Signal conditioning circuit also provide protection to

measurement systems from possible damage that

may be caused by accidental high voltage, surge, etc.

Signal conditioning circuits improve the quality of

signals generated by sensors before they are
converted into suitable signal, e.g. digital signal.

The information or data generated by a basic

measuring device generally require processing or
conditioning of one sort or another before they are
presented to the observer as an indication or a record.

Introduction

SIGNAL CONDITIONING

CHAPTER 3

For example:The voltage generated by a thermocouple, used as sensor in a

temperature measurement system is very low in level and weak
in power.
Hence, the output of the sensor needs to be conditioned by
proper signal conditioner e.g. instrumentation amplifier.

Signal conditioning in measurement system performs necessary

operations on sensor outputs and conditions the signal to a form
and level necessary to interface with other components of the
measurement system.

Principle Of Signal Conditioning

At the end of the chapter, student should be able to:

Understand the purpose and operations
involved in performing analog and digital signal
conditionings.
Understand the differences between analog and
digital signal conditionings
Describe some of the main operations in analog
and digital signal conditionings.

Objectives

Getting the signal into the right type of signal. It means

making the signal into d.c. voltage or current. Eg;
resistance change of a strain gauge has to be
converted into a voltage change. (Wheatstone bridge)

2.

Signal conditioning circuits are designed based on

sensor, signal type, signal level, frequency,
environment and distance.
Signal conditioning circuits improve the quality of
signals generated by transducers before they are
converted into digital signals by the PC's dataacquisition hardware.
Examples of signal conditioning are signal scaling,
amplification,
linearization,
cold-junction
compensation, filtering, attenuation, excitation,
common-mode rejection, and so on.

Signal Conditioning Operations

Protection to prevent damage to the next element. Eg;

a microprocessor, due to high current or voltage,
component used may be series current limiting resistor,
fuse, polarity protection and voltage limitation circuit.

1.

5.

4.

The output from the analog signal conditioning is still an

analog signal.

It is primarily utilized for data acquisition, in which sensor

signals must be normalized and filtered to levels suitable
for analog-to-digital conversion so they can be read by
computerized devices.

Analog signal conditioning means manipulating an

analog signal in such a way that it meets the
requirements of the next stage for further processing.

Analog Signal Conditioning

Getting the level of the signal right. The signal from

thermocouple is just a few milivolts. If the signal is to fed
into an ADC as input to uP, it needs to be made into
much larger volts. (Op-amp)
Eliminate or reducing noise. Signal may be susceptible to
electromagnetic radiation which causes noise. Thus
noise need to be removed. (filter)
Signal manipulation, e.g. making it a linear function of
some variables. (flowmeter)

The following are some of the processes that can

occur in conditioning a signal:3.

Signal Conditioning Processes (cont.)

Signal Conditioning Processes

Electrical signals are conditioned so they can be used by

analog input board.
Some analog signal conditioning operations are:1. Buffering
2. Filtering
3. Amplification
4. Modulator
5. Linearization
However, only amplification and filtering are normally
required to prepare the signal for conversion into digital
form.

Common Analog Signal

Conditioning Operations

Filtering : unwanted signal or noise especially in

industrial application is reduced or eliminated using
proper filtering circuit. Combination of resistors,
capacitors & inductors are called passive filters while
using an op-amp with gain & feedback is called active
filter.

Buffering : basic and straightforward signal conditioning

circuit, op-amp IC is an example of good buffer.

Analog signal conditioning circuit may consists of any of

the following components;

Analog Signal Conditioning Components

11

Linearization : A non-linear output from transducers

must be linearized by using amplifier.

Current buffer - Current buffer is a circuit that is used to transfer current from a
low input impedance circuit to a circuit having high input impedance.

Buffers are classified into voltage buffers and current buffers:

Voltage buffer - A circuit which transfers a voltage from a circuit with high
output impedance to a circuit with low input impedance.

For example, a sensor may have the capability to produce a voltage or current
corresponding to a particular physical quantity it sense but it may not have the
power to drive circuitry it is connected to. In such situations a buffer can be
used. A buffer when connected between the sensor and the succeeding
circuitry easily drives the circuitry in terms of current or voltage according to
the sensor output.

Many transducers have a limited current capability and must be operated into a
high impedance. So buffer amplifier It is required for matching impedances and
thus reducing the loading. It is a circuit which transforms electrical impedance from
one circuit to another. Its main purpose is to prevent the loading of a preceding
circuit by the succeeding one. A basic and straightforward signal conditioning
circuit, op-amp IC is an example of a good buffer.

Buffering

Modulator : Uses ac amplifier to change dc signal to

pulses / square wave signal. There are few types of
modulator used in signal conditioning circuit.

Amplifiers : Op-amp is an example of amplifier that can

perform summing, integration, differentiation and
comparator. The common types of amplifier are noninverting op-amp, and inverting op-amp with feedback.

Analog Signal Conditioning Components

12

10

Active filters can be designed to provide

required gain, and hence no attenuation as
in the case of passive filters
No loading problem, because of high input
resistance and low output resistance of opamp.
Active Filters are cost effective as a wide
variety of economical op-amps are
available.

Advantages Of Active Filters Over

Passive Filters

Filters are circuits that are capable of passing

signals within a band of frequencies while
rejecting or blocking signals of frequencies
outside this band.
This property of filters is also called frequency
selectivity.
Since the output level of sensors is very low, it is
easily susceptible to electromagnetic noise.
Hence, simple amplification is not sufficient and
after amplification it is necessary to eliminate
noise from the signal.

Filtering

15

13

Low-pass

Gain

Gain

High-pass

Basic filter responses are:

Gain

Band-pass

Gain

Band-stop

A filter is a circuit that passes certain frequencies and

rejects all others. The passband is the range of
frequencies allowed through the filter. The critical
frequency defines the end (or ends) of the passband.

Basic filter Responses

Filter are used for the elimination of noise.

Primary purpose of filters is to remove signal
content at unwanted frequencies.
Filters can be passive or active.
Passive filter comprised of resistors, capacitors,
and inductors that require no external supply.
Active filters use resistors and capacitors with
operational amplifiers, which requires power.

Filtering

16

14

0.1 fc

BW

Passband

fc

10 fc

Transition
region
2
0
dB
/

1000 fc

de
ca
de

Vs

R
Vout

0.707

Vo ut (normalized to 1)

fc1

f0

BW

fc2

Vs

Vout

A band-pass filter passes all frequencies between

two critical frequencies. The bandwidth is defined as
the difference between the two critical frequencies.
The simplest band-pass filter is an RLC circuit.

100 fc

Stopband
region

The Band-Pass Filter

60 dB
0.01 fc

40 dB

20 dB

3 dB 0 dB
Actual response of a
single-pole RC filter

19

17

0
2

d
ca
de

0.01 fc

/
dB

0.1 fc

fc

10 fc

Passband

100 fc

Vs

Vout

Gain (dB)

fc1

f0
BW

fc2

Vs

L
Vout
R

A band-stop filter rejects frequencies between two

critical frequencies; the bandwidth is measured
between the critical frequencies. The simplest bandstop filter is an RLC circuit.

The Band-Stop Filter

60 dB
0.001 fc

40 dB

Actual response
of a single-pole
RC filter

Gain (normalized to 1)
0 dB

20 dB

3 dB

The high-pass filter passes all frequencies above a

critical frequency and rejects all others. The simplest
high-pass filter is a passive RC circuit with the output
taken across R.

The low-pass filter allows frequencies below the

critical frequency to pass and rejects other. The
simplest low-pass filter is a passive RC circuit with
the output taken across C.

Gain (normalized to 1)

The Basic High-Pass Filter

The Basic Low-Pass Filter

20

18

The upper cutoff frequency

and voltage gain are given
by:
f OH =

1
2 R 1 C 1

Low-Pass Filter

Av = 1+

Rf
R1

Chebyshev: rapid roll-off characteristic

Bessel: linear phase response

v
Filters with a flat pass-band gain
are commonly used, and such a
response is provided by
Butterworth filters. An another
class of filters called chebyshev
filters, provide a ripple (or
overshoots in)
Butterworth: flat amplitude response
pass-band gain.

o Active filters include one or more op-amps in the design.

o Active filters are mainly used in communication and signal
processing circuits.
o These filters can provide much better responses than the
passive filters illustrated. Active filter designs optimize various
parameters such as amplitude response, roll-off rate, or
phase response.

Active Filters

23

21

The cutoff frequency is determined by:

f OL =

High-Pass Filter

1
2 R 1 C1

Adding capacitors to op-amp circuits provides external

control of the cutoff frequencies. The op-amp active
filter provides controllable cut-off frequencies and
controllable gain.
Low-pass filter
High-pass filter
Bandpass filter
Band-stop filter
Each of these filters can be built using op-amp as the
active element and resistors and capacitors as the
passive elements (frequency selective part). Better filter
performance is obtained by employing op-amps with
higher slew rates and higher gain-bandwidths.

Active Filters

24

22

Signal amplification is carried out when the typical

signal level of a measurement transducer is
considered to be too low.
Amplification by analog means is carried out by an
operational amplifier.
Normally requires to have a high input impedance so
that loading effect on the transducer output signal is
minimized.
When amplifying the output signal from accelerometers
and some optical detectors, the amplifier must have a
high frequency response, to avoid distortion of the
output reading.

Amplifiers

There are two cutoff

frequencies: upper and
lower. They can be
calculated using the same
low-pass cutoff and highpass cutoff frequency
formulas in the
appropriate sections.

Band-Pass Filter

27

25

Most sensors produce very low level signals in the

form of voltage, current or resistance.
If the output of sensor is V or I, the signal
conditioner will use a voltage @ current amplifier.
If the output of a sensor is a change in resistance,
then a bridge circuit is employed for detecting the
changes in resistance and a bridge amplifier is used
for amplifying bridge outputs and improving the
sensitivity of detection.

Amplifiers

One of the most common signal conditioning

functions is amplification.
For maximum resolution, the voltage range of the
input signals should be approximately equal to the
maximum input range of the A/D converter.
Amplification expands the range of the transducer
signals so that they match the input range of the
A/D converter.
For example, a x10 amplifier maps transducer
signals which range from 0 to 1 V into the range 0
to 10 V before they go into the A/D converter.

Amplifiers

28

26

The negative sign

denotes a 180
phase shift between
input and output.

Rf = R1
Rf
Av =
= 1
R1

Constant Gain - Rf is a multiple of R1

Unity gainvoltage gain is 1

Gain can be determined

from external resistors: Rf
and R1
V
R
Av = o = f
Vi R1

Inverting Op-Amp Gain

Operational amplifier or op-amp, is a very high gain

differential amplifier with high input impedance (typically a
few ) and low output impedance (less than 100 W).
Op amp is the basic component in analog signal
conditioning circuit.
Can perform many operations like amplification, addition,
subtraction, integration, differentiation , etc
Note the op-amp has two inputs and one output.

Basic Op-Amp

31

29

Rf
Vo =
V1
R1

Inverting Amplifier

Vo = (1 +

Rf
)V1
R1

Noninverting Amplifier

Inverting/Noninverting Op-Amps

The signal input is applied to the inverting () input.

The non-inverting input (+) is grounded.
The resistor Rf is the feedback resistor. It is
connected from the output to the negative (inverting)
input. This is negative feedback.

Inverting Op-Amp

32

30

v o (t) =

1
v 1 (t)dt
RC

The output is the integral

of the input. Integration
is the operation of
summing the area under
a waveform or curve over
a period of time. This
circuit is useful in lowpass filter circuits and
sensor conditioning
circuits.

Integrator

Realistically these circuits are

designed using equal resistors (R1 =
Rf) to avoid problems with offset
voltages and useful as an
intermediate-stage (buffer)
amplifier to isolate one circuit from
another. Also minimizes interaction
between the 2 stages and eliminates
interstage loading.

The advantages of using a unity gain amplifier:

Very high input impedance
Very low output impedance

Any amplifier with no gain or loss is called a unity gain amplifier.

Voltage Follower

35

33

v o (t) = RC

dv 1 (t)
dt

The differentiator
takes the derivative of
the input. This circuit
is useful in high-pass
filter circuits.

Differentiator

R
R
Vo = f V1 + f V2 + f V3
R2
R3
R1

Because the op-amp has a

high input impedance, the
multiple inputs are
treated as separate inputs.

Summing Amplifier

36

34

Gain set

Gain set

+ Vcm
Vin2Input
2

RG

+ Vcm
Vin1Input
1

R2

R1

A2

A1

R4

R3

A3

Guarding is useful in
applications such as
transducer
interfacing, and
microphone
preamps where very
small signals need
to be transmitted.

Output

R6

Acl = 1 + 2R/Rg

V out = A cl (V in2 V in1 )

R5

Guarding is available in some IAs to reduce noise effects. By

driving the shield with the common-mode signal, effects of stray
capacitance are effectively cancelled.

Instrumentation Amplifiers Guarding

The output voltage is the

closed loop gain set by
RG multiplied by the
voltage difference in the
inputs.

The gain is set by a

single resistor that is
supplied by the user.

Some applications requiring the amplification of very low-level signals, a

special type of amplifier known as an instrumentation amplifier is used.
The first advantage is differential input impedance is much higher.
Common mode rejection capability is much better.
An instrumentation amplifier (IA) amplifies the voltage difference between
its terminals. It is optimized for small differential signals that may be riding
on a large common mode voltages.

Instrumentation Amplifiers

39

37

0
100

10

100

Solution

What is the range of output voltage in the

circuit if the input can vary from 0.1V to 0.5V?

Example

Reading the graph, the BW

is approximately 200 kHz.

What is the BW for a gain of

35?

1000

1k

10k
100k
Frequency (Hz)

1M

The bandwidth of any IA (or op-amp for that matter) is lower for
higher gain. The graph shows the BW for various gains for the
AD622.

Instrumentation Amplifiers

Voltage gain

10M

40

38

10

Solution

Design a first order low pass filter that has a gain of 26 dB and a bandwidth of
500 Hz. In your design, let R1 || R2 and choose C to meet the BW requirement.

Example

43

41

Modulation

as carrier signal, but a square wave pulse

train may also be used.

obtain the modulated signal. Typically a

high-frequency sinusoid waveform is used

Any of these properties can be modified in

accordance with a low frequency signal to

This is done in a similar fashion to a musician modulating a tone

(a periodic waveform) from a musical instrument by varying its
volume, timing and pitch.
The three key parameters of a periodic waveform are its
amplitude ("volume"), its phase ("timing") and its frequency
("pitch").

Modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a

periodic waveform, called the carrier signal, with a modulating
signal which typically contains information to be transmitted.

Solution

What range of output voltage is developed

in the circuit?

What input must be applied to the input of the circuit

to result in an output of 2.4V?

Solution

Example

Example

44

42

11

An important application area of modem computer

systems is that of digital signal processing. This
discipline is concerned with the analysis or
modification of digitally represented signals,
through the use of simple mathematical
operations

Digital Signal Conditioning

Most sensors do not produce outputs in linear relation with the

input.
The non-linear response of sensors can be corrected by
proper signal conditioning technique.
Linearization is necessary when sensors produce voltage
signals that are not linearly related to the physical
measurement.
Linearization is the process of interpreting the signal from the
sensor and can be done either with signal conditioning or
through software.

Linearization

47

45

Multiplexer : very useful in data acquisition system

where only one ADC used for few analog signals.
Sample & Hold : voltage-memory circuit for ADC
process.
Analog to Digital Converter (ADC) : convert the
analog signal into digital form

Digital Signal Conditioning

Elements

The transfer function for many electronic devices, which

relates the input to output, contains a nonlinear factor.
In most cases this factor is small enough to be ignored.
However, in some applications it must be compensated
either in hardware or software.
Thermocouples are the classic example of a sensor that
requires linearization. They have a nonlinear relationship
from input temperature to output voltage, severe enough
to require compensation.
Eg, by varying the gain of an amplifier as a function of
input level or by varying the current in feedback loop of an
amplifier in nonlinear relation with input voltage, certain
sensor output can be linearized.

Linearization

48

46

12

Signal conditioning is an important component of

any complete measurement system.
Regardless which type of sensors used, signal
conditioning can improve the accuracy,
effectiveness, and safety of measurements.
Signal conditioning has the capabilities such as
amplifications, isolation, and filtering.
There are two types of signal conditioning;
analog and digital signal conditionings.

Summary

For a general data acquisition system its schematic block diagram

is as shown below.

Multiplexer

51

49

These are further converted

to digital signals by ADC.

The multiplexer accepts parallel inputs from several channels and

provides one analog output at a time for conversion to digital form.
The individual analog signals are applied
directly or after amplification of signal
conditioning to the multiplexer.

Several analog signals are processed sequentially through a

multiplexer, which is a digitally controlled switch.

Multiplexer

50

13