LECTURE TWO

Transducers

Introduction.
In this lecture the definition of transducer is given, the concept of transducer is explained,
some types and categories of transducers are given, operation principles are discussed and
some common applications for some transducers are also provided.

Objectives:
A transducer is a device that converts a signal in one form of energy to another form of energy or
it may be defined as an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another.

An electrical transducer is a device which is capable of converting the physical quantity into a
proportional electrical quantity such as voltage or electric current. Hence it converts any
quantity to be measured into usable electrical signal. This physical quantity which is to be
measured can be pressure, level, temperature, displacement etc. The output which is obtained
from the transducer is in the electrical form and is equivalent to the measured quantity. For
example, a temperature transducer will convert temperature to an equivalent electrical potential.
This output signal can be used to control the physical quantity or display it.

Transducer has efficiency which is defined as the ratio of the power output in the desired form to
the total power input. Mathematically, if P(in) represents the total power input and P(out)
represents the power output in the desired form, then the efficiency E, is given by:

E = P (out)/P (in)

No transducer is hundred percent efficient; some power is always lost in the conversion process.
Usually this loss is manifested in the form of heat.

TYPES OF TRANSDUCERS

Although functions of transducers are the same, but they can be classified into different types
depending on how they transform energy and on what type of energy they transform.

Types of Transducer based on quantity to be measured

• Temperature transducers (e.g. a thermocouple)
• Pressure transducers (e.g. a diaphragm)
• Displacement transducers (e.g. LVDT)
• Flow transducers

Types of transducer based on the principle of operation

• Photovoltaic transducers (e.g. a solar cell)

• Piezoelectric transducers
• Chemical transducers
• Mutual Induction transducers
• Electromagnetic transducers
• Photoconductors transducers

Types of transducer based on whether an external power source is required or

not.

 Active Transducer

Active transducers are those which do not require any power source for their operation. They
work on the energy conversion principle. They produce an electrical signal proportional to the
input (physical quantity). For example, a thermocouple is an active transducer.

 Passive Transducers

Transducers which require an external power source for their operation is called as a passive
transducer. They produce an output signal in the form of some variation in resistance,
capacitance or any other electrical parameter, which than has to be converted to an equivalent
current or voltage signal. For example, a photo resistor (LDR) or photo cell is a passive
transducer which will vary the resistance of the cell when light falls on it. This change in
resistance is converted to proportional signal. Hence a photocell can be used to measure the
intensity of light.

 Primary Transducers

Primary transducers work on the principle of an input sensor detecting or sensing immeasurable
data, such as mass, heat, depth and density. It then converts the received energy signal into
readable information, usually controlled by an on/off switch. Examples of primary transducers
include thermistors and thermocouples.

 Secondary Transducer

Secondary transducers define how mechanical displacement produces electric signals. eg. Piezo
electric transducers.
Analogue Transducers

Analogue transducers produce a continuous output signal or voltage which is generally

proportional to the quantity being measured. Physical quantities such as Temperature, Speed,
Pressure, Displacement, Strain etc are all analogue quantities as they tend to be continuous in
nature. For example, the temperature of a liquid can be measured using a thermometer or
thermocouple which continuously responds to temperature changes as the liquid is heated up or
cooled down.

Analogue transducers tend to produce output signals that are changing smoothly and
continuously over time. These signals tend to be very small in value from a few micro-volts to
several milli-volts, so some form of amplification is required. Then circuits which measure
analogue signals usually have a slow response and/or low accuracy. Also analogue signals can be
easily converted into digital type signals for use in micro-controller systems by the use of
analogue-to-digital converters.

Digital transducers
Digital Sensors produce a discrete digital output signals or voltages that are a digital
representation of the quantity being measured. Digital transducers produce a Binary output signal
in the form of a logic “1″ or a logic “0″, (“ON” or “OFF”). This means that a digital signal only
produces discrete (non-continuous) values which may be outputted as a single “bit”, (serial
transmission) or by combining the bits to produce a single “byte” output (parallel transmission).

In our simple example above, the speed of the rotating shaft is measured by using a digital
LED/Opto-detector sensor. The disc which is fixed to a rotating shaft has a number of
transparent slots within its design. As the disc rotates with the speed of the shaft, each slot passes
by the sensor in turn producing an output pulse representing logic “1″ or logic “0″ level.

Capacitive transducer
 A parallel plate capacitor

Capacitive transducer work under the principle of a parallel plate capacitor. The capacitance C
between the two plates of capacitive transducers is given by:

C = εo εr A/ d

Where

C is the capacitance of the capacitor or the variable capacitance transducer

εo is the absolute permittivity

εr is the relative permittivity

A is the area of the plates

d is the distance between the plates

The product of εo & εr is also called as the dielectric constant of the capacitive transducer.

It is clear from the above formula that capacitance of the capacitive transducer depends on the
area of the plates and the distance between the plates. The capacitance of the capacitive
transducer also changes with the dielectric constant of the dielectric material used in it.

Thus the capacitance of the variable capacitance transducer can change with the change of the
dielectric material, change in the area of the plates and the distance between the plates.
Depending on the parameter that changes for the capacitive transducers, they are of three types
as mentioned below.

1. Changing Dielectric Constant type of Capacitive Transducers

In this capacitive transducer the dielectric material between the two plates changes, due to which
the capacitance of the transducer also changes. When the input quantity to be measured changes
the value of the dielectric constant also changes so the capacitance of the instrument changes.
This capacitance, calibrated against the input quantity, directly gives the value of the quantity to
be measured. This principle is used for measurement of level in the hydrogen container, where
the change in level of hydrogen between the two plates results in change of the dielectric
constant of the capacitance transducer. Apart from level, this principle can also be used for
measurement of humidity and moisture content of the air.

2. Changing Area of the Plates of Capacitive Transducers

The capacitance of the variable capacitance transducer also changes with the area of the two
plates. This principle is used in the torque meter, used for measurement of the torque on the
shaft. This comprises of the sleeve that has teeth cut axially and the matching shaft that has
similar teeth at its periphery.

3. Changing Distance between the Plates of Capacitive Transducers

In these capacitive transducers the distance between the plates is variable, while the area of the
plates and the dielectric constant remain constant. This is the most commonly used type of
variable capacitance transducer. For measurement of the displacement of the object, one plate of
the capacitance transducer is kept fixed, while the other is connected to the object. When the
object moves, the plate of the capacitance transducer also moves, this results in change in
distance between the two plates and the change in the capacitance. The changed capacitance is
measured easily and it calibrated against the input quantity, which is displacement. This principle
can also be used to measure pressure, velocity, acceleration etc.

Piezoelectric transducer
Piezoelectric transducers are a type of electro acoustic transducer that convert the electrical
charges produced by some forms of solid materials into energy. The word "piezoelectric"
literally means electricity caused by pressure. An early application of piezo transducer
technology occurred during World War I with the use of sonar, which used echoes to detect the
presence of enemy ships.

A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric effect, to measure changes in
pressure, acceleration, strain or force by converting them to an electrical charge.
It was discovered that an electric potential could be generated by applying pressure to quartz
crystals; this phenomenon is known as the piezoelectric effect. When exposed to an electric
potential, piezoelectric materials change shape. This is called inverse piezoelectric effect.

What are Typical Piezo Transducer Materials?

Crystals made from quartz were used as a material for piezoelectric transducers. In the early
1950s, quartz crystals began to give way to piezoelectric ceramic as the primary transducer
material. The advantages offered by a ceramic transducer when compared to other materials
include ceramic’s ability to be manufactured in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, its capability
of operating efficiently at low voltage, and its ability to function at temperatures up to 300 oC.

Tacho generator / Tacho meter

Tachometer is an electromechanical device capable of producing electrical power from

mechanical energy, usually turning of a shaft. When not connected to a load resistance,
tachogenerator will generate voltage roughly proportional to shaft speed. With precise
construction and design tachometer can be built to produce very precise voltage for certain
ranges of shaft speeds, thus making them well suited as measurement devices for shaft speed in
mechanical equipment. A generator specially designed and constructed for this use is called
tacho generator or tacho meter.
By measuring the voltage produced by a tacho generator, we can easily determine the rotational
speed of whatever it is mechanically attached to. One of the more common voltage signal ranges
used with tacho generator is 0 to 10 volts.

Tacho generator can also indicate the direction of rotation by the polarity of the output voltage.
When a permanent magnet style DC generators rotational direction is reversed, the polarity of its
output voltage will shift. In measurement of control systems where directional indication is
needed, tacho meter provide an easy way to determine it.

Tacho meters are frequently used to measure the speeds of electric motors, engines, and the
equipment that they power such as conveyer belts, machine tools, mixers, fans etc.

What is Load Cell

A load cell is described as a “weight measurement device necessary for electronic scales that
display weights in digits.” However, load cell is not restricted to weight measurement in
electronic scales.

Load cell is a passive transducer or sensor which converts applied force into electrical signals.
They are also referred to as “Load transducers”. Load cells use different operating principles,
such as

 Load Cells based on fluid pressure

 Load Cells based on elasticity
 Load Cells based on magneto striction effect or piezoelectric effect
 Load Cell based on strain gauges
However, the only load cells which are prevalent are the load cells based on strain gages. Hence,
the term ‘load cell’ means ‘strain gage-based load cells’. The reason behind the wide adoption of
strain gage-based load cells is their characteristics

1. Highly precise and linear measurements

2. Little influence due to temperature changes.

3. Small size compared with other types of load cells.

4. Long operating life due to lack of moving parts or any parts that generate friction.

5. Ease in production due to small number of components.

Measurment priniciple

Load cell primarily consists of a spring material and strain gage. Spring material causes strain
due to applied load and strain gage changes its resistance in accordance with the change in strain.

1. Spring Material

The sensing or spring element is the main structural component of the load cell. The element is
designed in such a way that it develops a strain, directly proportional to the load applied. When
external force is applied, a molecular force works between the molecules constituting the object,
generating an internal force that tries to prevent the deformation by the applied force. When the
external force is balanced with the internal force generated inside the object, the deformation of
the object ceases. At this moment, the internal force per unit area that is generated on the cross
section of the object is called the “stress” and the change in dimensions per unit original
dimensions is called “strain”. The spring material develops the strain in proportion to applied
force.

Nickel-chrome-molybdenum steel, stainless steel, and aluminium steel are some of the common
materials meet the requirements for the manufacture of springs used in strain gauges.

2.Strain Gage

Strain gages utilize the principle of change in resistance of many metals when they are elongated

or contracted.
Since resistance depends upon the resistivity, length and cross sectional area of the material, the
same metallic wire will have different electrical resistance depending on whether it is elongated
or contracted. The longer the metallic string becomes, the larger the resistance. The strain gauge
utilizes this principle and is defined as a device whose electrical resistance varies in proportion to
the amount of strain in the device.

The metallic strain gauge consists of a very fine wire or, more commonly, metallic foil arranged
in a grid pattern. The grid pattern maximizes the amount of metallic wire or foil subject to strain
in the parallel direction. The cross sectional area of the grid is minimized to reduce the effect of
shear strain and Poisson Strain. The grid is bonded to a thin backing, called the carrier, which is
attached directly to the test specimen. Therefore, the strain experienced by the test specimen is
transferred directly to the strain gauge, which responds with a linear change in electrical
resistance. Strain gauges are available commercially with nominal resistance values from 30  to
3000 , with 120 , 350  and 1000  being the most common values.

A load cell is made by bonding strain gauges to a spring material. To efficiently detect the strain,
strain gauges are bonded to the position on the spring material where the strain is maximum.
When the stress caused by applied force to an object is below the proportional limit, the strain
varies linearly with the stress and the resistance value of the strain gauge varies linearly with the
deformation.

While there are several methods of measuring strain, the most common is with a strain gage, a
device whose electrical resistance varies in proportion to the amount of strain in the device. The
most widely used gage is the bonded metallic strain gage.
 It is very important that the strain gage be properly mounted onto the test specimen so that the
strain is accurately transferred from the test specimen, through the adhesive and strain gage
backing, to the foil itself.

A fundamental parameter of the strain gage is its sensitivity to strain, expressed quantitatively as
the gage factor (GF). Gage factor is defined as the ratio of fractional change in electrical
resistance to the fractional change in length (strain):

The gage factor for metallic strain gages is typically around 2.

Strain Gage Measurement

In order to measure small changes in resistance, strain gages are almost always used
in a bridge configuration with a voltage excitation source. The general Wheatstone
bridge, illustrated in the below figure, consists of four resistive arms with an
excitation voltage, Vs, that is applied across the bridge.

Wheatstone bridge

The output voltage of the bridge, VO, is equal to:

Vo = R3 - R2

R3 + R 4 R1 + R 2
From this equation, it is apparent that when R1/R2 = R4/R3, the voltage output VO is zero. Under
these conditions, the bridge is said to be balanced. Any change in resistance in any arm of the
bridge results in a nonzero output voltage.

The Audio Sound Transducer

Sound is the general name given to “acoustic waves”. These acoustic waves have frequencies
ranging from just 1Hz up to many tens of thousands of Hertz with the upper limit of human
hearing being around the 20 kHz range. The sound that we hear is basically made up from
mechanical vibrations produced by an audio sound transducer used to generate the acoustic
waves, and for sound to be “heard” it requires a medium for transmission either through the air, a
liquid, or a solid.

Sound Transducer

Also, the actual sound need not be a continuous frequency sound wave such as a single tone or a
musical note, but may be an acoustic wave made from a mechanical vibration, noise or even a
single pulse of sound such as a “bang”.

Audio Sound Transducers include both input sensors, that convert sound into and electrical
signal such as a microphone, and output actuators that convert the electrical signals back into
sound such as a loudspeaker.

We tend to think of sound as only existing in the range of frequencies detectable by the human
ear, from 20Hz up to 20kHz (a typical loudspeaker frequency response), but sound can also
extend way beyond these ranges.

Sound transducers can detect and transmit sound waves and vibrations from very low
frequencies called infra-sound up to very high frequencies called ultrasound. But in order for a
sound transducer to either detect or produce “sound” we first need to understand what sound is.

What is Sound?

Sound is basically a waveform of energy that is produced by some form of a mechanical

vibration such as a tuning fork, and which has a “frequency” determined by the origin of the
sound for example, a bass drum has a low frequency sound while a cymbal has a higher
frequency sound.

A sound wave has the same characteristics as that of an electrical waveform which are
wavelength (λ), frequency (ƒ) and velocity (m/s). Both the sounds frequency and wave shape
are determined by the origin or vibration that originally produced the sound but the velocity is
dependent upon the medium of transmission (air, water etc.) that carries the sound wave. The
relationship between wavelength, velocity and frequency is given below as:

Sound Wave Relationship

Frequency, (f) = velocity (m/s1 ) in Hertz

wavelength (λ)

 Where:
 Wavelength – is the time period of one complete cycle in Seconds.
 Frequency – is the number of wavelengths per second in Hertz.
 Velocity – is the speed of sound through a transmission medium in m/s -1.

The Microphone (Input Transducer)

The microphone is a sound transducer that can be classed as a “sound sensor”. This is because it
produces an electrical analogue output signal which is proportional to the “acoustic” sound wave
acting upon its flexible diaphragm. This signal is an “electrical image” representing the
characteristics of the acoustic waveform. Generally, the output signal from a microphone is an
analogue signal either in the form of a voltage or current which is proportional to the actual
sound wave.

The most common types of microphones available as sound transducers are Dynamic, Ribbon
and the newer Piezo-electric Crystal types. Typical applications for microphones as a sound
transducer include audio recording, reproduction, broadcasting as well as telephones, television,
digital computer recording and body scanners, where ultrasound is used in medical applications.
An example of a simple “Dynamic” microphone is shown below.

Dynamic Moving-coil Microphone Sound Transducer

The construction of a dynamic microphone resembles that of a loudspeaker, but in reverse. It is a

moving coil type microphone which uses electromagnetic induction to convert the sound waves
into an electrical signal. It has a very small coil of thin wire suspended within the magnetic field
of a permanent magnet. As the sound wave hits the flexible diaphragm, the diaphragm moves
back and forth in response to the sound pressure acting upon it causing the attached coil of wire
to move within the magnetic field of the magnet.

The movement of the coil within the magnetic field causes a voltage to be induced in the coil as
defined by Faraday’s law of electromagnetic Induction. The resultant output voltage signal from
the coil is proportional to the pressure of the sound wave acting upon the diaphragm so the
louder or stronger the sound wave the larger the output signal will be, making this type of
microphone design pressure sensitive.

As the coil of wire is usually very small the range of movement of the coil and attached
diaphragm is also very small producing a very linear output signal which is 90 o out of phase to
the sound signal. Also, because the coil is a low impedance inductor, the output voltage signal is
also very low so some form of “pre-amplification” of the signal is required.
As the construction of this type of microphone resembles that of a loudspeaker, it is also possible
to use an actual loudspeaker as a microphone. Obviously, the average quality of a loudspeaker
will not be as good as that for a studio type recording microphone. Also the coils impedance of a
typical loudspeaker is different at between 8 to 16Ω. Common applications where speakers are
generally used as microphones are in intercoms and walki -talkies.

The Loudspeaker Output Transducer

Sound can also be used as an output device to produce an alert noise or act as an alarm, and
loudspeakers, buzzers, horns and sounders are all types of sound transducer that can be used for
this purpose with the most commonly used audible type output sound actuator being the
“Loudspeaker“.

Loudspeaker Transducer

Loudspeakers are audio sound transducers that are classed as “sound actuators” and are the exact
opposite of microphones. Their job is to convert complex electrical analogue signals into sound
waves being as close to the original input signal as possible.

Loudspeakers are available in all shapes, sizes and frequency ranges with the more common
types being moving coil, electrostatic etc. Moving coil type loudspeakers are by far the most
commonly used speaker in electronic circuits, kits and toys, and as such it is this type of sound
transducer we will examine below.

The principle of operation of the Moving Coil Loudspeaker is the exact opposite to that of the
“Dynamic Microphone” we look at above. A coil of fine wire, called the “speech or voice coil”,
is suspended within a very strong magnetic field, and is attached to a paper or Mylar cone, called
a “diaphragm” which itself is suspended at its edges to a metal frame or chassis. Then unlike the
microphone which is pressure sensitive input device, this type of sound transducer can be classed
as a pressure generating output device.

The Moving Coil Loudspeaker

When an analogue signal passes through the voice coil of the speaker, an electro-magnetic field
is produced and whose strength is determined by the current flowing through the “voice” coil,
which in turn is determined by the volume control setting of the driving amplifier or moving coil
driver. The electro-magnetic force produced by this field opposes the main permanent magnetic
field around it and tries to push the coil in one direction or the other depending upon the
interaction between the north and south poles.

As the voice coil is permanently attached to the cone/diaphragm this also moves in tandem and
its movement causes a disturbance in the air around it thus producing a sound or note. If the
input signal is a continuous sine wave then the cone will move in and out acting like a piston
pushing and pulling the air as it moves and a continuous single tone will be heard representing
the frequency of the signal. The strength and therefore its velocity, by which the cone moves and
pushes the surrounding air produces the loudness of the sound.

As the speech or voice coil is essentially a coil of wire it has, like an inductor an impedance
value. This value for most loudspeakers is between 4 and 16Ω’s and is called the “nominal
impedance” value of the speaker measured at 0 Hz, or DC.

Remember that it is important to always match the output impedance of the amplifier with the
nominal impedance of the speaker to obtain maximum power transfer between the amplifier and
speaker. Most amplifier-speaker combinations have an efficiency rating as low as 1 or 2%.

The human ear can generally hear sounds from between 20 Hz to 20 kHz, and the frequency
response of modern loudspeakers called general purpose speakers are tailored to operate within
this frequency range as well as headphones, earphones and other types of commercially available
headsets used as sound transducers.