Instrumentation and Systems

Objectives of todays lecture

Data acquisition.
Signal Conditioning.

Block Diagram

Signal Conditioning

SIGNAL CONDITIONERS
There are many possible functions of the signal-conditioning
stage. The following are the most common:

Amplification
Attenuation
Filtering (highpass, Iowpass, bandpass, or bandstop)
Differentiation
Integration
Linearization
Combining a measured signal with a reference signal
Converting a resistance to a voltage signal
Converting a current signal to a voltage signal
Converting a voltage signal to a current signal
Converting a frequency signal to a voltage signal

More than one signal-conditioning function, such as

amplification and filtering, can be performed on a signal.

Filters

Types of filters

Low-pass filter

Low-pass filter

High-pass filter

Band-pass filter

Band-stop filter

State-variable filters

General Characteristics of Signal Amplification

Many transducers produce signals with low voltages
Signals in the millivolt range are common, and in some
cases, signals are in the microvolt range.
It is difficult to transmit such signals over wires of great
length, and many processing systems require input
voltages on the order of 1 to 10 V.
The amplitude of such signals can be increased using a
device called an amplifier, shown as a block diagram in Fig.
The degree of amplification is specified by a
parameter called the gain, G:

Generic voltage amplifier.

The Inverting/Non-Inverting Amplifiers

18

A Difference Amplifier.

Use superposition to
perform analysis
If (R4 = R2), (R3 = R1) then
Vo = R2/R1 (V2 V1)
Can be used to shift offset

19

Integrator/Differentiator

20

Gain is more commonly stated using a logarithmic scale, and the

result is expressed in decibels (dB). For voltage gain, this takes
the form
Using this formula, an amplifier with G of 10 would have a decibel
gain, Gdb, of 20 dB, and an amplifier with a G of 1000 would have a
decibel gain of 60.
The range of frequencies with
close to constant gain is known
as the bandwidth.
The upper and lower
frequencies defining the
bandwidth, called the corner
or cutoff frequencies,

An amplifier with a
narrow bandwidth will
change the shape of
an input time varying
signal by an effect
known as frequency
distortion.
Although the gain of
an amplifier will be
relatively constant
over the bandwidth,
another characteristic
of the output signal,
the phase angle, may
change significantly.

The voltage input signal to the amplifier:

The output signal will be:

The shape of the signal is

changed dramatically and
shows significant phase
distortion'

This roll off gain at high frequencies is an inherent characteristic of op-amps.

The cutoff frequency, fc, depends on the low-frequency gain of the amplifier-the
higher the gain, the lower is fc . This low-frequency gain-cutoff frequency relationship
is described by a parameter called the gain-bandwidth product (GBP). For most opamp-based amplifiers, the product of the low-frequency gain and the bandwidth is a
constant. Since the lower frequency limit of the bandwidth is zero, the upper cutoff
frequency can be evaluated from

Although the gain is constant over the bandwidth, the phase angle between the
input and the output , , shows a strong variation with frequency.
For the non-inverting amplifier in Figure 3.11, the phase-angle variation with
frequency is given by

Another important characteristic of amplifiers is known as

common-mode rejection ratio (CMRR).
When the same voltage (relative to ground) is applied to the two input terminals, the
input is known as a common-mode voltage . Instrumentation amplifier will produce an
output in response to differential-mode voltages but will produce no output in
response to common-mode voltages.
The measure of the relative response to differential- and common mode
voltages is described by common-mode rejection ratio, defined by

Gdif is the gain for a differential-mode voltage

Gcm is the gain for a common-mode voltage

High-quality amplifiers often have a CMRR in

excess of 100 dB.

Input-loading and output loading are potential problems that can occur when
Using an amplifier (and when using many other signal-conditioning devices)'