Introduction to

Sensors

Edited from : Sookram Sobhan

Overview
 What are Sensors?
 Detectable Phenomenon
 Physical Principles – How Do Sensors Work?
 Need for Sensors
 Choosing a Sensor
 Measurements
 Sensor Characteristic
 Signal Conditioning (Op Amp, Filter, Protection, ADC, V/F,
Oscillator)
 Data Transmission
 Literature
What are Sensors?
 American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Definition
 A device which provides a usable output in response to a specified
measurand
Input Signal Output Signal

Sensor

 A sensor acquires a physical parameter and converts it into a signal

suitable for processing (e.g. optical, electrical, mechanical)

 A transducer
 Microphone, Loud Speaker, Biological Senses (e.g. touch, sight,…
ect)
Detectable Phenomenon
Stimulus Quantity
Acoustic Wave (amplitude, phase, polarization), Spectrum, Wave
Velocity
Biological & Chemical Fluid Concentrations (Gas or Liquid)

Electric Charge, Voltage, Current, Electric Field (amplitude,

phase, polarization), Conductivity, Permittivity

Magnetic Magnetic Field (amplitude, phase, polarization), Flux,

Permeability

Optical Refractive Index, Reflectivity, Absorption

Thermal Temperature, Flux, Specific Heat, Thermal Conductivity

Mechanical Position, Velocity, Acceleration, Force, Strain, Stress,

Pressure, Torque
Physical Principles
 Amperes’s Law
 A current carrying conductor in a magnetic field experiences a force (e.g.
galvanometer)

 Curie-Weiss Law
 There is a transition temperature at which ferromagnetic materials exhibit
paramagnetic behavior (e.g. bimetal)

 Faraday’s Law of Induction

 A coil resist a change in magnetic field by generating an opposing
voltage/current (e.g. transformer)

 Photoconductive Effect
 When light strikes certain semiconductor materials, the resistance of the
material decreases (e.g. photoresistor)
Need for Sensors
 Sensors are omnipresent. They embedded in
our bodies, automobiles, airplanes, cellular
telephones, radios, chemical plants, industrial
plants and countless other applications.

 Without the use of sensors, there would be no

automation !!
 Imagine having to manually fill Coke bottles
Choosing a Sensor
Measurements
Measurements
Heisenberg (1927): ”The momentum and position of a particle can not both be
precisely determined at the same time.”
Measuring activity disturbs the physical process (loading effect).
Measurement error:
That is the difference between the measured value and the true value.
error = measured value - true value
Deterministic errors:
They are repeated at every measurement, e.g. reading offset or bias. Such
errors can be corrected by calibration.
Random errors:
They are caused by several parameters and change in time in an
unpredictable fashion. They can be quantified by mean errors, standard
deviation.
Precision:
Measurements with small deviation
Accuracy:
Measurements with small errors, i.e. small bias and high precision.
 Sensor Properties
output

factual

ideal

input
A sensor should represent a physical variable as fast and as accurately as
possible.
A sensor is represented by its characteristic.
Ideally, the sensor characteristic is a straight line
Sensor Characteristic
 Full scale input (input span)
A range of stimuli that can be converted by
one sensor.
 Full scale output (output span)
 The algebraic difference between the output
signals measured with maximum input
stimulus and with minimum input stimulus
applied.
Sensor Characteristic
 Accuracy : Error measurement
 Sensitivity: change in output for unit change in input
 Resolution: the smallest change in the signal that
can be detected and accurately indicated by a
sensor.
 Linearity: the closeness of the calibration curve to a
straight line.
 Drift: the deviation from the null reading of the
sensor when the value is kept constant for a long
time.
Sensor Characteristic
 Hysteresis: the indicated value depends on direction
of the test (increasing and decreasing)
 Repeatability (precision): the maximum deviation
from the average of repeated measurements of the
same static variable.
 Dynamic Characteristics: A sensor may have some
transient characteristic. The sensor can be tested by
a step response where the sensor output is recorded
for a sudden change of the physical variable.
 The rise time, delay time, peak time, settling time,
percentage overshoot should be as small as
possible.
Signal Conditioning
Electrical engineers use operational amplifiers (Op Amps),
resistors, capacitors, diodes, transistors, etc. to perform
mathematical operations like
 Multiplication/Division

 Addition/Subtraction

 Absolute Value

 Natural Log

 Filters
Signal Conditioning Process
 Get the right signal (frequency, voltage,
current)
 Noise elemination/reduction
 Signal manipulate (e.g linearization)
Operational Amplfier
Operational Amplifiers take small voltages and make
them MUCH larger.

Golden Rules (Op amp with negative feedback):

(1) No-current flows into either (+) or (-) inputs (high
impedance input)
(2) The (+) and (-) inputs are at the same voltage.
Power Amplifier
 The power amplifier is really either a voltage amplifier or
a current amplifier (also called trans-conductance
amplifier).
 In a voltage amplifier, the input signal is a voltage.
 This voltage is amplifier and in the final stage a
sufficiently high current provided so that the required
power is met
 In a current amplifier the opposite occurs.
 Power amplifiers are divided into linear and PWM (pulse
width modulated) amplifiers.
Class A linear amplifier
 This is the so called Class A power amplifier.
 Set for a gain of 101 (non-inverting amplifier).
 The output then drives the transistor whose output
will swing, at most between 0 and V
 Will supply a current which is V/RL
 Class A designation indicates amplifiers for which
the output stage is always conducting as in the case
above. Also assumes output does not saturate.
 The BJT can be replaced with a MOSFET for higher
currents.
Class A Linear power amplifier
Class B amplifier
 It operates exactly as in the previous case except that
under no input, the output is zero and there is no
conduction in the transistors (or MOSFETs).
 When the input is positive, the upper transistor conducts
supplying the load and when the input is negative, the
lower transistor supplies the load.
 The current is again defined by the load.
 The output stage is made of a pair of power transistors,
one PNP and one NPN (or of a P and an N type
MOSFET).
Class-B (push-pull) power
amplifier
Comparator
 An op-amp operated in open loop mode
 Because its gain is so high, a very small signal at the
input will saturate the output.
 For practically any input, the output will be either +Vcc or
–Vcc.
Inverting Gain Amplifier

Gain = - R2 / R1
Non-Inverting Gain Amplifier

Gain = (1 + R2 / R1)
Summing Amplifier

Adding two signal

Difference Amplifier

Subtract two signal

Integrator

Voltage output proportional to the product (multiplication) of the input

Protection
 High voltage, different polarity (e.g. Zener)
 Different circuit isolation (e.g. Coupling)
Filter
 Noise elemination
Lowpass Filter (Passive, RC)

f3dB = 1 / (2RC)
Highpass Filter (Passive, RC)

f3dB = 1 / (2RC)
ADC/DAC

Embedded IC (uC) Card

DAC
ADC (Process)
ADC (Sampling)
The sampling frequency, is the
number of samples per second. This
is to be compared with the signal
cyclic frequencies

Example: Consider an analog signal

with frequencies between 0and 3kHz.
A proper sampling requires a 6kHZ
sampling frequency or higher
Effects of aliasing: It can change the
signal real frequency and the signal
real phase
ADC (Quantizing)
Voltage to frequency conversion
 In many sensors, the output is too small to use the
method above or to be sent over normal lines for
any distance.
 In such cases a voltage to frequency conversion
can be performed at the location of the sensor and
the digital signal then transferred over the line to the
controller.
 The output now is not voltage but rather a
frequency which is directly proportional to voltage
(or current).
Voltage to frequency conversion
 These voltage-to-frequency converters or
voltage controlled oscillators are relatively
simple and accurate circuits and have been
used for other purposes.
 Their main advantage over the threshold method
above is that lower levels of signals may be
involved and the problems with noisy transitions
around the comparison voltage are eliminated.
 The circuit is an op-amp integrator.
Voltage to frequency conversion

(e.g. Light Sensor)

Data transmission
 Transmission of data from a sensor to the controller
may take many forms.
 If the sensor is passive, it already has an output in
a usable form such as voltage or current.
 It would seem that it is sufficient to simply measure
this output directly to obtain a reading.
 In other cases, such as with capacitive or inductive
sensors, indirect measuring is often used.
 The sensor is often likely to be in a remote location.
Four wire sensing data transmission

 For resistance sensor

 In sensors that change their resistance, such as
thermistors, and piezoresistive sensors, one
must supply an external source and measure the
voltage across the sensor.
 If done remotely, the current may vary with the
resistance of the connecting wires and produce
an erroneous reading.
Four wire sensing data transmission
Two wire transmission for
active sensors
 For current base sensor
 A common method of data transmission for
sensors, and a method that has been
standardized is the 4-20 mA current loop.
 The output of the sensor is modified to modulate
the current in the loop
 4 mA corresponds to minimum stimulus
 20 mA corresponds to maximum stimulus
4-20 mA current loop data
transmission
Excitation methods and
circuits
 Other sensors require current sources (for
example - Hall elements)
 Still others require ac sources (LVDTs)
 These circuits affect the output of the
sensor and its performance (accuracy,
sensitivity, noise, etc.)
 Are an integral part of the overall sensor’s
performance.
Current sources
The generation of constant current can take
various levels of complexity.
 One can resort to something as simple as a
large resistor in series with a power supply
 In this configuration the current is not constant
but rather varies because the resistance of the
sensor
 More accurate methods of current generation
are needed for higher accuracy requirements.
FET constant current generator
+4 V - 12 V

2N5458 JFET

0.001 F 33 F
Oscillators
 Many sensors and actuators require voltages or
currents that are variable in time.
 Example: the LVDT requires a sinusoidal sources,
often at a few kHz in frequency.
 Magnetic proximity sensors use ac currents of
constant amplitude and frequency to produce an
output voltage which is proportional to position.
 Transformer based sensors must use an ac source.
 Other sensors require special waveforms such as
square waves.
Sinusoidal crystal oscillator
 Simple sinusoidal oscillator
 The feedback from output to input (collector to
base) is supplied by the crystal.
 The output is entirely defined by the crystal and
is taken at the collector.
 The trimmer capacitor modifies the equivalent
circuit.
Sinusoidal crystal oscillator
Noise and interference
 Noise is understood as anything that is not
part of the required signal.
 Many sources and many types of noise.
 We will distinguish between two broad
types
 Inherent noise to the sensor (internal).
 Interference noise (external).
Literature
 Fraden, Jacob; Handbook of Modern Sensor; Springer, 2003
 J. Michael Jacob, Industrial Control Electronics: Applications and Design,
New Jersey: Prentice Hall,1988.
 Ernest O. Doebelin, Measurement System: Application and Design,
McGraw-Hill, 1990.
 Bartelt, Terry, Industrial Control Electronics: Devices, Systems, and
Applications, 2nd edition, 2002
 Singh, S.K., Industrial Instrumentation and Control, 2nd edition, 2003.
 J. Kirtley, Electric Motor Handbook, Mcgraw-Hill, 2004.
 Bonnie Stahlin, Electronic Instrument Handbook, McGraw-Hill, 2004.
Thank You