EEE 432

Measurement and Instrumentation

Lecture 9
Sensor Technologies

Prof. Dr. Murat Aşkar

İzmir University of Economics
Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
 Transducers

 Transducer
A device which converts one form of energy to another
 Sensor
When input is a physical quantity and output electrical
 Actuator
When input is electrical and output a physical quantity

Sensors Physical Electrical Actuators

parameter Input

Electrical Physical
Output Output

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 Sensors over Human Beings

Human beings are equipped with 5 different types of sensors.

Eyes detect light energy, ears detect acoustic energy.
Tongue detects certain chemicals related with tasting
Nose detect certain chemicals related with smelling
Skin detects pressures and temperatures.
The eyes, ears, tongue, nose, and skin receive these signals then send
messages to the brain which outputs a response.
For example, when you touch a hot plate, it is your brain that tells you it is
hot, not your skin.

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 Conversion Methods

• Physical Properties
– thermo-electric, thermo-elastic, thermo-magnetic, thermo-optic
– photo-electric, photo-elastic, photo-magnetic,
– electro-elastic, electro-magnetic
– magneto-electric
• Chemical Properties
– chemical transport, physical transformation, electro-chemical
• Biological Properties
– biological transformation, physical transformation

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 Why do we use Sensors

 Sensors are used widely in system control..

 Without the use of sensors, there would be no automation!
 They are embedded in our bodies, automobiles, airplanes,
cellular telephones, radios, chemical plants, industrial plants
and countless other applications.
 Signals obtained from sensors will used to control the system

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 Measured Quantities

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

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 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
 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)

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 How to Choose A Sensor

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 Classification of Sensors
Where is the information coming from?
Inside: Proprioceptive sensors
motor speed, wheel load, heading of the robot, battery status
Outside: Exteroceptive sensors
distances to objects, intensity of the ambient light, unique
features

How does it work? Requires energy emission?

No: Passive sensors
temperature probes, microphones, CCD
Yes: Active sensors
Controlled interaction -> better performance Interference

Simple vs. composite

(sonar vs. wheel sensor)

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 Motion Sensors
 Monitor location of various parts in a system
– absolute/relative position
– angular/relative displacement
– proximity
– acceleration
 Principle of operation
– Magnetic, resistive, capacitance, inductive, eddy current, etc.
Primary Secondary

Potentiometer

LVDT Displacement Sensor Optoisolator

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 Strain Gauge: Motion, Stress, Pressure

Strain gauge is used to measure

deflection, stress, pressure, etc.
The resistance of the sensing element
changes with applied strain
A Wheatstone bridge is used to
measure small changes in the strain
gauge resistance

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 Temperature Sensor: Bimetallic Strip

Bimetallic Strip

L  L0[1   (T - T0)] Metal A

δ
Application
– Thermostat (makes or Metal B
breaks electrical
connection with
deflection)

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 Temperature Sensor: RTD

Resistance temperature
device (RTD)

R  R 0[1   (T - T0)]

1 1 
  
R  R0 e  T T0 

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 Other Temperature Sensors
 Thermistor
Thermocouple:
Therm istor Seeback effect to transform a
Thermal Resistor temperature difference to a
voltage difference

 Eg 
R  exp  
 2 kT 

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 Capacitive Transducers
• Capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor :
 r 0 A
C
d
– A: overlapping area of plates (m2)
– d: distance between the two plates of the
capacitor (m)
–  0 : permittivity of air or free space 8.85 pF/m Air escape hole
– r : dielectric constant
The following variations can be utilized to
air
make capacitance-based sensors.
• Change distance between the parallel electrodes.
• Change the overlapping area of the parallel
electrodes. Parallel plate Fuel tank
• Change the dielectric constant. capacitor

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 Accelerometer–I
 Accelerometers are used to
measure acceleration along
one or more axis and are
relatively insensitive to
orthogonal directions
 Applications
– Motion, vibration, blast, impact,
shock wave
m Position Sensor

k b

Vibrating Base

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 Accelerometer–II
 Electromechanical device to measure acceleration forces
– Static forces like gravity pulling at an object lying at a table
– Dynamic forces caused by motion or vibration
 How they work
– Seismic mass accelerometer: a seismic mass is connected to the object
undergoing acceleration through a spring and a damper;
– Piezoelectric accelerometers: a microscopic crystal structure is mounted
on a mass undergoing acceleration; the piezo crystal is stressed by
acceleration forces thus producing a voltage

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 Accelerometer–III
– Capacitive accelerometer: consists of two microstructures
(micromachined features) forming a capacitor; acceleration forces
move one of the structure causing a capacitance changes.
– Piezoresistive accelerometer: consists of a beam or micromachined
feature whose resistance changes with acceleration
– Thermal accelerometer: tracks location of a heated mass during
acceleration by temperature sensing

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 Accelerometer Applications
 Automotive: monitor vehicle tilt, roll, skid, Helmet: Impact
Detection
impact, vibration, etc., to deploy safety
devices (stability control, anti-lock breaking
system, airbags, etc.) and to ensure
comfortable ride (active suspension)
 Aerospace: inertial navigation, smart
munitions, unmanned vehicles
 Sports/Gaming: monitor athlete
performance and injury, joystick, tilt Segway
 Personal electronics: cell phones, digital
devices
 Security: motion and vibration detection
 Industrial: machinery health monitoring
2 axis joystick
 Robotics: self-balancing

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 Gyroscope
Heading sensors, that keep the orientation to a fixed frame
absolute measure for the heading of a mobile system.
Two categories,
Mechanical Gyroscopes
Standard gyro
Rated gyro
Optical Gyroscopes
Rated gyro

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 Mechanical Gyroscopes
 Concept: inertial properties of a fast spinning rotor
– gyroscopic precession
 Angular momentum associated with a spinning wheel keeps the axis of the
gyroscope inertially stable.
 Reactive torque t (tracking stability) is proportional to the spinning speed w,
the precession speed W and the wheels inertia I.
 No torque can be transmitted from the outer pivot to the wheel axis
– spinning axis will therefore be space-stable
 Quality: 0.1° in 6 hours   I
 If the spinning axis is aligned with the
north-south meridian, the earth’s rotation
has no effect on the gyro’s horizontal axis
 If it points east-west, the horizontal axis
reads the earth rotation

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 Global Positioning System (GPS) -I
• Developed for military use
• Recently it became accessible for commercial applications
• 24 satellites (including three spares) orbiting the earth every 12 hours at a
height of 20.190 km.
• Four satellites are located in each of six planes inclined 55 degrees with
respect to the plane of the earth’s equators
• Location of any GPS receiver is determined through a time of flight
measurement

Technical challenges:
• Time synchronization between the individual satellites and the GPS
receiver
• Real time update of the exact location of the satellites
• Precise measurement of the time of flight
• Interferences with other signals

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 Global Positioning System (GPS) -II

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