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