Sensors

1. Thermistor (NTC)
The Thermistor is a solid state temperature sensing device that acts a bit like an electrical resistor but is
temperature sensitive. Thermistors can be used to produce an analogue output voltage with variations in ambient
temperature and as such can be referred to as a transducer. This is because it creates a change in its electrical
properties due to a physical change in heat.
A thermistor is basically a two-terminal solid state thermally sensitive transducer made from sensitive
semiconductor based metal oxides with metallised or sintered connecting leads onto a ceramic disc or bead. This
allows it to change its resistive value in proportion to small changes in temperature. In other words, as its
temperature changes, so too does its resistance and as such its name, “Thermistor” is a combination of the words
THERM-ally sensitive res-ISTOR.
While the change in resistance due to heat is generally undesirable in standard resistors, this effect can be put to
good use in many temperature detection circuits. Thus being non-linear variable-resistance devices, thermistors
are commonly used as temperature sensors having many applications to measure the temperature of both liquids
and ambient air.
Also, being a solid state device made from highly sensitive metal oxides, they operate at the molecular level
with the outermost (valence) electrons becoming more active and producing a negative temperature coefficient,
or less active producing a positive temperature coefficient as the temperature of the thermistor is increased. This
means that they can have very good reproducible resistance verses temperature characteristics allowing them to
operate up to temperatures of about 200oC.

Typical Thermistor
While the primarily used of thermistors are as resistive temperature sensors, being resistive devices belonging
the the resistor family, they can also be used in series with a component or device to control the current flowing
through them. In other words, they can also be used as current-limiting devices.
Thermistors are available in a range of types, materials and sizes depending on the response time and operating
temperature. Also, hermetically sealed thermistors eliminate errors in resistance readings due to moisture
penetration while offering high operating temperatures and a compact size. The three most common types are:
Bead thermistors, Disk thermistors, and Glass encapsulated thermistors.
These heat-dependent resistors can operate in one of two ways, either increasing or decreasing their resistive
value with changes in temperature. Then there are two types of thermistors available: negative temperature
coefficient (NTC) of resistance and positive temperature coefficient (PTC) of resistance.

Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) Thermistor

Negative temperature coefficient of resistance thermistors, or NTC thermistors for short, reduce or decrease
their resistive value as the operating temperature around them increases. Generally, NTC thermistors are the
most commonly used type of temperature sensors as they can be used in virtually any type of equipment where
temperature plays a role.
NTC temperature thermistors have a negative electrical resistance versus temperature (R/T) relationship. The
relatively large negative response of an NTC thermistor means that even small changes in temperature can cause
significant changes in its electrical resistance. This makes them ideal for accurate temperature measurement and
control.
We said previously that a thermistor is an electronic component whose resistance is highly dependent on
temperature so if we send a constant current through the thermistor and then measure the voltage drop across it,
we can thus determine its resistance and temperature.
NTC thermistors reduce in resistance with an increase in temperature and are available in a variety of base
resistances and curves. They are usually characterised by their base resistance at room temperature, that is 25oC,

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(77oF) as this provides a convenient reference point. So for example, 2k2Ω at 25oC, 10kΩ at 25oC or 47kΩ at
25oC, etc.
Another important characteristic is the “B” value. The B value is a material constant which is determined by the
ceramic material from which it is made and describes the gradient of the resistive (R/T) curve over a particular
temperature range between two temperature points. Each thermistor material will have a different material
constant and therefore a different resistance versus temperature curve.
Then the B value will define the thermistors resistive value at the first temperature or base point, (which is
usually 25oC), called T1, and the thermistors resistive value at a second temperature point, for example 100oC,
called T2. Therefore the B value will define the thermistors material constant between the range of T1 and T2.
That is BT1/T2 or B25/100 with typical NTC thermistor B values given anywhere between about 3000 and about
5000.
Note however, that both the temperature points of T1 and T2 are calculated in the temperature units of Kelvin
where 00C = 273.15 Kelvin. Thus a value of 25oC is equal to 25o + 273.15 = 298.15K, and 100oC is equal to
100o + 273.15 = 373.15K, etc.
So by knowing the B value of a particular thermistor (obtained from manufacturers datasheet), it is possible to
produce a table of temperature versus resistance to construct a suitable graph using the following normalised
equation:

Thermistor Equation

 Where:
 T1 is the first temperature point in Kelvin
 T2 is the second temperature point in Kelvin
 R1 is the thermistors resistance at temperature T1 in Ohms
 R2 is the thermistors resistance at temperature T2 in Ohms

Thermistor Example No1

A 10kΩ NTC thermistor has a B value of 3455 between the temperature range of 25 to 100oC. Calculate its
resistive value at 25oC and at 100oC.
Data given: B = 3455, R1 = 10kΩ at 25o. In order to convert the temperature scale from degrees Celsius, oC to
degrees Kelvin add the mathematical constant 273.15
The value of R1 is already given as its 10kΩ base resistance, thus the value of R2 at 100oC is calculated as:

Giving the following two point characteristics graph of:

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Note that in this simple example, only two points were found, but generally thermistors change their resistance
exponentially with changes in temperature so their characteristic curve is nonlinear, therefore the more
temperature points are calculated the more accurate will be the curve.

Temperature
10 20 25 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120
(oC)

Resistance
18476 12185 10000 8260 5740 4080 2960 2188 1645 1257 973 765 608
(Ω)

and these points can be plotted as shown to give a more accurate characteristics curve for the 10kΩ NTC
Thermistor which has a B-value of 3455.

NTC Thermistor Characteristics Curve

Notice that it has a negative temperature coefficient (NTC), that is its resistance decreases with increasing
temperatures.

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Using a Thermistor to Measure Temperature.
So how can we use a thermistor to measure temperature. Hopefully by now we know that a thermistor is a
resistive device and therefore according to Ohms law, if we pass a current through it, a voltage drop will be
produced across it. As a thermistor is an active type of a sensor, that is, it requires an excitation signal for its
operation, any changes in its resistance as a result of changes in temperature can be converted into a voltage
change.

The simplest way of doing this is to use the thermistor as part of a potential divider circuit as shown. A constant
voltage is applied across the resistor and thermistor series circuit with the output voltage measured across the
thermistor.
If for example we use a 10kΩ thermistor with a series resistor of 10kΩ, then the output voltage at the base
temperature of 25oC will be half the supply voltage.
When the resistance of the thermistor changes due to changes in temperature, the fraction of the supply voltage
across the thermistor also changes producing an output voltage that is proportional to the fraction of the total
series resistance between the output terminals.
Thus the potential divider circuit is an example of a simple resistance to voltage converter where the resistance
of the thermistor is controlled by temperature with the output voltage produced being proportional to the
temperature. So the hotter the thermistor gets, the lower the voltage.
If we reversed the positions of the series resistor, RS and the thermistor, RTH, then the output voltage will change
in the opposite direction, that is the hotter the thermistor gets, the higher the output voltage.

We can use ntc thermistors as part of a basic temperature sensing configuration using a bridge circuit as shown.
The relationship between resistors R1 and R2 sets the reference voltage, VREF to the value required. For example,
if both R1and R2 are of the same resistive value, the reference voltage will be equal to half of the supply voltage.
That is Vs/2.
As the temperature and therefore the resistance of the thermistor changes, the voltage at VTH also changes either
higher or lower than that at VREF producing a positive or negative output signal to the connected amplifier.
The amplifier circuit used for this basic temperature sensing bridge circuit could act as a differential amplifier
for high sensitivity and amplification, or a simple Schmitt-trigger circuit for ON-OFF switching.

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The problem with passing a current through a thermistor in this way, is that thermistors experience what is
called self-heating effects, that is the I2.R power dissipation could be high enough to create more heat than can
be dissipated by the thermistor affecting its resistive value producing false results.
Thus it is possible that if the current through the thermistor is too high it would result in increased power
dissipation and as the temperature increases, its resistance decreases causing more current to flow, which
increases the temperature further resulting in what is known as Thermal Runaway. In other words, we want the
thermistor to be hot due to the external temperature being measured and not by itself heating up.
Then the value for the series resistor, RS above should be chosen to provide a reasonably wide response over the
range of temperatures for which the thermistor is likely to be used while at the same time limiting the current to
a safe value at the highest temperature.
One way of improving on this and having a more accurate conversion of resistance against temperature (R/T) is
by driving the thermistor with a constant current source. The change in resistance can be measured by using a
small and measured direct current, or DC, passed through the thermistor in order to measure the voltage drop
produced.

Thermistor Summary
We have seen here in this tutorial about thermistors, that a thermistor is a two terminal resistive transducer
which changes its resistive value with changes in surrounding ambient temperature, hence the name thermal-
resistor, or simply “thermistor”.
Thermistors are inexpensive, easily-obtainable temperature sensors constructed using semiconductor metal
oxides, and are available with either a negative temperature coefficient, (NTC) of resistance or a positive
temperature coefficient (PTC) of resistance. The difference being that NTC thermistors reduce their resistance
as the temperature increases, while PTC thermistors increase their resistance as the temperature increases.
NTC thermistors are the most commonly used (especially the 10KΩ ntc thermistor) and along with an addition
series resistor, RS can be used as part of a simple potential divider circuit so that changes to its resistance due to
changes in temperature, produces a temperature-related output voltage.
However, the operating current of the thermistor must be kept as low as possible to reduce any self-heating
effects. If they pass operating currents which are too high, they can create more heat than can be quickly
dissipated from the thermistor which may cause false results.
Thermistors are characterised by their base resistance and their B value. The base resistance, for example, 10kΩ,
is the resistance of the thermistor at a given temperature, usually 25oC and is defined as: R25. The B value is a
fixed material constant that describes the shape of the slope of the resistive curve over temperature (R/T).
We have also seen that thermistors can be used to measure an external temperature or can be used control a
current as a result of the I2R heating effect caused by the current flowing through it. By connecting an NTC
thermistor in series with a load, it is possible to effectively limit the high inrush currents.

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 2. Gas Sensor: MQ Series / MQ135 Example Rs/Ro vs PPM

The MQ series of gas sensors utilizes a small heater inside with an electro chemical sensor these sensors are
sensitive to a range of gasses are used at room temperature. MQ135 alcohol sensor is a Sno2 with a lower
conductivity of clean air. When the target explosive gas exists, then the sensor’s conductivity increases more
increasing more along with the gas concentration rising levels. By using simple electronic circuits, it convert the
charge of conductivity to correspond output signal of gas concentration

The MQ135 gas sensor has high sensitivity in ammonia, sulfide, benze steam, smoke and in other harm full gas.
It is low cost and suitable for different applications. There are different types of alcohol sensors like MQ-2, MQ-
3, MQ-4, MQ-5, MQ-6, etc.

What is an Alcohol Sensor?

An alcohol sensor detects the attentiveness of alcohol gas in the air and an analog voltage is an output reading.
The sensor can activate at temperatures ranging from -10 to 50° C with a power supply is less than 150 Ma to
5V. The sensing range is from 0.04 mg/L to 4 mg/L, which is suitable for breathalyzers.

Alcohol Sensor
MQ-135 Gas Sensor

The MQ-135 gas sensor senses the gases like ammonia nitrogen, oxygen, alcohols, aromatic compounds, sulfide
and smoke. The boost converter of the chip MQ-3 gas sensor is PT1301. The operating voltage of this gas
sensor is from 2.5V to 5.0V. The MQ-3 gas sensor has a lower conductivity to clean the air as a gas sensing
material. In the atmosphere we can find polluting gases, but the conductivity of gas sensor increases as the
concentration of polluting gas increases. MQ-135 gas sensor can be implementation to detect the smoke,
benzene, steam and other harmful gases. It has potential to detect different harmful gases. The MQ-135 gas
sensor is low cost to purchase. The basic image of the MQ-135 sensor is shown in the below figure.

MQ-135 Gas Sensor

Basic Pin Configuration Of Alcohol Sensor

The MQ-3 alcohol gas sensor consists of total 6-pins including A, H, B and the other three pins are A, H, B out
of the total 6-pins we use only 4 pins. The two pins A, H are used for the heating purpose and the other two pins
are used for the ground and power. There is a heating system inside the sensor, which is made up of aluminium
oxide, tin dioxide. It has heat coils to produce heat, and thus it is used as a heat sensor. The below diagram
shows the pin diagram and the configuration of the MQ-3 alcohol sensor.

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 Pin Configuration Of Alcohol Sensor

Working Principle And Circuit Diagram

The MQ-135 alcohol sensor consists of a tin dioxide (SnO2), a perspective layer inside aluminium oxide micro
tubes (measuring electrodes) and a heating element inside a tubular casing. The end face of the sensor is
enclosed by a stainless steel net and the back side holds the connection terminals. Ethyl alcohol present in
the breath is oxidized into acetic acid passing through the heat element. With the ethyl alcohol cascade on the
tin dioxide sensing layer, the resistance decreases. By using the external load resistance the resistance variation
is converted into a suitable voltage variation. The circuit diagram and the connection arrangement of an MQ 135
alcohol is shown below.

MQ – 135 Air Quality Sensor

The air quality sensor is also a MQ-135 sensor for detecting venomous gases that are present in the air in homes
and offices. The gas sensor layer of the sensor unit is made up of tin dioxide (SnO2); it has lower conductivity
compare to clean hair and due to air pollution the conductivity is increases. The air quality sensor detects
ammonia, nitrogen oxide, smoke, CO2 and other harmful gases. The air quality sensor has a small potentiometer
that permits the adjustment of the load resistance of the sensor circuit. The 5V power supply is used for air
quality quality sensor.

MQ – 135 Air Quality Sensor

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The air quality sensor is a signal output indicator instruction. It has two outputs: analog output and TTL output.
The TTL output is low signal light which can be accessed through the IO ports on the Microcontroller. The
analog output is an concentration, i.e. increasing voltage is directly proportional to increasing concentration.
This sensor has a long life and reliable stability as well.
Applications Of MQ 135 Gas Sensor

The following are the applications of the MQ 135 gas sensor:

 Air quality monitor

 Detection of harmful gases
 Domestic air pollution detection
 Industrial pollution detection
 Portable air pollution detection
Characteristics Of MQ 135

 Good sensitivity to harmful gases in wide range.

 It has long life and low cost.
 Possesses high sensitivity to ammonia, benzene, sulfide gases.
 It is a simple drive circuit
This is about the MQ135 alcohol sensor circuit diagram and the working operation and its applications.

MQ-135 Rs/Ro vs PPM

Reference:

Source: https://www.elprocus.com/mq-135-alcohol-sensor-circuit-and-working/

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 3. Ultrasonic Sensor (HCSR04)

Ultrasonic Distance Sensor

Understanding the Science Behind the Ultrasonic Distance Sensor

How does an Ultrasonic Distance Sensor work?

The Ultrasonic Sensor sends out a high-frequency sound pulse and

then times how long it takes for the echo of the sound to reflect back.
The sensor has 2 openings on its front. One opening transmits
ultrasonic waves, (like a tiny speaker), the other receives them, (like a
tiny microphone).

The speed of sound is approximately 341 meters (1100 feet) per

second in air. The ultrasonic sensor uses this information along with
the time difference between sending and receiving the sound pulse to
determine the distance to an object. It uses the following mathematical
equation:

Distance = Time x Speed of Sound divided by 2

Time = the time between when an ultrasonic wave is transmitted and when it is received
You divide this number by 2 because the sound wave has to travel to the object and back.

How it works:A chirp is emitted from the “speaker.” It bounces off of an object. The echo returns to the
microphone. The time it takes to travel to the object and back is used to figure out the distance.

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Uses of the Ultrasonic Sensor

Ultrasonic sensors “are based on the measurement of the properties of acoustic waves with frequencies above
thee human audible range,” often at roughly 40 kHz 1). They typically operate by generating a highhigh-frequency
pulse of sound, and then receiving and evaluating the properties of the echo pulse.
Three different properties of the received echo pulse may be evaluated, for different sensing purposes. They are:

 Time
me of flight (for sensing distance)
 Doppler shift (for sensing velocity)
 Amplitude attenuation (for sensing distance, directionality, or attenuation coefficient)
Modes of Operation
1. Time of Flight
1A. Reflection Mode
In reflection mode (also known as “echo ranging”), an ultrasonic transmitter emits a short burst of sound in a
particular direction. The pulse bounces off a target and returns to the receiver after a time interval t. The receiver
records the length of this time interval, and calculates the distance travelled r based on the speed of sound c:
r = c * t2)

Very often, separate transmitting and receiving transducers are placed immediately next to each other, housed as
a single unit. (The PING))) Range Finder, Omega flowmeter and Migatron high-accuracy
high accuracy sensor below are all
designed this way.) In these cases, the
the distance calculated will be twice the distance from the sensor to the
target.

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https://www.electronics
Using proper coordination, a single transducer can be used for both emitting the pulse and receiving the echo.
Note that it takes time for the transducer to change modes, presenting a challenge to short-distance
measurement.

1B. Direct Measurement Mode

In this mode of operation the transmitter and receiver are two separate units that move relative to each other. For
example, the receiver can be fixed to a target that moves relative to a stationary transmitter, or vice-versa.

Multiple transmitters can be used to increase the directionality of the transmitted pulse. Lima et al.3) placed
multiple ultrasonic transmitters on a performer, whose signals were received by multiple receivers in the
performance space, enabling a computer program to triangulate the performer's position.

Doppler Shift
When a wave reflects off of a moving object, its frequency is shifted by an amount proportional to the velocity
of the object. This fact can be exploited in ultrasonic sensing by having the receiver measure not the time of
flight but the frequency of the returning echo pulse. Knowing fe and fr, the frequency of the emitted and
received pulse, respectively, the velocity v of the target may be calculated:
fe - fr = 2 fe (v / c) cos(A)4)
where A is the angle between the target's and the pulse's lines of motion.

Amplitude Attenuation
Ultrasonic sound attenuates much faster than audible sound when propagating through air. By measuring the
intensity of the returning pulse, an estimate of the distance travelled can be made using the following equation:

I = I0e-ax 5)
where I and I0 are the received and the original intensities, respectively, and where a is the attenuation
coefficient (a property of the medium) and x is the distance travelled by the wave. Attenuation may also be
caused by an increased angle between the target and receiver, which may even deflect the echo somewhere else
and not be heard at all. The effect of distance and angle on the amplitude of the received signal is illustrated in
the following images from (Miranda & Wanderley 2006).6)

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 4. IR Sensor TxRx
https://www.electronicshub.org/ir-sensor/

IR SENSOR

Table of Contents
 Introduction
 Types of IR Sensors
 IR Transmitter
 IR Receiver
 Principle of Working
 Obstacle Sensing Circuit or IR Sensor Circuit
 Distinguishing Between Black and White Colors
Introduction

Infrared technology addresses a wide variety of wireless applications. The main areas are sensing and remote
controls. In the electromagnetic spectrum, the infrared portion is divided into three regions: near infrared region,
mid infrared region and far infrared region.

The wavelengths of these regions and their applications are shown below.

 Near infrared region — 700 nm to 1400 nm — IR sensors, fiber optic

 Mid infrared region — 1400 nm to 3000 nm — Heat sensing
 Far infrared region — 3000 nm to 1 mm — Thermal imaging

The frequency range of infrared is higher than microwave and lesser than visible light.

For optical sensing and optical communication, photo optics technologies are used in the near infrared region as
the light is less complex than RF when implemented as a source of signal. Optical wireless communication is
done with IR data transmission for short range applications.

An infrared sensor emits and/or detects infrared radiation to sense its surroundings.

The working of any Infrared sensor is governed by three laws: Planck’s Radiation law, Stephen – Boltzmann
law and Wien’s Displacement law.

Planck’s law states that “every object emits radiation at a temperature not equal to 00K”. Stephen – Boltzmann
law states that “at all wavelengths, the total energy emitted by a black body is proportional to the fourth power
of the absolute temperature”. According to Wien’s Displacement law, “the radiation curve of a black body for
different temperatures will reach its peak at a wavelength inversely proportional to the temperature”.

The basic concept of an Infrared Sensor which is used as Obstacle detector is to transmit an infrared signal, this
infrared signal bounces from the surface of an object and the signal is received at the infrared receiver.

There are five basic elements used in a typical infrared detection system: an infrared source, a transmission
medium, optical component, infrared detectors or receivers and signal processing. Infrared lasers and Infrared
LED’s of specific wavelength can be used as infrared sources. The three main types of media used for infrared
transmission are vacuum, atmosphere and optical fibers. Optical components are used to focus the infrared
radiation or to limit the spectral response.

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Optical lenses made of Quartz, Germanium and Silicon are used to focus the infrared radiation. Infrared
receivers can be photodiodes, phototransistors etc. some important specifications of infrared receivers are
photosensitivity, detectivity and noise equivalent power. Signal processing is done by amplifiers as the output of
infrared detector is very small.

Types of IR Sensors

Infrared sensors can be passive or active. Passive infrared sensors are basically Infrared detectors. Passive
infrared sensors do not use any infrared source and detects energy emitted by obstacles in the field of view.
They are of two types: quantum and thermal. Thermal infrared sensors use infrared energy as the source of heat
and are independent of wavelength. Thermocouples, pyroelectric detectors and bolometers are the common
types of thermal infrared detectors.

Quantum type infrared detectors offer higher detection performance and are faster than thermal type infrared
detectors. The photosensitivity of quantum type detectors is wavelength dependent. Quantum type detectors are
further classified into two types: intrinsic and extrinsic types. Intrinsic type quantum detectors are
photoconductive cells and photovoltaic cells.

Active infrared sensors consist of two elements: infrared source and infrared detector. Infrared sources include
an LED or infrared laser diode. Infrared detectors include photodiodes or phototransistors. The energy emitted
by the infrared source is reflected by an object and falls on the infrared detector.

IR Transmitter

Infrared Transmitter is a light emitting diode (LED) which emits infrared radiations. Hence, they are called IR
LED’s. Even though an IR LED looks like a normal LED, the radiation emitted by it is invisible to the human
eye.

The picture of a typical Infrared LED is shown below.

There are different types of infrared transmitters depending on their wavelengths, output power and response
time.A simple infrared transmitter can be constructed using an infrared LED, a current limiting resistor and a
power supply. The schematic of a typical IR transmitter is shown below.

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When operated at a supply of 5V, the IR transmitter consumes about 3 to 5 mA of current. Infrared transmitters
can be modulated to produce a particular frequency of infrared light. The most commonly used modulation is
OOK (ON – OFF – KEYING) modulation.IR transmitters can be found in several applications. Some
applications require infrared heat and the best infrared source is infrared transmitter. When infrared emitters are
used with Quartz, solar cells can be made.

IR Receiver
Infrared receivers are also called as infrared sensors as they detect the radiation from an IR transmitter. IR
receivers come in the form of photodiodes and phototransistors. Infrared Photodiodes are different from normal
photo diodes as they detect only infrared radiation. The picture of a typical IR receiver or a photodiode is shown
below.

Different types of IR receivers exist based on the wavelength, voltage, package, etc. When used in an infrared
transmitter – receiver combination, the wavelength of the receiver should match with that of the transmitter.A
typical infrared receiver circuit using a phototransistor is shown below.

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It consists of an IR phototransistor, a diode, a MOSFET, a potentiometer and an LED. When the phototransistor
receives any infrared radiation, current flows through it and MOSFET turns on. This in turn lights up the LED
which acts as a load. The potentiometer is used to control the sensitivity of the phototransistor.

Principle of Working

The principle of an IR sensor working as an Object Detection Sensor can be explained using the following
figure. An IR sensor consists of an IR LED and an IR Photodiode; together they are called as Photo – Coupler or
Opto – Coupler.

When the IR transmitter emits radiation, it reaches the object and some of the radiation reflects back to the IR
receiver. Based on the intensity of the reception by the IR receiver, the output of the sensor is defined.

Obstacle Sensing Circuit or IR Sensor Circuit

A typical IR sensing circuit is shown below.

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It consists of an IR LED, a photodiode, a potentiometer, an IC Operational amplifier and an LED.

IR LED emits infrared light. The Photodiode detects the infrared light. An IC Op – Amp is used as a voltage
comparator. The potentiometer is used to calibrate the output of the sensor according to the requirement.

When the light emitted by the IR LED is incident on the photodiode after hitting an object, the resistance of the
photodiode falls down from a huge value. One of the input of the op – amp is at threshold value set by the
potentiometer. The other input to the op-amp is from the photodiode’s series resistor. When the incident
radiation is more on the photodiode, the voltage drop across the series resistor will be high. In the IC, both the
threshold voltage and the voltage across the series resistor are compared. If the voltage across the resistor series
to photodiode is greater than that of the threshold voltage, the output of the IC Op – Amp is high. As the output
of the IC is connected to an LED, it lightens up. The threshold voltage can be adjusted by adjusting the
potentiometer depending on the environmental conditions.

The positioning of the IR LED and the IR Receiver is an important factor. When the IR LED is held directly in
front of the IR receiver, this setup is called Direct Incidence. In this case, almost the entire radiation from the IR
LED will fall on the IR receiver. Hence there is a line of sight communication between the infrared transmitter
and the receiver. If an object falls in this line, it obstructs the radiation from reaching the receiver either by
reflecting the radiation or absorbing the radiation.

Distinguishing Between Black and White Colors

It is universal that black color absorbs the entire radiation incident on it and white color reflects the entire
radiation incident on it. Based on this principle, the second positioning of the sensor couple can be made. The IR
LED and the photodiode are placed side by side. When the IR transmitter emits infrared radiation, since there is
no direct line of contact between the transmitter and receiver, the emitted radiation must reflect back to the
photodiode after hitting any object. The surface of the object can be divided into two types: reflective surface
and non-reflective surface. If the surface of the object is reflective in nature i.e. it is white or other light color,
most of the radiation incident on it will get reflected back and reaches the photodiode. Depending on the
intensity of the radiation reflected back, current flows in the photodiode.

If the surface of the object is non-reflective in nature i.e. it is black or other dark color, it absorbs almost all the
radiation incident on it. As there is no reflected radiation, there is no radiation incident on the photodiode and
the resistance of the photodiode remains higher allowing no current to flow. This situation is similar to there
being no object at all.

The pictorial representation of the above scenarios is shown below.

The positioning and enclosing of the IR transmitter and Receiver is very important. Both the transmitter and the
receiver must be placed at a certain angle, so that the detection of an object happens properly. This angle is the
directivity of the sensor which is +/- 45 degrees.

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The directivity is shown below.

In order to avoid reflections from surrounding objects other than the object, both the IR transmitter and the IR
receiver must be enclosed properly. Generally the enclosure is made of plastic and is painted with black color.

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