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handbook of modern sensors

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204 5 Interface Electronic Circuits<br />

which is independent <strong>of</strong> any resistances r <strong>of</strong> the connecting wires. The four-wire<br />

method is a very powerful means <strong>of</strong> measuring the resistances <strong>of</strong> remote detectors<br />

and is used in industry and science quite extensively.<br />

5.8.3 Six-Wire Sensing<br />

When a Wheatstone bridge circuit is remotely located, voltage across the bridge plays<br />

an important role in the bridge temperature stability, as was shown in Section 5.7. That<br />

voltage <strong>of</strong>ten should be either measured or controlled. Long transmitting wires may<br />

introduce unacceptably high resistance in series with the bridge excitation voltage,<br />

which interferes with the temperature compensation. The problem may be solved by<br />

providing two additional wires to feed the bridge with voltage and to dedicate two<br />

wires to measuring the voltage across the bridge (Fig. 5.43B). The actual excitation<br />

voltage across the bridge and the bridge differential output voltage are measured<br />

by a high-input impedance voltmeter with negligibly small input currents. Thus, the<br />

accurate bridge voltages are available at the data processing site without being affected<br />

by the long transmission lines.<br />

5.9 Noise in Sensors and Circuits<br />

Noise in <strong>sensors</strong> and circuits may present a substantial source <strong>of</strong> errors and should<br />

be seriously considered. “Like diseases, noise is never eliminated, just prevented,<br />

cured, or endured, depending on its nature, seriousness, and the cost/difficulty <strong>of</strong><br />

treating” [11]. There are two basic classifications <strong>of</strong> noise for a given circuit: inherent<br />

noise, which is noise arising within the circuit, and interference (transmitted) noise,<br />

which is noise picked up from outside the circuit.<br />

Any sensor, no matter how well it was designed, never produces an electric signal<br />

which is an ideal representation <strong>of</strong> the input stimulus. Often, it is a matter <strong>of</strong> judgment<br />

to define the goodness <strong>of</strong> the signal. The criteria for this are based on the specific<br />

requirements to accuracy and reliability. Distortions <strong>of</strong> the output signal can be either<br />

systematic or stochastic. The former are related to the sensor’s transfer function, its<br />

linearity, dynamic characteristics, and so forth.All are the result <strong>of</strong> the sensor’s design,<br />

manufacturing tolerances, material quality, and calibration. During a reasonably short<br />

time, these factors either do not change or drift relatively slowly. They can be well<br />

defined, characterized, and specified (see Chapter 2). In many applications, such a<br />

determination may be used as a factor in the error budget and can be taken into<br />

account. Stochastic disturbances, on the other hand, <strong>of</strong>ten are irregular, unpredictable<br />

to some degree, and may change rapidly. Generally, they are termed noise, regardless<br />

<strong>of</strong> their nature and statistical properties. It should be noted that the word noise, in<br />

association with audio equipment noise, is <strong>of</strong>ten mistaken for an irregular, somewhat<br />

fast-changing signal. We use this word in a much broader sense for all disturbances,<br />

either in stimuli, environment, or components <strong>of</strong> <strong>sensors</strong> and circuits from dc to the<br />

upper operating frequencies.

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