oct 2/4 Oct 9/11 Oct 16/18 Oct 23/25

Woe, uur 7-8 X Instructions X Instructions Instructions X Instructions Instructions

MF 07
Vri, uur 3-4 Actuators Actuators Actuators Displays Displays Actuators Actuators Actuators
MF 07
Vri, uur 7-8 Intro to Intro to Intro to Intro to Intro to Intro to Intro to Intro to
PT 6.23 Electronics Electronics Electronics Electronics Electronics Electronics Electronics Electronics

Actuators, Advanced Actuators, Instructions: Aleksandar Borisavljevic

Displays: Gerard de Haan
Intro to Electronics: Ruud Sprangers
19 Software for 5CI31

 Download and install Maxwell SV software from

http://www.ele.tue.nl/downloads/5ES00/MaxwellSV.zip
20

INTRODUCTION TO SENSORS
(Chapter 1)
21 Sensors are everywhere...
22 Example – Smartphone

processing 5Mpixel camera LED flash speaker proximity/light sensor

capacitive touch screen optical trackball buttons microphone

23 Sensors and actuators

 sensors and actuators are common devices

 a system of any complexity cannot be designed without them

 why can a system not perform its tasks without sensors?

 complexity
 uncertainty
 dynamic world
 detection / correction of errors
24 Information-processing systems
 information-processing system consist of
 sensors
 interface electronic circuits
 processing elements
 actuators
interface electronics

signal processing
25 Example – Temperature control

 sense the temperature of a CPU

 control the speed of the fan to keep the temperature constant

 A/D and signal conditioner can be separated from the processor

 circuitry may be integrated into a “smart sensor”
26 Example – Level control system

 information-processing system
 sensor (sight tube + optic nerve)
 processing (brain)
 actuator (hand + valve)

 this sensor converts radiant energy to electrical energy

27 Animal senses

bats shark snake

ultrasound (mechanical) electrical field thermal radiation

rats fish birds

touch (mechanical) sound vibrations magnetic field
(mechanical)
28 Signals-carrying energy
Signal domain
Radiant Magnetic Mechanical

Chemical Electrical Thermal

Atomic Electrostatic /
Electromagnetic Thermal

Molecular Mass Mechanical

Radiant Nuclear Gravitational

Energy domain
29 Sensors, transducers and actuators

Radiant Magnetic Mechanical

direct sensor complex sensor

Chemical Electrical Thermal

 a transducer converts a stimulus from a signal domain to another

signal domain
 a sensor receives a stimulus and responds with an electrical signal

 an actuator converts an electrical signal to another signal domain

30 Example - loudspeaker system

sensor actuator

mechanical signal electrical signal mechanical signal

 a transducer converts a stimulus from a signal domain to another

signal domain
 a sensor receives a stimulus and responds with an electrical signal

 an actuator converts an electrical signal to another signal domain

31 Electrical signal domain

why do we prefer a transducer that produces a signal in the

electrical domain?

 a signal in any domain can be converted to a signal in the electrical

domain
 energy does not have to be drained from the processes being
measured, instead an amplifier can be used
 many electrical signal conditioners exist
 many options exist to process, display and store electrical
information
 it is easy to communicate electrical signals
32 Example - telephone

sensor actuator

mechanical signal electrical signal mechanical signal

 a telephone works in a different way

 microphone converts sound to change of resistance

 no transduction takes place (no change of energy)
 power source must be added to affect transduction
33 Sensor classification - excitation
passive
active

 an active sensor requires external power to operate

 a passive (self-generating) sensor generates its own electrical signal

sensor classification
1 passive
2 passive
3 passive
4 active
5 passive
34 Sensor classification – sensor placement
 a contact sensor requires physical contact with the object
 a non-contact requires no physical contact with the object
 an internal sensor is used within the data acquisition system itself

sensor classification
1 passive non-contact
2 passive contact
3 passive contact
4 active contact
5 passive internal
35 Sensor classification – reference point
 an absolute sensor reacts to a stimulus on an absolute scale
 a relative sensor senses the stimulus relative to a fixed or variable
reference

sensor classification
1 passive non-contact
2 passive contact
3 passive contact
4 active contact
5 passive internal
36 Sensor classification – physical effect

 transducers (sensors) employ physical effects to convert a stimulus

from a signal domain to another signal domain

in \ out radiation mechanical thermal electrical magnetic chemical

radiation photo radiation radiation photo- photo- photo-chemical

luminance pressure heating conduction magnetic
mechanical photo-elastic conservation friction piezo- magneto- pressure induced
effect moment heat electric strict. explosion
thermal incandescen thermal heat Seebeck Curie-Weiss endothermic
ce expansion conduction effect law reaction
electrical inject piezo-electric Peltier pn-junction Ampere’s electrolysis
luminance effect effect law
magnetic Faraday Magneto- Ettinghaus Hall effect Magnetic
effect striction en effect induction
chemical Chemo- Explosive Exotherma Volta effect Chemical reaction
luminance reaction l reaction
37 Sensor classification – type / quantity measured
Quantity
Position, distance, Flow rate / Force Temperature
displacement Point velocity
Resistive Magnetoresistor Thermistor Strain gage RTD
Potentiometer Thermistor
Capacitive Differential capacitor Capacitive strain
S gage
e Inductive and Eddy currents LVDT Load cell + LVDT
n electro-
Hall effect Magnetostriction
s magnetic
o
r LVDT
Magnetostriction
t
Self- Thermal Piezoelectric Pyroelectric sensor
y
generating transport + sensor
p thermocouple
e
Thermocouple
PN junction Photoelectric sensor Diode
Bipolar transistor
Digital Position encoder Quartz oscillator
Optic
Ultrasound Travel time Doppler effect

 there are many other interesting quantities: acceleration, vibration,

humidity, level, pressure, velocity, ...