Sensors and Signal Conditioning
Praise for the First Edition ..."A unique piece of work, a book for electronics engineering, in general, but well suited and excellently applicable also to biomedical engineering ...I recommend it with no reservation, congratulating the authors for the job performed." -IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology "Describes a broad range of sensors in practical use and some circuit designs; copious information about electronic components is supplied, a matter of great value to electronic engineers. A large number of applications are supplied for each type of sensor described ...This volume is of considerable importance."-Robotica In this new edition of their successful book, renowned authorities Ramon Pallas-Areny and John Webster bring you up to speed on the latest advances in sensor technology, addressing both the explosive growth in the use of microsensors and improvements made in classical macrosensors. They continue to offer the only combined treatment for both sensors and the signal-conditioning circuits associated with them, following the discussion of a given sensor and its applications with signal-conditioning methods for this type of sensor. New and expanded coverage includes: New sections on sensor materials and microsensor technology Basic measurement methods and primary sensors for common physical quantities A wide range of new sensors, from magnetoresistive sensors and SQUIDs to biosensors The widely used velocity sensors, fiber-optic sensors, and chemical sensors Variable CMOS oscillators and other digital and intelligent sensors 68 worked-out examples and 103 end-of-chapter problems with annotated solutions
Why Read This Book
You will get a practical, hands-on treatment of transducers and the analog front-end issues that determine whether your DSP algorithms see usable data. The book teaches how to choose sensors, design low-noise interfaces, and handle real-world problems (noise, drift, excitation, calibration) that make or break measurement systems.
Who Will Benefit
Engineers and advanced technicians who design sensor front-ends, data-acquisition chains, or biomedical instrumentation and need pragmatic guidance on real-world sensor/interface issues.
Level: Intermediate — Prerequisites: Basic circuit theory and electronics (op-amps, passive components), elementary measurement concepts, and familiarity with ADCs and sampling; some experience with test equipment is helpful.
Key Takeaways
- Identify and explain the operating principles and error mechanisms of common sensors and transducers (resistive, capacitive, inductive, piezoelectric, temperature, strain).
- Design bridge and excitation circuits and implement practical sensor excitation strategies for stable, linear outputs.
- Design low-noise instrumentation amplifiers, chopper/stabilization techniques, and input filtering tailored to sensor outputs.
- Analyze and mitigate noise, offset, drift, nonlinearity, and interference in measurement chains.
- Integrate sensors with ADCs: choose anti-aliasing filters, sample-and-hold considerations, and optimize dynamic range.
- Apply calibration, shielding, grounding, isolation, and practical troubleshooting methods for robust measurement systems.
Topics Covered
- Introduction to sensors and measurement systems
- Static and dynamic characteristics of sensors
- Electrical transduction: resistive, capacitive, inductive methods
- Temperature and thermal transducers (thermocouples, RTDs, thermistors)
- Strain, force and pressure sensors (strain gauges, load cells)
- Piezoelectric, optical and other specialized transducers
- Bridge circuits and excitation techniques
- Signal-conditioning amplifiers and instrumentation techniques
- Filtering, anti-aliasing and sample-and-hold
- Noise, interference and uncertainty analysis
- Analog-to-digital conversion and sensor-to-ADC interfaces
- Calibration, isolation, shielding and biomedical applications
Languages, Platforms & Tools
How It Compares
Covers the sensor-interface and analog front-end focus more thoroughly than Doebelin's Measurement Systems, and is more sensor-centric than The Art of Electronics which emphasizes general circuit technique.
