EE 

87022 
Sensors, instrumentation, and
measurements in electronic applications
 Targets:
 To give broad review of modern sensors used in electronic applications

 To develop clear understanding of the tools required to obtain

measurable signals
 Introduction:
 Major principles of electronic measurement systems
 Standards used in electrical measurements
 Methods of the signal recovery, and discussion of the available tools
 Bulk of the course:
 Review of various modern sensors with in depth discussion on the limits,
accuracy, with details of the applications of specific sensors
 The major assignments are in the form of presentations on the topic of
novel sensors based upon research papers published in recent issues of
scientific journals (Nature, Science, Journal of Applied Physics, IEEE Transactions on
Instrumentation and measurement, Review of Scientific  Instruments, IEEE Transactions
on Biomedical Engineering, Journal of Scientific Instruments) .
Formal Course Parameters
 3.0  Credit Hours
 DeBartolo Hall 204
 Class hours: 5:00-06:15
 Class Days: Tuesday/Thursday 
 Aug 26th, 2008 – Dec 11th, 2008
 Final Exam Date: Dec 16?
 Email: aorlov@gmail.com
 My location: B31 (Low-Temp Nanoelectronics Lab)
 Online: http://courses.ee.nd.edu/87022/ 
Brief Content Part 1:
Basic principles of Electronic
Measurement Systems
 Introduction to Electronic Measurement Systems,
definitions of instrumentation vocabulary
 Modern physics standards based on quantum properties
of nature and their implementations
 Methods for improving SNR:
 Noise and coherent interference
 Lock-in and boxcar averaging techniques
 Coherent interference suppression
 Ultimate sensitivities for electronic sensors
 Ultimate charge sensitivity – Single Electron Transistor
 Ultimate magnetic flux sensitivity – SQUID
 Ultimate energy sensors – single photon devices
Brief Content Part 2:
Topics for the presentations
Sorted by the by the applications (this list can be expanded)
 Medical sensors

 Motion sensors

 Touch screen sensors

 Temperature sensors

 Electrochemical sensors

 Ionizing radiation sensors

 Automotive sensors

 Artificial noses

 Mechano-optical sensors
Topics for the presentations
Sorted by mechanisms by which sensors work (this list can be expanded!)
 Resistive sensors:
 Temperature sensors
 Strain Gauges
 Photoresistors
 Relative humidity sensors
 Position/Angle sensors
 GMR sensors
 AMR sensors
 Voltage generating sensors
 Thermocouples and thermopiles
 Photovoltaic cells
 Piezoelectric transducers
 Pyroelectric sensors
 Magnetic field voltage generating sensors
 Hall sensors
 d/dt sensors
 Variable magnetic coupling sensors
 Variable capacitance sensors
 Fiber optic sensors
 Magnetooptic sensors
 Photomultipliers
Homework assignments and Exams
 Quizzes and homeworks (during Part 1)
 For Part 2 each student will prepare 2
powerpoint presentations :
1. a review for a class of sensors for certain applications (e.g. touch
screen sensors)
2. a specific sensor (e.g. resistance noise thermometer) with detailed
description of the measurement setup
 Exam result :
 presentations (80%)
 homeworks and quzzes (20%)
Textbooks for EMD experimentalists
1. P. Horowitz and W. Hill,  The Art of Electronics, Cambridge
University Press, 1989.
2. Introduction to Instrumentation and Measurements,
Second Edition by Robert B. Northrop , CRC press, 2005
3. H.W.Ott Noise Reduction Technique in Electronic
Systems, J Wiley, 1988
4. Keithley Instruments Low Level Measurements
Handbook, 6th Edition, 2007 (order your free copy from
here: http://www.keithley.com/wb/201)
5. Robert C. Richardson , Eric N. Smith,  Experimental
Techniques in Condensed matter at low temperatures,
Addison Wesley, 1994
 Typical Measurement System Architecture
Noise and Interference

Process
Process Signal
Sensor
or
or or Amp Conditioner
Test
Test Transducer

ADC
Converter
OUR TOPIC IS HERE
Proces
s
PC comp
and data
Controller storage
… and control
over the process or experiment
Examples of Electronic Sensor applications

Uses infrared optical sensor

New Solar Power Faucet by Sloan Valve
•0.5 gpm aerator regulates water flow
•Electronic sensor automatically turns
water on/off
•Integral temperature control
Examples of Electronic Sensor
Applications

Automatic Tan control Smart tracker

Definitions
 Sensor is an analog device which permits the
conversion of energy (information) from one
form to the other.
 Mercury thermometer or litmus paper?
 Our discussion will be limited to the sensors
which produce electromagnetic output
 … and may even be fabricated here!
 What is the difference between sensor and
transducer?
Sensor Dynamics
 Depending on the response of Step function
the sensor to the external
influence the sensors could be
time
split into
low-pass and band-pass. Low-pass
 Low-pass sensors react on
the constant excitation
(though with different slew
rate) Band-pass
 Bandpass sensors do not
respond to a constant
excitation, it must be time-
varying to produce an output
Sensors and Instrumentation
 Sensors are “the spies” of any instrumentation
system
 Sensors are hardly ever used alone, without
amplifiers, signal conditioners, and nowadays DSP
 Need to understand how to deliver the information
from the sensor to the “consumer”
 Is the information from the “spies” correct? If so can
we estimate the accuracy of this information?
 Errors in measurements
 Imposed by the sensors
 Imposed by the instrumentation
 Imposed by humans
 Accuracy, resolution, instrument deviation, span, etc
Errors in measurements

Example of Limited Resolution of

The Measurement System

An example of gross error and its catastrophic results:

Napoleon's retreat from Moscow,

Error classification
 Gross errors or Mistakes. Typically very large, can be fatal, but can
be avoided
 System errors (experimental errors caused by functional and “good”
instruments). System can be optimized to minimize those errors
Error classification: Gross Error

An example of gross error

 A few definitions from the error theory
 Each measurement has a
numerical value and a degree of
uncertainty n  Xn  X
 Error is the uncertainty in
Percentile error
measurements that nothing can be
done about (i.e. occurring even in n
the optimized measurement
%  100%
system)
X
 Error in the nth measurement: X  Xn
Xn is nth measured value, X is a Pn  1 
"true" value; it is assumed that it X
exists. One can argue that "true"
value can  never be known. In
reality X is defined using a high N

resolution primary standard. X n

 Precision and sample mean. X  n
N
 Gross errors or mistakes
 “Dynamic” error. Measurement "at first glance" for unsteady
state. Often caused by inappropriate time constant. 
 Recording and calculation error. Incorrect interpolation between
marks on analog meter. Occurs if operator does not know how to write, not paying
attention, not familiar with math, etc
 Incorrect interpretation error. Trying to measure microvolts on
"kiloVolts" scale (or the opposite, which may also result in the damage to the
operator/instrument)
 Misuse of instrument. Measurement of high resistance source using low
input resistance meter. Trying to measure Amps on "Hertz" scale. Using meter as a
hammer
 Misuse of sensor. Using thermometer without appropriate thermal
contact.
 Malfunction of sensor or instrument. (e.g. loose contact)
System (or experimental) errors
Errors which are inherent to the measurement
process (related to both sensors and instrumentation):
 Calibration (gain) errors due to changing ambient conditions change (temperature,
humidity) or aging
 Zero offset errors caused by ambient conditions change
 Range errors saturation, nonlinearity
 Reading uncertainty errors due to noise 
 Drift errors. Affects static measurands  the most
 Hysteresis errors result depends on the direction
 Repeatability errors different readings for the same input applied in the same fashion
 Resolution (A to D conversion) errors
 Dual sensitivity errors
Calibration and Zero Offset Errors

 Calibration or gain error.

Instrument has to be
calibrated vs known
standard or at least vs  This is common cause of errors in DC measurements. One
another reasonably good should know what to be called zero. Beware of the drifts!
instrument
 Range and Uncertainty Errors
-8
1.0x10

-9
5.0x10

I (A)
0.0

-9
-5.0x10

-8
-1.0x10
-0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6
VDS (mV)

 Each instrument has finite dynamic

range. Beware of saturation and too  Noise limits the accuracy and
small signals! resolution. Beware of too small
 Linearity is an idealization. Know the signals!
range where it works!
Hysteresis and Repeatability Errors

-5
3.0x10

-5
2.0x10
G(S)

-5
1.0x10

0.0
-30 -15 0 15 30
Vg(V)

•Will cause error if used as a sensor

Resolution Error
Dual Sensitivity and Back-action Errors

 An ideal sensor does not affect the process and is

not supposed to react on any other changes rather
than the quantity it is designed to react on.
 Real sensor are susceptible to various environmental
changes which can change the sensitivity, offset etc.
 This is also applicable to the whole measurement
process.
 Moreover, sometimes sensors themselves can affect
the process/test.
Examples
 Examples of Dual
Sensitivity Errors:
 the resistivity of a strain
gauge depends on the
humidity
 the sensitivity of a Single-
Electron Transistor (SET) is
strongly affected by
temperature
 Example of Effect of
Sensor on the Process
 resistive thermometer can
overheat the sample if the
current used to measure
resistance is too high
 Single Electron Transistor
creates noise which may
affect a QCA cell nearby
 The Result of Dual Sensitivity

Don’t mix the dual

sensitivity error with
“Rooster in the
magnet” gross error!

Here, due to change in temperature we got both the offset change and
the change in the sensitivity (calibration and offset errors)
 Important statistical definitions
 Deviation dn  X n  X
N

 Average deviation
X n  X
DN  n

N
 Standard deviation 1 N
SN 
N
(X
n 1
n  X )2   X
 Signal-to-noise
Ratio

X X
SNR    N
X 1 N

N
(X n  X )2
X
n 1

SNR improves as SNR   N

X
 Accuracy and Instrument Deviation

 Full scale accuracy A  / Full scale 

 It is often quoted in units ppm (parts per million) or ppb (parts per
billion) with a simple meaning of maximal acceptable error over a full
scale.
 Example: 1 ppm accuracy for 1V voltmeter - can measure accurately 1
 V of signal on top of 1 V applied to the input. Sometimes term limiting
error or guaranteed error is used instead of accuracy.
 Example: a voltmeter with a 100 V scale has a guaranteed error of 2%
of the full scale reading. Therefore, guaranteed error in volts around
full scale is 2 V (meaning no worse than 2%)
 Instrument Deviation (ID) is defined as the product of the accuracy
and the full scale value of the instrument:
ID = AFull Scale .
Gives you the corridor of manufacturer specifications
Accuracy Bounds for an Instrument
 The instrument can introduce larger
percentile errors than the accuracy limits
seem to imply
 At half scale the error is ×2 (because 
Instr. Deviation remains the same, but
we operate at only a half-scale)
 Error reaches 100% if the instrument is
used  close to zero of the scale
 Given: 1 mV full-scale voltmeter with
accuracy 0.1% for full scale signal. What
error in the measurement will one get if
the reading fluctuates by 1 V ?
 For input signal of 1 V, the error is 100%
 For input signal of 1 mV, the error is 0.1%
Resolution
 Resolution stands for the smallest unit that
can be detected. Resolution and accuracy
are closely related. They are not the same,
though accuracy can be equal to resolution.
 Not always! E.g.:
 an ADC converter has resolution of 1/3 mV, but the last digit is so noisy, that
accuracy is of the order of 1 mV.
 Or an instrument can resolve 1 mV on top of 1 kV, but due to offset the result
is inaccurate
Sensitivity, Span, Precision
 Sensitivity is a parameter extracted from the instrument
response (based on the assumption that the response is linear).
If input quantity changes by  QINP, resulting in the output
quantity change of  QOUT, then the sensitivity is

Qout
S
Qinp
 Span of the Instrument is the difference between the upper and
the lower limits of operation
span = Upper – Lower
 Precision Measurement requires a measurement system
capable of resolving very small signals, (say, one part in 10 7). In
other words, the precise measurement is such for which
Span / Resolution » 1
Input-Output Response Curve for an
instrument

 Generic Instrument response curve includes all

previously discussed parameters
Calculations of Error for a Test with
Multiple Variables
 In case the experiment is designed so that the outcome of the
measurement, Q, is a function of multiple variables,
Q  f ( x1 ,..., x N )
 with uncertainty of ( x1, …,  xN), the resulting error can be calculated
using Taylor series. By dropping higher derivatives, the worst case
uncertainty, or limiting error (all N sources of error pull the result in the
same direction) is
N
f
f max  f ( x1 ,..., x N )  f ( x1  x1 ,..., x N  x N )   xi
i 1 xi
 Instrumentation system usually contains several elements with each
element introducing error (even when it operates within specifications!),
and error accumulates.
 Maximal accumulated error for the instrument system is given by (all
sources of error assumed to be independent (uncorrelated)) :
N
 max   i
 2

i 1
Minimizing experimental Errors
 Use the right sensor: The sensor should not affect the process and
the process should not destroy the sensor.
 Check the accuracy of each element and determine the
accumulated accepted error
 Calibrate each instrument
 Connect system with proper wires
 Check the system for electrical noise
 Estimate the total error in the system from all known sources
 Perform a system calibration by measuring the variable in a known
process. This gives you a single calibration constant for the entire
system. Example: scales
 System Calibration (versus individual instruments
calibration)

 Calibrate your measurement system vs known standard, so that your output (say, in volts)
corresponds to known input quantity (say, in ohms)
 In this case you don’t have to consider intermediate details of your measurement system for as
long as
 The system response is linear
 There are no offset errors
 The system is within the dynamic range
 The system signal-to-noise ratio is satisfactory
 The system does not change its parameters in time
 This approach allows to eliminate instrument calibration
System Calibration

 There are situations where it is impossible to

calibrate parts of the entire system, but the system
as a whole can be easily calibrated