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Sensor:: A Is Used Maintain Sensor's Output Voltage Levels in The Desired Range

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Monalia ghosh
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3 views6 pages

Sensor:: A Is Used Maintain Sensor's Output Voltage Levels in The Desired Range

Uploaded by

Monalia ghosh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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1.

Sensor:
The sensor can be defined as a device which can be used to sense/detect the physical
quantity like force, pressure, strain, light etc and then convert it into desired
output like the electrical signal to measure the applied physical quantity. In few
cases, a sensor alone may not be sufficient to analyze the obtained signal. In those
cases, a signal conditioning unit is used in order to maintain sensor’s output voltage
levels in the desired range with respect to the end device that we use.

In signal conditioning unit, the output of the sensor may be amplified, filtered or
modified to the desired output voltage. For example, if we consider a microphone it
detects the audio signal and converts to the output voltage (is in terms of millivolts)
which becomes hard to drive an output circuit. So, a signal conditioning unit (an
amplifier) is used to increase the signal strength. But the signal conditioning may not
be necessary for all the sensors like photodiode, LDR etc.

Most of the sensors can’t work independently. So, sufficient input voltage should
be applied to it. Various sensors have different operating ranges which should be
considered while working with it else the sensor may get damaged permanently.

Sensor is a device used for the conversion of physical events or characteristics into
the electrical signals. This is a hardware device that takes the input from
environment and gives to the system by converting it.
For example, a thermometer takes the temperature as physical characteristic and
then converts it into electrical signals for the system.
2. Actuator:
Actuator is a device that converts the electrical signals into the physical events or
characteristics. It takes the input from the system and gives output to the
environment.
For example, motors and heaters are some of the commonly used actuators.

Difference between Sensor and Actuator :


SENSOR ACTUATOR

It converts electrical signals into physical


It converts physical characteristics into electrical signals.
characteristics.

It takes input from output conditioning unit of


It takes input from environment.
system.

It gives output to input conditioning unit of system. It gives output to environment.

Sensor generated electrical signals. Actuator generates heat or motion.

It is placed at input port of the system. It is placed at output port of the system.
SENSOR ACTUATOR

It is used to measure the continuous and discrete


It is used to measure the physical quantity.
process parameters.

It gives information to the system about environment. It accepts command to perform a function.

Example: Photo-voltaic cell which converts light energy Example: Stepper motor where electrical energy
into electrical energy. drives the motor.

Types of Sensors:
Let us see the various different types of sensors that are
available in the market and discuss their functionality,
working, applications etc. We will discuss various sensors
like:

 Light Sensor
o IR Sensor (IR Transmitter / IR LED)
o Photodiode (IR Receiver)
o Light Dependent Resistor
 Temperature Sensor
o Thermistor
o Thermocouple
 Pressure/Force/Weight Sensor
o Strain Gauge (Pressure Sensor)
o Load Cells (Weight Sensor)
 Position Sensor
o Potentiometer
o Encoder
 Hall Sensor (Detect Magnetic Field)
 Flex Sensor
 Sound Sensor
o Microphone
 Ultrasonic Sensor
 Touch Sensor
 PIR Sensor
 Tilt Sensor
o Accelerometer
 Gas Sensor

IR LED:
It is also called as IR Transmitter. It is used to emit Infrared rays. The range of these frequencies
are greater than the microwave frequencies (i.e. >300GHz to few hundreds of THz). The rays
generated by an infrared LED can be sensed by Photodiode explained below. The pair of IR LED
and photodiode is called IR Sensor.

Photo Diode (Light Sensor):


It is a semiconductor device which is used to detect the light rays and mostly used as IR Receiver.
Its construction is similar to the normal PN junction diode but the working principle differs from it.
As we know a PN junction allows small leakage currents when it is reverse biased so, this property
is used to detect the light rays. A photodiode is constructed such that light rays should fall on the PN
junction which makes the leakage current increase based on the intensity of the light that we have
applied. So, in this way, a photodiode can be used to sense the light rays and maintain the current
through the circuit.

LDR (Light Dependent Resistor):


As the name itself specifies that the resistor that depends upon the light intensity. It works on the
principle of photoconductivity which means the conduction due to the light. It is generally made up
of Cadmium sulfide. When light falls on the LDR, its resistance decreases and acts similar to a
conductor and when no light falls on it, its resistance is almost in the range of MΩ or ideally it
acts as an open circuit. One note should be considered with LDR is that it won’t respond if the light
is not exactly focused on its surface.

Thermistor (Temperature Sensor):


A thermistor can be used to detect the variation in temperature. It has a negative temperature
coefficient that means when the temperature increases the resistance decreases. So, the thermistor’s
resistance can be varied with the rise in temperature which causes more current flow through it. This
change in current flow can be used to determine the amount of change in temperature. An
application for thermistor is, it is used to detect the rise in temperature and control the leakage
current in a transistor circuit which helps in maintaining its stability.

Thermocouple (Temperature Sensor):


Another component that can detect the variation in temperature is a thermocouple. In its
construction, two different metals are joined together to form a junction. Its main principle is when
the junction of two different metals are heated or exposed to high temperatures a potential across
their terminals varies. So, the varying potential can be further used to measure the amount of change
in temperature

PIR sensor:
PIR sensor stands for Passive Infrared sensor. These are used to detect the motion of humans,
animals or things. We know that infrared rays have a property of reflection. When an infrared ray
hits an object, depending upon the temperature of the target the infrared ray properties changes, this
received signal determines the motion of the objects or the living beings. Even if the shape of the
object alters, the properties of the reflected infrared rays can differentiate the objects precisely.

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