Lecture 5 - Compatibility Mode

27/4/2024
Lecture 5
Position, Displacement and Level
Contents
• Introduction
• Potentiometric Sensor
• Capacitive Sensor
• Inductive and Magnetic Sensor
• Optical Sensor
• Ultrasonic Detector
• Radar Sensor
• Thickness Sensor
KII4005 – Sensors in Healthcare 2
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(1) Introduction
• The measurement of position and displacement of physical
objects is essential for many applications such as process feedback
control, performance evaluation, transportation traffic control and
so on.
• By position, we mean determination of the object’s coordinates
(linear or angular) with respect to a selected reference.
• Displacement means moving from one position to another for a
specific distance or angle.
• A critical distance is measured by proximity sensors.
• A proximity sensor is a threshold version of a position detector.
• A position sensor is often a linear device whose output signal
represents a distance to the object from a certain reference point.
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(1) Introduction
• Simplest proximity sensor is contact switch, which is normally
open or normally closed contacts.
Use of chicken toy as parking

proximity sensor
• A displacement sensor often is part of a more complex sensor to

detect movement.
• When designing or selecting position and displacement detectors,
the following questions should be answered:
1. How big is the displacement and of what type (linear, circular)?
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(1) Introduction
2. What resolution and accuracy are required?
3. What the measured (moving) object is made of (metal, plastic,
fluid, ferromagnetic, etc.)?
4. How much space is available for mounting the detector?
5. What are the environmental conditions (humidity,
temperature, sources of interference, vibration, corrosive
materials, etc.)?
6. How much power is available for the sensor?
7. How much mechanical wear can be expected over the life time
of the machine?
8. What is the production quantity of the sensing assembly
(limited number, medium volume, mass production)?
9. What is the target cost of the detecting assembly?
(2) Potentiometric Sensors

• Since a resistance measurement requires passage of electric
current through the pot wire, the potentiometric transducer is an
active type.
• A moving object is mechanically coupled to the pot wiper, whose
movement causes the resistance change (Fig. 7.1a).
• In most practical circuits, a resistance measurement is replaced by
a measurement of voltage drop.
Fig. 7.1 Potentiometer

as a position sensor
(a); Fluid level sensor
with a float (b); linear
potentiometers (c)
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• A concept of another implementation of a potentiometric position
sensor with a continuous resolution is shown in Fig. 7.3.
• The sensor consists of two strips – the upper strip is made of
flexible plastic sheet having a metalized surface.
• This is a contact or wiper strip.
• The bottom strip is rigid and coated with a resistive material of a
total resistance ranging from several kΩ to mega ohms.
Fig. 7.3 Principle of a

pressure-sensitive
potentiometric
R0 position sensor
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• When a pusher (e.g. a finger) is pressed against the upper strip at
a specific distance x from the end, the contact strip touches the
bottom strip and makes an electric contact at the pressure point.
• That is, the contact strip works as a wiper in a potentiometer.
• The contact between two strips changes the output voltage from E
to ERx/R0, which is proportional to distance x from the left side of
the sensor.
• R0 is the maximum resistance value of the Rx (Potentiometer)
• The pusher (wiper) may slide along the sensor causing a variable
output voltage.

• Practical examples of various shapes of the pressure-sensitive
potentiometers are shown in Fig. 7.4 where a resistive layer is
deposited on a polyester substrate.
• The overall resistance varies from 1 to 100 kΩ with a wiper
(pusher) force is in the range from 1 to 3 N.
• The wipers is fabricated on a slippery material, such as derlin or
nylon.
• Alternatively, a roller can be used as a wiper.
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• Another interesting potentiometric sensor uses the piezoresistive
properties of carbon-impregnated plastics.
• The operating principle of such a sensor is based on change in
resistance in response to a mechanical deformation.
• Carbon-impregnated layer is deposited on a substrate that is
fabricated of polyester, fiberglass or polyimide.
• When deformed, the carbon particles density varies and
subsequently varies the overall resistance.

• While being quite useful in many applications, potentiometers
with contact wipers have several drawbacks:
1. Noticeable mechanical load (friction)
2. Need for a physical coupling with the object
3. Low speed
4. Friction and excitation voltage cause heating of the
potentiometer
5. Low environmental stability (wear, susceptibility to dust)
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• A potentiometric sensor where the physical contact between the
wiper and a resistive layer and thus friction are eliminated uses a
wiper layer impregnated with ferromagnetic particles.
• When an external magnetic field is present at a specific location
above the potentiometer, the contact layer (resistive layer) is
pulled up to the conductive layer making an electrical contact,
just like the wiper (Fig. 7.5b).
• This magnetic potentiometer is sealed so it can be used as an
immersed sensor for measuring, for example, level of a liquid.
• It is important to select the appropriate magnet that is sufficiently
strong for the sensor operation.
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(3) Capacitive Sensors

• The capacitive displacement sensors have very broad applications
– they are employed directly to gauge displacement and position
and also as building blocks in other sensors where displacements
is produced by force, pressure, temperature, etc.
• The ability of capacitive detectors to sense virtually all materials
makes them an attractive choice for many applications.
• When the capacitance changes, it can be converted into a variable
electrical signal.
• As with many sensors, a capacitive sensor can be either
monopolar (using just one capacitor), differential (using two
capacitors), or a capacitive bridge can be employed (using four
capacitors).
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• In many practical applications, when measuring distances to an
electrically conductive object, the object’s surface itself may serve
as a capacitor’s plate.
• A design of a monopolar capacitive sensor is shown in Fig. 7.8,
where one plate of a capacitor is connected to the central
conductor of a coaxial cable, while the other plate is formed by a
target (object).
• A typical capacitive probe operates at frequencies in the 3 MHz
range and can detect very fast moving targets.
Fig. 7.8 Capacitive probe with a

guard ring cross-sectional
view (a); outside view (b)

• A capacitive proximity sensor can be highly efficient when used
with electrically conductive objects.
• The sensor measures a capacitance between the electrode and
the object.
• Nevertheless, even for the nonconductive objects, these sensors
can be employed quite efficiently though with lesser accuracy.
• To improve sensitivity and reduce fringing effects, the monopolar
capacitive sensor may be supplied with a driven shield.
• The idea behind a driven shield is to eliminate the electric field
between the sensing electrode and undesirable parts of the
object, thus making the parasitic capacitance being virtually
nonexistent.
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• A driven shield is positioned around the nonoperating sides of the
electrode and fed with voltage equal to that at the electrode.
• Since the shield and the electrode voltages are in-phase and have
the same magnitude, no electric field exists between the two and
all components positioned behind the shield make no effect on
the operation.
• The driven shield technique is illustrated in Fig. 7.9.
Fig. 7.9 Driven shield around

the electrode in a capacitive
proximity sensor
(4) Inductive and Magnetic Sensors

• One of many advantages of using magnetic field for sensing
position and distance is that any nonmagnetic material can be
penetrated by the field with no loss of position accuracy.
• Stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, plastics, masonry, and
woods can be penetrated, meaning that accurate position with
respect to the probe at the opposite side of a wall can be
determined nearly instantly.
• Another advantage is that the magnetic sensors can work in
severe environments and corrosive situations because the probes
and targets can be coated with inert materials that will not
adversely affect the magnetic fields.
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(4.1) LVDT and RVDT

• The primary coil carries ac excitation (Vref) that induces a steady
a.c. voltage in the secondary coil (Fig. 7.11).
• The induced amplitude depends on the flux coupling between the
coils, which is the movement of an object made of ferromagnetic
material within the flux path.
• This changes the reluctance of the path, which, in turn, alters the
coupling between the coils.
Fig. 7.11 Circuit diagram of

the LVDT sensor
(4.1) LVDT and RVDT

• This is the basis for the operation of linear variable differential
transformer (LVDT), rotary variable differential transformer
(RVDT), and the mutual inductance proximity sensors.
Low pass
filter
• The output voltage

represents how far the core
is from the centre and on
which side.
• The LVDT provides the
direction as well as
magnitude of the
displacement.
Fig. 7.12 A simplified circuit diagram of an
interface for an LVDT sensor
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(4.1) LVDT and RVDT

• The advantages of the LVDT and RVDT are the following:
(1) the sensor is a noncontact device with no or very little friction
resistance with small resistive forces;
(2) hysteresis (magnetic and mechanical) are negligible;
(3) output impedance is very low;
(4) low susceptibility to noise and interferences;
(5) construction is solid and robust; and
(6) infinitesimal resolution is possible.
(4.2) Transverse Inductive Sensor

• It is useful for sensing relatively small displacements of
ferromagnetic materials.
• The sensor measures the distance to an object, which alters the
magnetic field in the coil.
• The coil inductance is measured by an external electronic circuit
(Fig. 7.14).
Fig. 7.14 Transverse

inductive proximity sensor
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(4.2) Transverse Inductive Sensor

• This proximity sensor is useful for measuring small displacements
only, as its linearity is poor in comparison with LVDT.
• However, it is quite useful as a proximity detector for the
indication of close proximity to an object, which is made of any
solid material.
• A magnitude of the output signal as function of distance to the
disk is shown in Fig. 7.15b.
Fig. 7.15 Transverse sensor with an

auxiliary ferromagnetic disc (a) and
the output signal as
function of distance (b)
(4.3) Hall Effect Sensor

• There are two types of the Hall sensors: analog and bi-level (Fig.
7.16).
• Analog sensors usually incorporate amplifiers for easier interface
with the peripheral circuits.
• The analog sensor operates over a broader voltage range and
more stable in a noisy environment.
• A bi-level sensor in addition to the amplifier contains a Schmitt
trigger with a built-in hysteresis of the threshold level.
Fig. 7.16 Circuit diagrams

of a linear (a) and
threshold (b) Hall effect
sensors
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• When the applied magnetic flux density exceeds a certain
threshold, the trigger provides a clean transient from the OFF to
ON position.
• The hysteresis eliminates spurious oscillations by introducing a
dead band zone in which the action is disabled after the threshold
value has passed.
Fig. 7.17 Transfer functions

of a linear (a) and a
threshold (b) Hall effect
sensors

• Example of the Hall sensor application as a liquid level detector
with a float (Fig. 7.18).
• A permanent magnet is imbedded inside a float having a hole in
the centre.
• The float can freely slide up and down over the pole that is
positioned inside the tank containing liquid.
• The float position corresponds to the
liquid surface level.
• A bi-level Hall sensor is mounted at the top
of the pole, which should be fabricated on a
nonmagnetic material.
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• When the liquid level rises and reaches the detection level
(release point), the Hall switch triggers and sends signal to the
monitoring device.
• When the liquid level drops below the release point plus the
threshold hysteresis, the Hall sensor output voltage changes,
indicating that the liquid level dropped.
• The detection point depends on the key factors: the magnet
strength and shape, the Hall sensor’s sensitivity, the hysteresis,
and presence of ferromagnetic components in the vicinity of the
Hall sensor.
(5) Optical Sensors

• Their main advantages are simplicity, the absence of a loading
effect, and relatively long operating distances.
• They are insensitive to stray magnetic fields and electrostatic
interferences, which makes them quite suitable for many sensitive
applications.
• An optical position sensor usually requires at least three essential
components: a light source, a photodetector, and light guidance
devices, which may include lenses, mirrors, optical fibers, etc.
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(5.1) Fiber Optic Sensors

• Fiber-optic sensors can be used quite effectively as proximity and
level detectors.
• Liquid level detector (see also Sect. 7.7.3) with two fibers and a
prism is shown in Fig. 7.31.
• It utilizes the difference between refractive indices of air (or
gaseous phase of a material) and the measured liquid.
Fig. 7.31 Optical liquid level

detector utilizing a change in
the refractive index

• When the sensor is above the liquid level, a transmitting fiber (on
the left) sends most of its light to the receiving fiber (on the right)
due to a total internal reflection in the prism.
• However, some light rays approaching the prism’s reflective
surface at angles less than the angle of total internal reflection are
lost to the surrounding.
• When the prism reaches the liquid level, the angle of a total
internal reflection changes because the refractive index of a liquid
is higher than that of air.
• This results in much greater loss in the light intensity, which can be
detected at the other end of the receiving fiber.
• The light intensity is converted into an electrical signal by any
appropriate light-to-voltage converter.
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• Another version of the sensor is shown in Fig. 7.32.
• The fiber is U-shaped and upon being immersed into liquid,
modulates the intensity of passing light.
• When the sensor is above the liquid level, the light at the output is
strongest (Fig 7.32a).
• When the sensitive regions touch liquid, the light propagated
through the fiber drops (Fig 7.32b).
Fig. 7.32 U-shaped fiber

optic liquid level sensor.
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KII4005 – Sensors in Healthcare
(6) Ultrasonic Detectors

• A distance L0 to the object can be calculated through the speed v
of the ultrasonic waves in the media, and the angle, θ (Fig. 7.42a)
• where t is the time for the ultrasonic waves to travel to the object
and back to the receiver.
Fig. 7.42 Ultrasonic distance measurement: basic arrangement (a); impedance

characteristic of a piezoelectric transducer (b)
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(7) Radar Sensors: MIR

• Micropower impulse radar (MIR), which is a low-cost noncontact
ranging sensor.
• The MIR (Fig. 7.45) consists of a white noise generator whose
output signal triggers a pulse generator.
• The radio transmitter produces short bursts of high-frequency
radio waves, which propagate from the transmitting antenna to
the surrounding space.
PPM: Pulse Position Modulation
Fig. 7.45 Block-diagram of micropower radar (a) and timing diagram (b)
(7) Radar Sensors

• The electromagnetic waves reflect from the objects and propagate
back to the radar.
• The time delay, td is proportional to distance D from the antenna
to the object from which the radio waves are reflected:
td = 2D/C where c is the speed of light.
• Thus, distance between antenna and object, D = td C/2.
• Applications for the MIR include range meters, intrusion alarms,
level detectors, vehicle ranging devices, automation systems,
robotics, medical instruments, weapons, novelty products, and
even toys where relatively short range of detection is required.
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(7) Radar Sensors: GPR

• Civil engineering, archeology, forensic science are just few
examples of many applications of the high-frequency ground-
penetrating radar (GPR).
• The radar operation is rather classical: it transmits radio waves
and receives the reflected signal.
• The time delay between the transmitted and received signal is the
measure of a distance to the reflecting surface.
https://www.kci.com/resources-
insights/innovator/ground-penetrating-radar-as-
part-of-sue-and-damage-prevention/

• While the radars that operate in air and space have ranges that
may reach thousands of kilometers, the GPR range at best is just
several hundred meters.
• A practical GPR operates at frequencies from 500 MHz to1.5 GHz.
• Radio waves do not penetrate far through soils, rocks, and most
human-made materials such as concrete.
https://www.geophysical.com/whatisgpr
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http://geoviewinc.com/case-studies/infrastructure/mapping-potential-void-
features-using-ground-penetrating-radar

• The exponential attenuation coefficient, α, is primarily determined
by electrical conductivity of the material.
• In most materials, energy is also lost to scattering from material
variability and to water contents.
• Water has two effects: first, water contains ions, which contribute
to bulk conductivity.
• Second, a water molecule absorbs electromagnetic energy at high
frequencies typically above 1 GHz.
• Figure 7.47 shows that attenuation varies with excitation
frequency and material.
• Practical maximum distance increases for dry materials (Fig.
7.48a).
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Fig. 7.47 Attenuation of radio

waves in different materials
Fig. 7.48 Maximum depth for

various materials
Batang Kali land slide on 16/12/22, killing 31 people

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Use of GPR to locate the

buried victims
Rescue dogs (Blake,

Lady, Grouse and Pop)
received Golden
Performance award
(8) Thickness Sensors

• In many industrial applications, measurement of thickness of a
material is essential for manufacturing, process and quality
control, safety, airspace, etc.
• The methods of thickness gauging are ranging from optical to
ultrasonic to X-ray.
• Noninvasive sensor for measuring the thickness is by using a
capacitive method.
• The sensor is made in the form of two electrodes that may have a
variety of shapes.
• The sensor is placed in series with an inductor and a resistor
forming a resistive, inductive, and capacitive (RLC) termination to
a waveguide (i.e. a coaxial cable).
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• The arrangement shown in Fig. 7.50 is similar to a transmitter-
antenna configuration.
• The RLC termination has a resonant frequency approximated by
• When the electromagnetic energy at the resonant frequency is

sent down the waveguide, all the energy dissipates in the resistor.
Fig. 7.50 Block diagram of resonant ablation gauge (a) and a prototype sensor (b)

• If, however, the resonant frequency of the termination changes
(say, because of a change in capacitance), a fraction of the energy
is reflected back toward the source.
• As the capacitance continues to change, the energy reflected
increases.
• Antennas that work like this are said to be out of tune.
• Reflection coefficient bridge (RCB) is used between the radio
frequency (RF) source and the waveguide termination.
• The RCB generates a DC voltage proportional to the energy
reflected.
• Then the antenna can be adjusted until the bridge output voltage
is a minimum and the energy transmitted is a maximum.
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• The measurement is done for reference materials with known
thickness.
• An unknown material thickness is determined by comparing the
deviation from the output voltage with that of the reference
materials.
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27/4/2024

Position, Displacement and Level

KII4005 – Sensors in Healthcare 2

KII4005 – Sensors in Healthcare 3

KII4005 – Sensors in Healthcare 4

KII4005 – Sensors in Healthcare 5

Use of chicken toy as parking

• A displacement sensor often is part of a more complex sensor to

(2) Potentiometric Sensors

Fig. 7.1 Potentiometer

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(2) Potentiometric Sensors

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(2) Potentiometric Sensors

Fig. 7.3 Principle of a

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(2) Potentiometric Sensors

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(2) Potentiometric Sensors

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(2) Potentiometric Sensors

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(2) Potentiometric Sensors

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(2) Potentiometric Sensors

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(3) Capacitive Sensors

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(3) Capacitive Sensors

Fig. 7.8 Capacitive probe with a

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(3) Capacitive Sensors

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(3) Capacitive Sensors

Fig. 7.9 Driven shield around

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(4) Inductive and Magnetic Sensors

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(4.1) LVDT and RVDT

Fig. 7.11 Circuit diagram of

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(4.1) LVDT and RVDT

• The output voltage

(4.1) LVDT and RVDT

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(4.2) Transverse Inductive Sensor

Fig. 7.14 Transverse

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(4.2) Transverse Inductive Sensor

Fig. 7.15 Transverse sensor with an

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(4.3) Hall Effect Sensor

Fig. 7.16 Circuit diagrams

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(4.3) Hall Effect Sensor

Fig. 7.17 Transfer functions

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(4.3) Hall Effect Sensor

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(4.3) Hall Effect Sensor

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