Signal conditioning

Filters
 Filters

They are important for separating signals from noise in a measurement.

Low pass filters:

It uses a resistor and a capacitor in a voltage divider configuration.

The output voltage is given by

Vinv R
Z2 Z1  R Vout
Vout  Vin 1
Z1  Z 2 Z2 
iC C
1
1
Vout  iC Vin  Vi
1 iCR1  1
R1 
i C
 Low pass filters
1
The real part of the output signal Vout  Vi n
CR1   1
2

1
Using the relation for cut-off frequency fc 
2RLC
  2f
1
We get the output Vout  2
Vi n
 f 
voltage as a function    1 Vout
of frequency  fc 

1
Vout  Vi  0.71Vi n
11 n

fc f

The phase difference between   tan 1  RC 

input and out voltage is
 High pass filters
It is exactly similar to a low pass filter except the role of the resistor and
capacitor are interchanged.

Vin Vout

The output is taken across C R

the resistance which is
given by R
Vout  Vin
1
R Vout
i C
R 1
Vout  Vi n  Vi n
Its real part is  1 
R2   
2
 f 
1   c 
2

 C   f 

The phase difference between f

 1 
fc
input and out voltage is   tan 1  
  RC 
 Band Pass Filter
By combining low pass and high pass filter we can make a band
pass filter

C1 R2
-
Vin OPAM
+ Vout
C2
R1

High pass Low pass

The purpose of operational amplifier (OPAMP) in the middle is to isolate the low pass
and high pas filter so that they don’t load each other. It simply acts like a buffer.
 Band pass output

 1   iR1C1 
Vo    Vin
 iR2 C 2  1  iR1C1  1

Low pass high pass

Vout 0.71Vin

Band pass

f1 f2 f
• Operational Amplifiers

• Operational Amplifiers is an electronic device which

increases the size of voltage or current signal without
altering the signal’s basic characteristics.
• The operational amplifier has emerged as a basic building
block in electronic circuits and is made up of many
transistors fabricated on a processor chip.
• Its use arises from its ability to provide accurate and stable
results under a wide range of operational conditions.
• It is also characterized by very high gain, high input
impedance, and very low output impedance. Without feedback,
the amplifier would be unstable because of its excessive gain.
 The ideal op amp
An op amp is basically a voltage-controlled voltage
source

Vin
+
Rout
Rin Vout
A 0 (v in   v in  )

Vin
The op amp is ideal
-
when
A0 = Rin = ∞, Rout = 0
vo = Avid = A (v1-v2) (2.9)
• An operational amplifier, or op-amp, is a very high gain differential
amplifier with high input impedance and low output impedance.

• Typical uses of the operational amplifier are to provide Voltage

amplitude changes (amplitude and polarity), oscillators, filter circuits,
and many types of instrumentation circuits.

• Operational amplifiers (op-amps) are termed operational because of

their early growth in a computing area—mainly to perform
mathematical operations.
 OPAMs Properties
1. Two inputs: one is inverting (-) and other is non-inverting (+)
2. A high input resistance ( of the order of 100s M or G )
3. A low output resistance ( a fraction of ) Vin -Z
4. A low input offset voltage (few mV or V)
+ Vout
5. A low input bias current ( few pA or even less)
6. A very high open loop gain ( of the order of 104 to 106) AOL
OPAM must be able to amplify a voltage difference Vin between the two input
terminal by a factor of AOL
7. A high common mode rejection ratio (CMRR), that is the amplifier suppresses the

in-phase equal magnitude input signals (common-mode signals) Vcm applied to its
both inputs.
8. Low intrinsic noise
9. A broad operating frequency range
10. A low sensitivity to variations in the input power supply voltage
 Golden rules of OPAMs

1. No current flows into the inputs of the OPAMs

2. When configured for negative feedback , the output will
be what ever value makes the input voltages equal.
3. Broad operating frequency range.
4. High common mode rejection ratio.

Lets us use these rules to analyze various circuits

Non-inverting Amplifier

R1 R2
A Vout

Vin
+
B

1. According to rule 2, we have VA=Vin

R1
VA  Vout
2. Since VA comes from a voltage divider, R1  R2
R1
Vin  Vout
3. Therefore R1  R2

Vout R1  R2 R
4. Voltage gain   1 2
Vin R1 R1
If R2=0, unit gain
amplifier
 Inverting Amplifier
Vout
I 
R2
Vin
Vin I
R1
A R2 Vout
R1
B
+

Note that point B is grounded, therefore according to rule 2, point A is also

grounded

Since current flowing from input to output is constant ( rule 1) so

Therefore the voltage gain. Vout R2 Vout V

So output voltage is opposite of    in
Vin R1 R2 R1
the input voltage
2 Inverting Amplifier
The signal is applied to the inverting terminal
through a resistor R1 with the non-inverting input
connected to the ground. This results in an output
that is out of phase with the input. A feedback path
is provided from the output, through the resistor
RF, and to the inverting input. It is to be noted that,
since the input terminal is at ground potential, then
the input terminal also must be at the ground;
therefore,
 Integrator
dq
Current is given by I in 
dt

C
R
Vout
Vin

Vin
The charge on the capacitor can be calculated as q   I in dt   dt
R
Because inverting input( left hand side of C) is at ground
potential , output voltage is negative and given by
q 1 Vin 1
Vout     dt   Vin dt
Vout is integral of the Vin C C R RC
 Differentiator Amplifier
By interchanging the position of capacitor and resistor, the
integrator amplifier becomes differentiator amplifier

C R
Vout

Vin
+
B

Current I in  dq The charge on the capacitor is given by q  CVi n

dt
dCVin dV V
The current becomes I in   C in   out
dt dt R
dVin
The output voltage is differential of the input voltage Vout   RC
dt
 Charge to voltage converter

Sensor
r

Vout
Q +

Charge amplifier or charge to voltage converter are employed to

convert to voltage signals from capacitive sensors, quantum
detectors, pyroelectric sensors and other devices which generate
very low charges ( pico-Coulombs pC) or small currents (pA)
 Instrumentation Amplifier

In contrast to OpAmp it has finite gain but still an Instn Amp has two inputs and
one output
R2 10k R3 190k
+

R 10k

V Ra 1k
Vout
+
R 10k

+ R3 190k

 2 R  R3
A  1  
Vout  A(V  V )  AV Where gain is  R a  R2
 Instrumentation Amplifier
• A circuit providing an output based on the difference between two inputs (times
a scale factor) is shown. A potentiometer is provided to permit adjusting the
scale factor of the circuit. While three op-amps are used, a single-quad op-amp
IC is all that is necessary (other than the resistor components). The output
voltage can be shown to be

The output signals of transducers are rarely at the levels required for the job at
hand. The desired signal is often achieved using a versatile amplifier known as an
instrumentation amplifier. The gain of this amplifier can be precisely set by the
addition of a single External resistor, and it has a very high input resistance. It also
has the ability to amplify small signals in the presence of noise.
• Important Points

• It is a differential amplifier that has been outfitted with input buffer

amplifiers, which eliminate the need for input impedance matching and thus
make the amplifier particularly suitable for use in measurement and test
equipment.
• The characteristics of the instrumentation amplifier are high input
resistance and their ability to amplify small signals in the presence of noise.

• Amplifiers are susceptible to errors, such as nonlinearity errors, hysteresis

errors and thermal stability errors. The three-op-amp configuration for
instrumentation amplifiers is a popular design.

• Some models of instrumentation amplifiers are provided with power supply

and digitally programmable resistor network units. Since the gain of these
units can be changed in conjunction with data acquisition systems, they are
known as programmable gain instrumentation amplifiers.

• Instrumentation amplifiers are generally used in situations where high

sensitivity, accuracy and stability are required. 
Advantages and Dis-advanatges of Smart
Sensors: Advantages
• The smart sensor takes over the conditioning and control of
the sensor signal, reducing the load on the central control
system, allowing faster system operation.
• Direct digital control provides high accuracy, not
achievable with analog control systems and central
processing.
• The cost of smart sensor systems is presently higher than
that of conventional systems, but when the cost of
maintenance, ease of programming, ease of adding new
sensors is taken into account, the long- term cost of smart
sensor systems is less.
• Individual controllers can monitor and control more than
one process variable.
 Disadvantages
• If upgrading to smart sensors, care has to be taken when
mixing old devices with new sensors, since they may not
be compatible.
• If a bus wire fails, the total system is down, which is not
the case with discrete wiring. However, with discrete
wiring, if one sensor connection fails, it may be necessary
to shut the system down. The problem of bus wire failure
can be alleviated by the use of a redundant backup bus.
Excitation
 Thank you
ALL THE BEST FOR
THE MID TERM EXAM !!!