Electronics – 96032
Wheatstone Bridge and Sensors
Alessandro Spinelli
Phone: (02 2399) 4001
[email protected] home.deib.polimi.it/spinelli
Disclaimer 2
Slides are supplementary
material and are NOT a
replacement for textbooks
and/or lecture notes
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Acquisition chain 3
small amplified amplified
signal signal signal
Sensor Amp Filter ADC
amplified reduced
noise noise noise
next lessons
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Purpose of the lesson 4
• At this point, we know how to analyze and design simple
amplifiers
• Effective amplifier design depend upon the input signal
characteristics (impedance, bandwidth,…)
• In this part of the class we discuss a few sensor arrangement:
Wheatstone bridge (this lesson)
Deformation and temperature sensors (next lesson)
Sensor technologies (optional overview)
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Outline 5
• Wheatstone bridge and sensitivity
• Effect of wire resistance
• Temperature compensation
• Sensors: general definitions
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Resistive sensors 6
• Resistors whose value changes with variation in a physical
quantity S (light, heat, stress,…)
• Among the most common in instrumentation
• For small changes in S, a linear approximation holds:
𝑅𝑅 = 𝑅𝑅0 1 + 𝛼𝛼Δ𝑆𝑆 = 𝑅𝑅0 1 + 𝑥𝑥
1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
where 𝛼𝛼 = �
𝑅𝑅0 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑅𝑅
0
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Single-ended measurements 7
• Noise and fluctuations in
≈
ground potential and 𝑅𝑅0
𝐼𝐼 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 degrade performance
𝑅𝑅0 (1 + 𝑥𝑥)
• Can be used for high-level
signals, low noise, short
Δ𝑉𝑉𝐺𝐺
distance environments
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 𝐼𝐼𝑅𝑅0 + 𝐼𝐼𝑅𝑅0 𝑥𝑥 + Δ𝑉𝑉𝐺𝐺 + 𝐼𝐼Δ𝑅𝑅0 + 𝐼𝐼Δ𝑅𝑅0 𝑥𝑥
Offset + Signal + Disturbs
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Wheatstone bridge 8
𝑅𝑅1 𝑅𝑅3
𝑅𝑅4 𝑅𝑅2
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 −
𝑅𝑅3 + 𝑅𝑅4 𝑅𝑅1 + 𝑅𝑅2
𝑅𝑅2 𝑅𝑅4
Insensitive to ground potential and resistance fluctuations
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Bridge balancing 9
• We set 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 0 for 𝑥𝑥 = 0:
1 1 𝑅𝑅1 𝑅𝑅3
− =0⇒ = = 𝑘𝑘
1 + 𝑅𝑅3 /𝑅𝑅4 1 + 𝑅𝑅1 /𝑅𝑅2 𝑅𝑅2 𝑅𝑅4
• We pick 𝑘𝑘 by requiring maximum 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 sensitivity to resistance variation:
𝑑𝑑𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 1 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑘𝑘
= 2 𝑅𝑅 = 𝑅𝑅 (1 + 𝑘𝑘)2
𝑑𝑑𝑅𝑅1 𝑅𝑅1 2 1
1+
𝑅𝑅2
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Bridge sensitivity to R 10
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Unbalanced bridge 11
Let’s assume 𝑅𝑅1 = 𝑅𝑅2 = 𝑅𝑅3 = 𝑅𝑅; 𝑅𝑅4 = 𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥). We have:
𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥) 1 𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 − = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ≈ 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑅𝑅(2 + 𝑥𝑥) 2 2(2 + 𝑥𝑥) 4
• The non-linearity relative error is
𝑥𝑥 2(2 + 𝑥𝑥) |𝑥𝑥|
𝜀𝜀 = −1 =
4 𝑥𝑥 2
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Double sensitivity 12
𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥) 𝑅𝑅
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥)
𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥) 𝑅𝑅 𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 − = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ≈ 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑅𝑅(2 + 𝑥𝑥) 𝑅𝑅(2 + 𝑥𝑥) 2 + 𝑥𝑥 2
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Maximum sensitivity 13
𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥) 𝑅𝑅(1 − 𝑥𝑥)
Needs both positive
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 and negative equal
dependences
𝑅𝑅(1 − 𝑥𝑥) 𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥)
𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥) 𝑅𝑅(1 − 𝑥𝑥)
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 − = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑥𝑥
2𝑅𝑅 2𝑅𝑅
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Bridge parameters 14
• Sensitivity: voltage output when 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 1 V and 𝑥𝑥 = 𝑥𝑥𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 . Usually
expressed in mV/V
• Accuracy: difference with respect to the linear characteristics.
Expressed in %
• Resistance: resistance of the bridge measured between the
output terminals
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Bridge amplifiers 15
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅
A
𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥)
𝑅𝑅/2
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑥𝑥/4
A
𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 /2 𝑅𝑅/2
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Amplifier requirements (example) 16
• High gain
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 10 V, 𝑥𝑥𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 1 %, i.e., 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 25 mV. If 𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜,𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 10 V ⇒
𝐺𝐺 = 400
• High input resistance
𝑅𝑅 = 100 Ω and an error smaller than 1‰ is required ⇒
𝑅𝑅𝑖𝑖 ≥ 1000𝑅𝑅 = 100 kΩ
• High CMRR
with 8-bit resolution 𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠,𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 = 25 mV/28 ≈ 100 μV and 𝑉𝑉𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 = 5 V ⇒
CMR𝑅𝑅 ≥ 𝑉𝑉𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 /𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠,𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿𝐿 = 94 dB
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Outline 17
• Wheatstone bridge and sensitivity
• Effect of wire resistance
• Temperature compensation
• Sensors: general definitions
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Wiring resistance in remote sensor 18
• In remotely located bridges, cable resistances and noise pickup
are the biggest problems
• Cable resistances give an offest error (which can be
compensated), but…
• Changes in cable resistances during operation (e.g., with
temperature) produce an error signal (gain error) at the bridge
output
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
2-wire connection 19
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅
𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥)
1 𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥) + 2𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 − + ≈ 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 +
2 𝑅𝑅(2 + 𝑥𝑥) + 2𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 4 2𝑅𝑅
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
What if we compensate? 20
• We could add 2𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 in series to the lower-left bridge resistor, leading to
(consider 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 = 10 V, 𝑅𝑅 = 350 Ω, 𝑥𝑥𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 1%, 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 = 10 Ω)
370 + 3.5 370
𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜 0 = 0; 𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜 𝑥𝑥𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 10 − = 23.52 mV
720 + 3.5 720
• The problem now is the temperature dependence of 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 (consider 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 =
0.385% /°C, Δ𝑇𝑇𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 10°C)
370 + 0.77 370
𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜 0 = 10 − = 5.19 mV
720 + 0.77 720
370 + 3.5 + 0.77 370
𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜 𝑥𝑥𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 10 − = 28.66 mV
720 + 3.5 + 0.77 720
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
3-wire connection 21
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅 1 𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥) + 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 − +
𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 2 𝑅𝑅(2 + 𝑥𝑥) + 2𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 𝑥𝑥 𝑥𝑥 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ≈ 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 1− −
4 2 𝑅𝑅
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑅𝑅(1 + 𝑥𝑥)
When temperature is accounted for, we have 𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜 0 = 0 and
360 + 3.5 + 0.385 1 (it is 24.19 mV
𝑉𝑉𝑜𝑜 𝑥𝑥𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 10 − = 24.16 mV when ΔT = 0)
720 + 3.5 + 0.77 2
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Kelvin (4-wire) connection 22
𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅
𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐′
𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
𝑅𝑅𝐿𝐿
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Comparison 23
• The 3-wire method works well for remote elements several tens
of meters away
• Connecting wires must have the same characteristics
• Stability of 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 remains a concern
• The 4-wire connection is required for remote bridges, e.g. with 4
active elements
• The Kelvin connection is actually a six-lead assembly. Constant-
current excitation can reduce it to 4
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Outline 24
• Wheatstone bridge and sensitivity
• Effect of wire resistance
• Temperature compensation
• Sensors: general definitions
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Temperature dependence 25
• The bridge output is
𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑥𝑥 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝛼𝛼Δ𝑆𝑆
1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝛼𝛼 = �
𝑅𝑅0 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑅𝑅
0
• In reality, 𝛼𝛼 = 𝛼𝛼(𝑇𝑇), which introduces inaccuracies in the output
(unless we are measuring the temperature)
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Temperature compensation 26
𝑑𝑑𝑉𝑉𝑠𝑠 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= Δ𝑆𝑆 𝛼𝛼 + 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 =0
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
⇒ =− = −𝛽𝛽
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝛼𝛼 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
The bridge excitation voltage must be temperature-dependent and
have an opposite rate of variation with respect to 𝛼𝛼
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
T-independent resistor in series 27
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐′ 𝑅𝑅𝐵𝐵
𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 =𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐′
𝑅𝑅𝐵𝐵 + 𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑑𝑑𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 ′
𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇 𝑑𝑑𝑅𝑅𝐵𝐵
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅 = 𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐
𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑅𝑅𝐵𝐵 + 𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇 2 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
1 𝑑𝑑𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇 1 𝑑𝑑𝑅𝑅𝐵𝐵
=
𝑉𝑉𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑅𝑅𝐵𝐵 + 𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇 𝑅𝑅𝐵𝐵 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 1 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇 =
𝑅𝑅 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑
= 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
= −𝛽𝛽 −𝛽𝛽 = 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 (for a bridge with
𝑅𝑅𝐵𝐵 + 𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇 equal resistances)
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Result 28
𝛽𝛽
𝑅𝑅𝑇𝑇 = − 𝑅𝑅
𝛽𝛽 + 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇
• Very simple and popular solution, but with a few disadvantages:
Only possible if 𝛽𝛽 < 0 and TCR > |𝛽𝛽|
𝛽𝛽 and 𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 must be precisely known
Output signal is reduced
• Usually adopted in the range 25 ± 15°C
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Outline 29
• Wheatstone bridge and sensitivity
• Effect of wire resistance
• Temperature compensation
• Sensors: general definitions
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Sensors 30
• Convert an input physical property (the stimulus) to a different
one (usually an electrical signal). Sensors are «energy converters»
• You can find many disquisitions on the difference between
sensors and transducers, which I gladly leave to your rainy day
reading
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Sensor classification 31
• Measurand
Temperature, pressure, velocity, current,…
• Detection mean
Biological, chemical, electrical, mechanical,…
• Sensor material
Semiconductor, organic, liquid,…
• Field of application
Scientific, industrial, medical,…
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Sensor characteristics 32
• Static parameters
Transfer function, accuracy, resolution,…
• Dynamic parameters
Frequency response, settling time,…
• Other parameters
Operating and storage conditions, reliability,…
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
I-O characteristic 33
From [1] From [2] From [3]
When used as detectors, the inverse function is needed
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
I-O ranges 34
Full-scale output
Full-scale input
From [4]
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Sensitivity 35
• Defined as the ratio between output and input variations
𝑑𝑑𝑆𝑆𝑜𝑜
𝑆𝑆 =
𝑑𝑑𝑆𝑆𝑖𝑖
• Linear sensors have constant sensitivity
• Linear approximations can be used in other cases, over a limited
input range. Otherwise, data processing is required
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
(Non)Linearity error 36
Maximum difference between
the real transfer function and its
linear approximation
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Which linear characteristic? 37
From [5]
Different straight lines can be defined (end points, least squares,…),
giving different NL errors
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Independent nonlinearity 38
From [4]
Adopts the straight line that
minimizes the maximum
(absolute) NL error
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Resolution 39
• Is the smalllest increment in stimulus that can be sensed,
specified in absolute quantity or percentage of FS input
• Resolution is ultimately determined by the noise of the sensor
itself
• Other factors (noise of electronics front-end, digitization,…) can
further degrade it
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Precision 40
• Is the ability of the sensor to reproduce the same result after
repetitive experiments
• Precision is not resolution
A digital clock may have ms resolution but worse precision
The terms are often (mis)used interchangeably
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Accuracy 41
• Accuracy is the maximum
deviation from the ideal value
Deviations • The average value should be
from the considered for each sensor in
ideal (true)
value presence of a strong random
component
From [4]
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Accuracy vs. precision 42
Precision Precision
From [6], modified Precision Precision
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
Dynamic parameters 43
• Frequency response
• Response/settling time
• Bandwidth
•…
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
References 44
1. http://www.analog.com/media/en/training-seminars/design-
handbooks/Practical-Design-Techniques-Sensor-Signal/Section2.PDF
2. J. Fraden, «Handbook of modern sensors», Springer (2004)
3. www.scienceprog.com/characteristics-of-sensors-and-transducers/
4. sales.hamamatsu.com/assets/applications/SSD/nmos_kmpd9001e04.pdf
5. iopscience.iop.org/00223727/45/22/225305/article
6. J. Fraden, «Handbook of modern sensors», Springer (2010)
7. J. Webster, ed., «Measurement, instrumentation and sensor handbook», CRC
Press (1999)
8. www.sensortips.com/pressure/accuracy-vs-resolution/
Alessandro Spinelli – Electronics 96032
