Transducers

Transducer
a device that converts a primary form of energy into a corresponding signal with a different energy form
Primary Energy Forms: mechanical, thermal, electromagnetic, optical, chemical, etc.

take form of a sensor or an actuator

Sensor (e.g., thermometer)

a device that detects/measures a signal or stimulus acquires information from the real world

Actuator (e.g., heater)

a device that generates a signal or stimulus
real world
ECE 480, Prof. A. Mason

sensor actuator

intelligent feedback system

Sensor:
A sensor is a technological device that detects / senses a signal, physical condition and chemical compounds. It is also defined as any device that converts a signal from one form to another.
Input Signal Sensor Output Signal

Sensors are mostly electrical or electronic.

Detectable Phenomenon
Stimulus
Acoustic

Quantity
Wave (amplitude, phase, polarization), Spectrum, Wave Velocity
Fluid Concentrations (Gas or Liquid)

Biological & Chemical

Electric

Charge, Voltage, Current, Electric Field (amplitude, phase, polarization), Conductivity, Permittivity

Magnetic

Magnetic Field (amplitude, phase, polarization), Flux, Permeability

Optical

Refractive Index, Reflectivity, Absorption

Thermal

Temperature, Flux, Specific Heat, Thermal Conductivity

Mechanical

Position, Velocity, Acceleration, Force, Strain, Stress, Pressure, Torque

Choosing a Sensor

Applications Automobiles Machines Robotics Industry Medicine Aerospace etc.

Examples of sensors Thermometer Thermocouple Phototransistor Photo resistor Microphone Hydrophone etc.

Sensor Performance paprmeters

Range
maximum and minimum values that can be measured

Resolution or discrimination
smallest discernible change in the measured value

Accuracy
accuracy is a measure of the maximum expected error

Precision
a measure of the lack of random errors (scatter)

 Linearity
maximum deviation from a straight-line response normally expressed as a percentage of the fullscale value

Sensitivity
a measure of the change produced at the output for a given change in the quantity being measured

High Surface Area to Volume Ratio

Possibility of High Integration Density Debye Length comparable to the size

NanoSensors
Low Power Consumption Superior Stability owing to Crystallinity Enhanced, Tunable Surface Reactivity

Why Nanosensors
Particles that are smaller than the characteristic lengths associated with the specific phenomena often display new chemistry and new physics that lead to new properties that depend on size When the size of the structure is decreased, surface to volume ratio increases considerably and the surface phenomena predominate over the chemistry and physics in the bulk

The reduction in the size of the sensing part and/or the transducer in a sensor is important in order to better miniaturise the devices
Science of nano materials deals with new phenomena, and new sensor devices are being built that take advantage of these phenomena Sensitivity can increase due to better conduction properties, the limits of detection can be lower, very small quantities of samples can be analysed, direct detection is possible without using labels, and some reagents can be eliminated.

Size and compatibility

Nano sensors deliver real-time information about the antibodies to antigens, cell receptors to their glands, and DNA and RNA to nucleic acid with a complimentary sequence Sensitivity of the conventional biosensors is in the range between 103 and 104 colony forming units (CFU)/ml. The dimensional compatibility of nanostructured materials renders nanotechnology as an obvious choice derived from its ability to detect ~ 1 CFU/ml sensitivity Reduced detection time than conventional methods

Gas sensors

Introduction: Gas Sensor:

Gas sensor is a subclass of chemical sensors.

Gas sensor measures the concentration of gas in its vicinity. Gas sensor interacts with a gas to measure its concentration. Each gas has a unique breakdown voltage i.e. the electric field at which it is ionized. Sensor identifies gases by measuring these voltages. The concentration of the gas can be determined by measuring the current discharge in the device.

Gas sensors

Applications of Gas Sensor: Process control industries Environmental monitoring Boiler control Fire detection Alcohol breath tests Detection of harmful gases in mines Home safety Grading of agro-products like coffee and spices

Gas sensors

Operating parameters:
Operating temperature Operating humidity Disadvantages: Bulky Consume lots of power Require risky high voltage to operate.

Important Sensor Parameters and Requirements

Typical response curve

Response and recovery times

Time interval over which resistance attains a 90% of its saturation value and 10% of its original value For oxidizing gases: Cl2, NOx, CO2 R S= g Ra For reducing gases H2S, CH4, CO, NH3 R S= a Rg

list of gas sensors and their detection principles

Gas Sensors : General requirements

Gas sensors

Gas sensing technologies: Metal Oxide Based Gas Sensors Capacitance Based Gas Sensors Acoustic Wave Based Gas Sensors Calorimetric Gas Sensors Optical gas sensors Electrochemical gas sensors

Gas sensors

Gas sensing technologies: 1. Metal Oxide Based Gas Sensors

Metal oxide sensors are also known as chemiresistors. The detection principle of resistive sensors is based on change of the resistance of a thin film upon adsorption of the gas molecules on the surface of a semiconductor. The gas-solid interactions affect the resistance of the film because of the density of electronic species in the film.

Gas sensors

Gas sensing technologies: 2. Capacitance Based Gas Sensors They measure the change in dielectric constant of films between the electrodes as a function of the gas concentration. The capacitive sensor relies on inter-digitated electrode structures, which correspond to the two plates of a standard capacitor, to monitor changes of the dielectric coefficient of the film. The simple theory behind it is if the dielectric constant of the film is lower than that of the analyte, the capacitance will increase and vice versa.

Gas sensing technologies: 3. Acoustic Wave Based Gas Sensors

Gas sensors

Sound based gas sensors are known as acoustic wave based gas sensors. To launch the acoustic waves, this type of sensor use piezoelectric material either in the thin film form or in bulk form which has one or more transducers on its surface. Then type of acoustic wave generated and device resonant frequency has been determined. Depending on that, it is possible to measure properties, processes, or chemical species in the gas phase, liquid phase, vacuum or thin solid films.

Gas sensors

Gas sensing technologies: 4. Calorimetric Gas Sensors

The principle of calorimetric gas sensors based on change in temperature at catalytic surfaces. It consists of a surface of a film of a catalytically active metal (e.g. Platinum, Palladium or Rhodium) . It burns combustible gases. Heat is generated due to the combustion. This heat is balanced by a reduction in the electrical heating power. Thus the power consumption indicates the concentration of gas.

Gas sensors

Gas sensing technologies: 5. Optical gas sensors

Ellipsometry (Technique for the investigation of the dielectric properties) Spectroscopy (luminescence, phosphorescence, fluorescence, Raman) Interferometry (white light Interferometry, modal Interferometry in optical waveguide structures)

In these sensors a desired quantity is determined by: Refractive index (Speed of the light) Absorbance and Fluorescence properties (of the analyte molecules or a chemo-optical transducing element.)

Gas sensing technologies: 6. Electrochemical gas sensors It consists of: Chemical reactants (electrolytes or gels) Two terminals (an anode and a cathode)

Gas sensors

Anode is responsible for oxidization process and cathode is responsible for reduction process. As a result, current is created. Positive ions flow to the cathode and the negative ions flow to the anode. We can find reducible gases (such as oxygen, nitrogen oxides and chlorine) at the cathode and oxidizable gases (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and hydrogen sulfide) at the anode. The output is directly proportional to the concentration or partial pressure of the gaseous species.

Temperature sensors
Resistive thermometers
typical devices use platinum wire (such a device is called a platinum resistance thermometers or PRT) linear but has poor sensitivity

A typical PRT element

A sheathed PRT

 Thermistors
use materials with a high thermal coefficient of resistance sensitive but highly non-linear

A typical disc thermistor

A threaded thermistor

 pn junctions
a semiconductor device with the properties of a diode (we will consider semiconductors and diodes later) inexpensive, linear and easy to use limited temperature range (perhaps -50C to 150 C) due to nature of semiconductor material
pn-junction sensor

Photo Sensors
Photovoltaic
light falling on a pn-junction can be used to generate electricity from light energy (as in a solar cell) small devices used as sensors are called photodiodes fast acting, but the voltage produced is not linearly related to light intensity

A typical photodiode

 Photoconductive

such devices do not produce electricity, but simply change their resistance photodiode (as described earlier) can be used in this way to produce a linear device phototransistors act like photodiodes but with greater sensitivity light-dependent resistors (LDRs) are slow, but respond like the human eye

A light-dependent resistor (LDR)

Exceptional properties of carbon nanotubes CNT have a high length-to-radius ratio, which allows for greater control over the unidirectional properties of the materials produced they can behave as metallic, semiconducting or insulating material depending on their diameter, their chirality, and any functionalisation or doping they have a high degree of mechanical strength. In fact they have a greater mechanical strength and flexibility than carbon fibres their properties can be altered by encapsulating metals inside them to make electrical or magnetic nanocables or even gases, thus making them suitable for storing hydrogen or separating gases

Schematic structure of a Carbon Nanotube-FET Electrical properties of CNT are sensitive to the effects of charge transfer and chemical doping by various molecules The electronic structures of target molecules near the semiconducting nanotubes cause measurable changes to the nanotubes electrical conductivity Nanosensors based on changes in electrical conductance are highly sensitive but they are also limited by factors such as their inability to identify analytes with low adsorption energies, poor diffusion kinetics and poor charge transfer with CNTs

CNT based Nano Sensors

System Single wall nanotubes (SWNT) Single wall nanotubes (SWNT) Multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) Poly(o-anisidine) (POAS) coated CNT MWNT-SiO2 Target species NH3 and NO2 N2, He, O2, and Ar NH3 Salient feature Sensitive to 200 ppm of NO2, and 1% of NH3. Gas concentrations as low as 100 ppm can be detected Gas concentrations as low as 10 ppm can be detected. The sensor showed a reversible response of few minutes. Nine times increase in sensitivity compared to uncoated CNT Sensor response time is approximately 45 s, 4 min, and 2 min for CO2,O2, and NH3, respectively. The sensor response is reversible for O2 and CO2 , but irreversible for NH3 Senses -D-glucose in solution phase by two distinct mechanisms of signal transduction: fluorescence and charge transfer. Reference Science 287 (2000) 1801. Appl. Phys. Lett. 83 (2003) 2280. J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 36 (2003) L109. Chemical Physics Letters, Volume 383( 56) ( 2004) 617. IEEE Sens. J. 2 (2002) 82.

HCl

CO2, O2 and NH3

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)

-Dglucose

Nat. Mater. 4 (2005) 86.

Poly(vinylferrocene) (PVF) derivatised MWCNTs

Glucose

Glucose concentration in real blood sample can be determined.

The Analyst 131 (2006) 670.