Chapter 1: Fundamental Principles of

Sensors

1.1 Definitions
1.2 Active Sensors
1.3 Passive Sensors
1.4 The Measurement Chain
1.5 Integrated Sensors
1.6 Smart Sensors
 1.1 Definitions

The physical quantity being measured:

Displacement;

Temperature;

Pressure, etc.

Is designated as the measurand and is represented by m.

𝑠𝑠 = 𝑓𝑓(𝑚𝑚)

s is the output quantity or response of the sensor;

m is the input quantity or excitation.

The measurement of s must make it possible to know the value of m

(fig.1).

Fig.1 Example of evolution of a measurand m

and the corresponding response s of the sensor.

The relation 𝑠𝑠 = 𝐹𝐹(𝑚𝑚) results in its theoretical form from the physical
laws which govern the operation of the sensor, and in its numerical
expression from its construction (geometry, dimensions), the materials
which constitute it and possibly from its environment and its mode of use
(temperature, power supply).

For every sensor the relation 𝑠𝑠 = 𝐹𝐹(𝑚𝑚) in its numerically exploitable form
is explained by calibration.

For a set of values of m known with precision, the corresponding values

of s are measured, which makes it possible to plot the calibration curve
(fig.2a).

Fig.2 Calibration curve of a sensor: a) its establishment from the known values of the measurand m, b)
its exploitation, from the measured values of the response s of the sensor; to any measured value of s,
we can associate a value of m which determines it.

For reasons of ease of use, we strive to make the sensor so that it

establishes a linear relationship between the variations ∆s of the output
quantity and ∆m of the input quantity:

∆s = S. ∆m

S is the sensitivity of the sensor.

One of the important problems in the design and use of a sensor is the
constancy of its sensitivity S which must depend as little as possible:

• Of the value of m (linearity) and its frequency variation (bandwidth).

• Of time (ageing).
• Of the action of other physical quantities in its environment which are
not the subject of the measurement and which are referred to as
influence quantities.

As an electrical element, the sensor presents itself, seen from its output,

either as a generator, s then being a load, a voltage or a current and it is

then an active sensor;

or either as an impedance, s then being a resistance, an inductance or a

capacitance: the sensor is then said to be passive.

This distinction between active and passive sensors based on their

equivalent electrical diagram reflects a fundamental difference in the very
nature of the physical phenomena involved.

The electrical signal is the variable part of the current or voltage which
carries the information related to the measurand: amplitude and
frequency of the signal must be unambiguously related to the amplitude
and frequency of the measurand.

An active sensor which is a source, directly delivers an electrical signal;

The same is not true of a passive sensor whose impedance variations
are only measurable by the modifications of the current or of the voltage
which they cause in a circuit which is also supplied by an external
source.

The electric circuit necessarily associated with a passive sensor

constitutes its conditioner, and it is the whole of the sensor and its
conditioner which is the source of the electric signal.
 1.2 Active Sensors
Operating as a generator, an active sensor is generally based in principle
on a physical effect which ensures the conversion into electrical energy
of the form of energy specific to the measurand:

thermal, mechanical or radiant energy.

The most important of these effects are listed in Table 1.

Measurand Effect used Output quantity

Temperature Thermoelectricity Voltage

Pyroelectricity Charge
Photoemission Current
Optical radiation flux Photovoltaic effect Voltage
Photoelectromagnetic effect Voltage

Strength
Pressure Piezoelectricity Charge
Acceleration
Speed Electromagnetic induction Voltage
Position Hall effect Voltage

Table1. Active sensors: basic physical principles.

Thermoelectric effect
A circuit formed by two conductors (M1 and M2) of
different chemical nature whose junctions are at
temperatures T1 and T2 is the seat of an
electromotive force e(T1,T2).

Application: determination from the measurement

of e of an unknown temperature T1 when T2 is
known (0 degrees for example).

Pyroelectric effect
Some so-called pyroelectric crystals have a
spontaneous electrical polarization which
depends on their temperature; they carry on the
surface electric charges of opposite signs on the
opposite faces.

Application: A radiation flux absorbed by a

Pyroelectric Crystal raises its temperature which
leads to a modification of its polarization which is
measurable by the variation of the voltage at the
terminals of an associated capacitor.

Piezoelectric effect
The application of a force and more generally of a
mechanical constraint to certain so-called
piezoelectric materials, quartz for example, leads
to a deformation which causes the appearance of
equal electric charges and opposite signs on the
opposite faces.

Application: measurement of force or related

quantities (pressure, acceleration) from the
voltage which appears between the two faces of
the piezoelectric element.
Electromagnetic induction effect
When a conductor moves in a fixed induction
field, it is the seat of an emf proportional to the
flow cut per unit of time, therefore to its speed of
movement.

Application: The measurement of the emf. of

induction makes it possible to know the speed of
movement which is at its origin.

Photoelectric effects
There are several of them, which differ in their
manifestations but which have a common origin in the
release of electrical charges in matter under the
influence of light or more generally electromagnetic
radiation, the wavelength of which is less than a value
threshold, characteristic of the material.

Applications: the photoelectric effects which make it

possible to obtain a current or a voltage which is a
function of the illumination of a target are the basis of
methods for measuring photometric quantities on the
one hand, and they ensure on the other hand the
transposition into an electrical signal of information for
which light can be the vehicle.

Hall effect
A material, generally semiconductor and in the form of a
wafer, is traversed by a current I and subjected to an
induction B making an angle θ with the current. It appears,
in the direction perpendicular to the induction and to the
current, a voltage VH which has the expression:
𝑉𝑉𝑉𝑉 = 𝐾𝐾𝐾𝐾. 𝐼𝐼. 𝐵𝐵. 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠θ
where KH depends on the material and the dimensions of
the wafer.
Application: a magnet attached to the object whose position
we want to know determines the values of B and θ at the
level of the wafer: the voltage VH which in this way is a
function of the position of the object therefore ensures an
electrical translation.

Note: Sensors based on the Hall effect can be classified as active sensors since the
information is linked to an emf. ; however, they are not energy converters because it
is the source of the current I and not the measurand that delivers the energy linked to
the signal.
 1.3 Passive Sensors
These are impedances, where one determining parameter of which, is
sensitive to the measurand. In the literal expression of an impedance
there are terms related to:

- On the one hand to its geometry and its dimensions,

- On the other hand to the electrical properties of the materials: resistivity

ρ, magnetic permeability μ, dielectric constant ϵ.

The impedance variation can therefore be due to the action of the

measurand:

• Either on the geometric or dimensional characteristics,

• Or on the electrical properties of materials,

• Or more rarely on both simultaneously.

The geometric or dimensional parameters of the impedance can vary if

the sensor comprises either a mobile element or a deformable element.

In the first case, each position of the mobile element corresponds to a

value of the impedance and the measurement thereof makes it possible
to know the position, this is the principle of a large number of position
and displacement sensors. : Potentiometer, moving core inductor,
moving armature capacitor.

In the second case, the deformation results from forces - or quantities

related thereto (pressure, acceleration) - applied either directly or
indirectly to the sensor: armature of a capacitor subjected to differential
pressure, extensometer gauge rigidly linked to a constrained structure.

The change in impedance caused by the deformation of the sensor is

linked to the forces to which the latter or the intermediate structure is
subjected and it ensures an electrical translation thereof.

The electrical properties of materials, depending on their nature, can be

sensitive to various physical quantities:

temperature, light, pressure, humidity, etc.

The following table gives an overview of the various measurands likely to

modify the electrical properties of materials used for the production of
passive sensors.
Measurand Sensitive electrical Types of materials used
characteristics

Temperature Resistivity Metals: platinum, nickel, copper,

semiconductors.

Very low Dielectric constant Glasses

temperatures
Optical radiation flux Resistivity Semiconductors
Deformation Resistivity Nickel alloys, doped silicon.

Magnetic permeability Ferromagnetic alloys

Position (magnet) Resistivity Magneto-resistant materials:
bismuth, indium antimony
Humidity Resistivity Lithium chloride.

Dielectric constant Alumina, polymers

Level Dielectric constant Insulating liquids

Passive sensors: physical principles and materials.

The impedance of a passive sensor and its variations can only be
measured by integrating the sensor into an electrical circuit, which is
powered and constitutes its conditioner. The most used types of
conditioners are:

• The potentiometric assembly (circuit), which is a series association of a

source, the sensor and an impedance which may or may not be of the
same type.

• The impedance bridge whose balance enables the impedance of the

sensor to be determined or whose unbalance is a measurement of the
variation of this impedance.
• The oscillating circuit which contains the impedance of the sensor and
which is part of an oscillator whose frequency it fixes.

• The operational amplifier whose sensor impedance is one of the

determining elements of its gain.

Note: the choice of conditioner is an important step in the production of a

measurement system (chapter 3).
 1.4 The Measurement Chain

The measurement chain is made up of all the devices, including the

sensor, making it possible under the best conditions to accurately
determine the value of the measurand.
At the input of the chain, the sensor subjected to the action of the
measurand allows, directly if it is active or by means of its conditioner if it
is passive, to inject into the chain the electrical signal, support of
information related to the measurand.
At the output of the chain, the electrical signal that it has processed and
converted into a form that makes it possible to directly read the sought
value of the measurand:
• Deflection of a pointer by a moving coil;
• Graphical or oscillographic analog recording;
• Display or print a number.

It is the calibration of the measurement chain as a whole which makes it

possible to attribute to each indication at the output the corresponding
value of the measurand acting at the input.
In its simplest form, the measurement chain can be reduced to the
sensor, and its possible conditioner, associated with a reading device:
• Thermocouple and voltmeter;
• Strain gauge placed in a Wheatstone bridge, with a galvanometer or a
voltmeter as a reading instrument.
But often the practical conditions of measurement lead to the introduction
in the chain of functional blocks intended to optimize the acquisition and
the processing of the signal:

• Linearization circuits of the signal delivered by the sensor;

• Instrumentation or isolation amplifier intended to reduce parasitic

common mode voltages;

• Multiplexer, programmable instrumentation amplifier, blocking sampler,

analog-digital converter when the information must be processed by
computer (fig.1);

• Voltage-current or voltage-frequency converter when the signal must be

transmitted remotely by cable (fig.2).
 Fig.1: Measurement chain controlled by microprocessor.

Fig.2 : Measurement chain with voltage-frequency conversion of signals allowing their two-
wire transmission.
 1.5 Integrated Sensors
An integrated sensor is a component produced using microelectronics
techniques and which groups together on a silicon substrate the sensor,
the test body (if any), and electronic signal conditioning circuits.

Fig.3: General structure of an integrated sensor.

Integration brings multiple benefits:

• Miniaturization;

• Cost reduction through mass production;

• Increased reliability by removing numerous soldered connections;

• Improved interchangeability;

• Better protection against parasites;

• The signal being conditioned at the source.

The use of silicon however imposes a limitation of the range of use from
-50°C to 150°C approximately.

The sensor itself generally takes advantage of the sensitivity of silicon to

various physical quantities.

Examples of silicon-based sensors:

• Thermometric resistors

• Strain gauges
• Photocapacities

• Hall effect pads

• Photodiodes and phototransistors

• Nuclear detection diodes

• Thermometric transistors

• ISFET (sensitive ion)

• GASFET (sensitive gas)

The sensor can also be made by depositing on the silicon substrate a

thin film of a material more appropriate than silicon to the measurand
considered but compatible with the integrated circuit manufacturing
process:

• Piezoelectric ZnO

• Magnetoresistant InSb (indium antimonide)

• Hygroscopic polymers (moisture)

• Thermoelectric couple (Bi/Sb)

The deformation of the test body under the action of the measurand
(acceleration for the beam, pressure for the diaphragm) can be
converted into an electrical signal by means of a bridge of piezoresistive
gauges implanted in suitable zones, or by means of a deposit of
piezoelectric ZnO undergoing stress under the action of the deformation
of the test body.
The electronic circuits associated with the sensor are made according to
conventional techniques for manufacturing ICs, they include, depending
on the case:

• Thermal compensation circuits

• Linearization

• Amplification

• Transmission by voltage-frequency or voltage-current conversion.

• DTC type registers (charge-coupled device), for storing and transferring

information.
 1.6 Smart Sensors
The smart sensor refers to the measurement assembly of a physical
quantity made up of two parts:
• A measurement chain controlled by microprocessor;
• A two-way communication interface.

(a) (b)

Fig.4 Intelligent sensor: a) General structure, b) Link by bus of a set of intelligent sensors to a
microcomputer.

The measurement chain includes:

• The main sensor specific to the measurand studied, and identifiable by

a code stored in PROM.

• The secondary sensors specific to the influence quantities likely to

affect the response of the main sensor.
• Conventional devices for obtaining in digital form the output quantity of
each sensor:

- Conditioner ;

- Multiplexer;

- Blocker sampler;

- Digital analog converter.

• A microprocessor assigned to the following tasks:

- Acquisition management;

- Correction of the effect of the influence quantities by means of the

parameters stored in PROM and the data provided by the secondary
sensors;

- Linearization;

- Sensor diagnostics.

The bidirectional interface ensures the connection of the sensor to a

microcomputer (central computer) via a bus shared between several
intelligent sensors.

The smart sensor offers specific advantages:

• Remote configurability;

• Increased credibility of measurements and maintenance assistance

thanks to the status information provided;

• Distribution of tasks, relieving the central computer.