PHYSICS OF SENSORS (18-20 marks)

PHYSICS OF SENSORS (18-20 marks)

• Syllabus
• 1.Resistive sensors :
a) Temperature measurement : PT100 construction, Calibration,
b) Humidity measurement using resistive sensors.

• 2.Pressure sensor: Concept of pressure sensing by capacitive, Flex and

inductive method, Analog pressure sensor : Construction working and
calibration and applications.

• 3.Piezoelectric transducers : Concept of piezoelectricity, Use of

piezoelectric transducer as ultrasonic generator and application of
ultrasonic transducer for distance measurement, Liquid and air velocity
measurement.

• 4.Optical sensor : Photodiode, Construction and use of photodiode as

ambient light measurement and flux measurement.

• 5.Pyroelectric sensors : Construction and working principle, Application of

pyroelectric sensor as bolometer.
PHYSICS OF SENSORS

( Prerequisites: Transducer concept , Meaning of calibration ,Piezoelectric effect.)

What is transducer ?
1.Piezoelectric transducer Mechanical energy Electrical energy

2.Temperature transducer

Senses change in temp & changes to current

3.Ultrasonic transducer
ac current to sound waves of desired frequency.
• Calibration :

Calibration means just the act of comparison with a

standard and does not include any subsequent
adjustment.
 1.Resistive sensors :
a) Temperature measurement : PT100 construction , Calibration
b) Humidity measurement

Displacement/ Resistive electrical signal

heat/humidity sensor (can be measured as voltage or current)

Need power source(passive sensors)

 used in instrumentation
1.Resistive sensors :
a) Temperature measurement : PT100 construction ,Calibration

Resistive Sensors or
Resistance Temperature
Detectors (RTD)
• Resistive Sensors or Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD)
• “The resistance of Temperature changes with respect to temperature”. This
property is utilized for measurement of temperature.
• The resistance thermometer use the change in electrical resistance of conductor
to determine the temperature.
Resistance vs temperature graph is most linear and stable

Extremely resistance to corrosion & chemical attack

Very stable at high temperatures

The cost of device is not much high

Construction of PT100
For platinum sensors in the range from 0 0C to 100 0C,the relationship is almost linear.

For a PT 100, the resistance at 0 OC

is 100Ω, & at 100 0C it is 138.5 Ωs

Change in resistance for each

degree Celsius change is 0.00385 Ω

If we know resistance of the sensing element we can determine the temperature from the
temp. Vs resistance graph
 select
R1= R2 = R3
(limitation)

Resistance through leads 1,2 & resistance element : RT= R1 +R2 +RE

Resistance through leads 2 & 3 : RL=( R2 +R3 )= (R1 +R2 )

Resistance of element : RE= RT-RL

Thus Resistance of the element is correctly measured & temperature can obtained accurately.
Calibration of PT100

For calibration, a Wheatstone's bridge can be used as shown below:

 The sensing element (Rs – PT100) is placed in

one arm of the bridge.

As temperature changes, Rs will change &

galvanometer will show deflection

This deflection can be calibrated to give a

suitable temperature scale.
Advantages: Disadvantages:
Accurate measurement  Expensive
Excellent stability  Needs power source
Very less response time  Self heating may occur
Used for long period of time
Immune to electrical noise
Very small in size
 1.Resistive sensors :
b)Humidity measurement

 Humidity represents the presence of water vapour or molecules.

 Humidity is the measure of the amount of water vapour(moisture) present in air.

 Also known as Hygrometers

 Humidity sensors work by detecting changes that alter electrical current or temperature in
the air.
1.Resistive sensors :
b)Humidity measurement
Humidity measurement using resistive sensors

For constructing a Resistive sensor , a low resistivity materials are used.

This low resistive material is placed on top of two electrodes.

Salt,solid electrolytes & conducting polymers are the examples of resistive

materials used in humidity sensor.
Humidity measurement using resistive sensors

When water is absorbed by the absorbing layer, resistivity between the electrodes changes.

Change in the resistivity is measured by noting the variation in current passed through the
terminals.
Humidity measurement using resistive sensors

Humidity measurement doesn’t measure humidity directly.

Digital sensors are used to measure the changes in resistivity values to calculate the
humidity.

Output can be seen as digital values by interfacing them with microcontrollers such as
Arduino , raspberry Pi boards.
Humidity measurement using resistive sensors

Advantages Disadvantages Applications

 Low cost.  They are sensitive to chemical o In textile industry to
 Small size vapors. detect the humidity in
 If water absorbed has some storage
soluble products, the readings o Used in offices , cars ,
will be affected. meteorology stations
2.Pressure Sensors:
 It act as a transducer, which converts applied pressure into its equivalent
electrical signal(voltage or current)

Pressure
pressure sensor
electrical signal
(can be measured as voltage or current)

Pressure sensors are used for control & monitoring

in thousands of everyday applications in which we
need to measure & control fluid/gas flow, speed ,
water level & altitude
•Types of Pressure Sensors

1
•Capacitive Method

2
•Flex Method

3
•Inductive Method
1.Capacitive Method
• Principle : C= εo εr (A/d)
or C= ε (A/d)

Where
A=Area of plates
d=Distance between plates
o= 8.854  1012 F/m permittivity of free space
r = Dielectric constant of material /relative permittivity
= permittivity of material
 C= ε (A/d)

 When pressure is applied to the

metallic diaphragm, it is deflected
& the value of ‘d’ i.e distance
between the plates changes.

 This causes change in

capacitance.

 The variation in capacitance can

be calibrated in terms of
pressure.
Advantages of Capacitive Pressure Sensor
 Very low power consumption

 Mechanically simple & suitable for use in harsh environments

 Tolerate temporary over-pressure conditions.

Disadvantages

• Non linear output

• High output impedance so careful circuit design is required

2.Pressure Sensing by Flex
 Flex are available in a long strip form. One of
the side of flex is printed with a polymer ink
that has conductive particles embedded on it.

 When a sensor is straight the particles of ink

gives a resistance say some ‘X’ 

 When the sensor is bent in the opposite

direction of ink layer, the conductive particles
move further apart thereby increasing the
resistance say to some ‘Y’ .

 When the force is removed, the bending is lost

and the flex becomes straight again. The
original particle configuration is regained hence
the original resistance ‘X’ is observed
• Pressure Sensing by Flex
Pressure (P) = F/A
3.Pressure Sensing by Inductive Method

The pressure sensing element is attached to

the core.

As pressure changes, the element causes the

core to move inside the coil. As the coil
moves, the inductance of the coil changes.

As the inductance changes, the current

through the coil will change.
3.Pressure Sensing by Inductive Method
Pressure Sensing by Inductive Method
According to Faraday’s law ,time rate of change of flux linked with coil
induces emf. The proposed inductive pressure sensor is based on the
Faraday’s law mentioned above. The induced emf is in the response
to the movement of a core towards a coil. The induce signal is
proportional to the relative changes in the position of core and coil.
3.Piezoelectric transducers :

 Concept of piezoelectricity

 Use of piezoelectric transducer as ultrasonic generator

 Application of ultrasonic transducer

a)distance measurement
b)Liquid and air velocity measurement
Piezoelectric Transducer
 Examples of
piezoelectric ceramics.
Lead zirconate titanate (PZT)

barium titanate (BT)

Quartz is a common
piezoelectric material and the Rochelle salt or Potassium sodium tartrate strontium titanate (ST)
first to be used in a practical
application.
 Fig.(B), showing that the average location of the positive
and negative charges are no longer the same, resulting in
a piezoelectric response.

A crystal material in same material in deformed state

regular/normal state
 Natural frequency of crystal
slab cut is given by

k Y

2t 

Y= Young’s modulus t = Thickness ρ = Density

Piezoelectric Transducer

• When mechanical compression is applied to a crystal like quartz, a voltage proportional to

the applied pressure appears across the crystal. Also, if the faces are subjected to tension
instead of compression, the change is still developed but of the opposite sign. This
phenomenon is known as piezo electric effect.
• Conversely, when a voltage is applied to crystal surfaces the crystal is distorted (i.e.
compression or tension is developed). This is identified as inverse piezoelectric effect
 Use of piezoelectric transducer as ultrasonic generator
Principle : Resonance is obtained between natural frequency of appropriately cut piezoelectric
crystal & a suitable frequency superimposed on it which is generated by oscillator.

Circuit Diagram
Oscillator circuit will develop
the frequency

f= (1/2π) ( 1/L2C)1/2

Natural frequency of crystal

slab cut is given by
k Y

2t 
Y= Young’s modulus t = Thickness ρ = Density
• How it Works ?
• Function of the oscillator is very much similar to magnetostriction oscillator
. Oscillator circuit will develop the frequency
• f= (1/2π) ( 1/L2C)1/2
• Electric field of frequency f is transferred to plates A and B through coil L2
and L.
• Between plates A and B, a crystal of natural frequency  is fixed. For
resonance we take
• f=
• Under this condition crystal will generate oscillations with highest
amplitude
Resonance is obtained between natural frequency of
appropriately cut piezoelectric crystal and a suitable
frequency superimposed on it which is generated by
oscillator
f=
Applications of ultrasonic transducers
1.Distance measurement(pulse-echo method)
Distance= (time X Speed of Sound)/2

Time of flight
b)Application of Ultrasonic Transducer for Liquid and Air Velocity
Measurements

Let time taken by ultrasonic pulse generated by transducer T1 be t1

L L
t1   U  v cos   ......(1)
U  v cos  t1
Similarly time taken by ultrasonic pulse generated by transducer T2 be t2

L L
 t2   U  v cos   ......(2)
U  v cos  t2
 L L
t1   U  v cos   ......(1)
U  v cos  t1

L L
t2   U  v cos   ......(2)
U  v cos  t2

Subtracting (2) from (1)

L L
2v cos   
t1 t 2
L 1 1 
v    
2 cos   t1 t 2 
L  t 2  t1 
v   Using this expression velocity v of fluid can be obtained.
2 cos   t1t 2 
Optical Sensors

An optical sensor converts light rays into electronic signals.

Commonly used optical sensor is a photodiode.

Photodiode : Construction & use of photodiode as ambient light measurement & flux
measurement
Working of Photodiode
Photodiode characteristics:
Use of photodiode as Ambient Light Measurement:
 An ambient light sensor is a component in smartphones, laptop other mobile devices, automotive displays and
LCD TVs.
 It is a photodetector that is used to sense the amount of ambient light(available light) present, and appropriately
dim the device's screen to match it.
 This avoids having the screen be too bright when the user's pupils are adapted for vision in a dark room, or too dim
when the device is used outdoors in the daytime.
 Dimming the screen on a mobile device also prolongs the lifetime of the battery.
 As the current generated when photon are absorbed by photodiode, we expose photodiode to detect & produce an
electrical signal equivalent to the light. This measures the ambient light.
 Optical Sensors – Luminous Flux

 Radiation flux is the measurement of all electromagnetic

radiation emitted(including infrared , ultraviolet & visible)

 Luminous flux is a measure of the total amount of visible

light emitted by a lamp.

 Luminous flux (in lumens) is a measure of the total amount

of light a lamp puts out. The luminous intensity (in
candelas) is a measure of how bright the beam in a
particular direction is. photodiode

 To measure luminous flux, a source of light is kept in a light

proof box along with the photodiode at highly precise
location.
 Pyroelectric Sensors
 Pyro-electricity is the ability of certain materials to generate an electrical potential
when they are heated or cooled.

 Pyroelectric materials are characterised by a permanent polarization which varies with

the temperature. This result in polarization charges to flow in an external circuit.

Pyroelectric crystal: No current when temperature is constant. Pyroelectric crystal: current introduced when temperature changes.
 Application of Pyroelectric sensor as Bolometer
 The Bolometer is a device used for detecting &
measuring power of incident electromagnetic
radiation.

 Pyroelectric sensor can be used a temperature

sensor element.

 In Pyroelectric bolometer, the radiation is made

incident on pyroelectric sensor. As it absorbs the
radiation, heat is generated & its temperature
changes.

 This change in temperature gives rise to temporary

voltage across the pyroelectric sensor. This voltage
change can be calibrated to measure the power of
incident radiation.
Why pyroelectric crystals & piezoelectric crystals cannot be used for
generation of electricity?