Sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical

environment. The specific input could be light, heat, motion, moisture, pressure, or any one of a
great number of other environmental phenomena. The output is generally a signal.

Actuator is device that takes energy and converts it into some kind of motion. It is operated
by a source of energy, typically electric current, fluid pressure, air pressure, and converts that
energy into motion.

A pressure sensor is a device for pressure measurement of gases or liquids. Pressure is an

expression of the force required to stop a fluid from expanding, and is usually stated in terms of
force per unit area. A pressure sensor usually acts as a transducer; it generates a signal as
a function of the pressure imposed. For the purposes of this article, such a signal is electrical.

Pressure sensors are used for control and monitoring in thousands of everyday applications.
Pressure sensors can also be used to indirectly measure other variables such as fluid/gas flow,
speed, water level, and altitude.

Pressure sensors can alternatively be called pressure transducers, pressure

transmitters, pressure senders, pressure indicators, piezometers and manometers, among other
names

Types of presure measurement

Pressure sensors can be classified in terms of pressure ranges they measure, temperature ranges
of operation, and most importantly the type of pressure they measure. Pressure sensors are
variously named according to their purpose, but the same technology may be used under
different names.

Absolute pressure sensor

This sensor measures the pressure relative to perfect vacuum.

Gauge pressure sensor

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This sensor measures the pressure relative to atmospheric pressure. A tire pressure gauge is an
example of gauge pressure measurement; when it indicates zero, then the pressure it is measuring
is the same as the ambient pressure.

Vacuum pressure sensor

This term can cause confusion. It may be used to describe a sensor that measures pressures
below atmospheric pressure, showing the difference between that low pressure and atmospheric
pressure, but it may also be used to describe a sensor that measures absolute pressure relative to a
vacuum.

Differential pressure sensor

This sensor measures the difference between two pressures, one connected to each side of the
sensor. Differential pressure sensors are used to measure many properties, such as pressure drops
across oil filters or air filters, fluid levels (by comparing the pressure above and below the liquid)
or flow rates (by measuring the change in pressure across a restriction). Technically speaking,
most pressure sensors are really differential pressure sensors; for example a gauge pressure
sensor is merely a differential pressure sensor in which one side is open to the ambient
atmosphere.

Sealed pressure sensor

This sensor is similar to a gauge pressure sensor except that it measures pressure relative to some
fixed pressure rather than the ambient atmospheric pressure (which varies according to the
location and the weather)

Pressure sensing technology

There are two basic categories of analog pressure sensors,

Force collector types These types of electronic pressure sensors generally use a force collector
(such a diaphragm, piston, bourdon tube, or bellows) to measure strain (or deflection) due to
applied force over an area (pressure).

 Piezoresistive strain gauge

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 Uses the piezoresistive effect of bonded or formed strain gauges to detect strain due to
applied pressure, resistance increasing as pressure deforms the material. Common
technology types are Silicon (Monocrystalline), Polysilicon Thin Film, Bonded Metal Foil,
Thick Film, Silicon-on-Sapphire and Sputtered Thin Film. Generally, the strain gauges are
connected to form a Wheatstone bridge circuit to maximize the output of the sensor and to
reduce sensitivity to errors. This is the most commonly employed sensing technology for
general purpose pressure measurement.

 Capacitive

Uses a diaphragm and pressure cavity to create a variable capacitor to detect strain due to applied
pressure, capacitance decreasing as pressure deforms the diaphragm. Common technologies use
metal, ceramic, and silicon diaphragms.

 Electromagnetic

Measures the displacement of a diaphragm by means of changes

in inductance (reluctance), LVDT, Hall Effect, or by eddy current principle.

 Piezoelectric

Uses the piezoelectric effect in certain materials such as quartz to measure the strain upon the
sensing mechanism due to pressure. This technology is commonly employed for the
measurement of highly dynamic pressures. As the basic principle is dynamic no static pressures
can be measured with piezoelectric sensors.

 Strain-Gauge

Strain gauge based pressure sensors also use a pressure sensitive element where metal strain
gauges are glued on or thin film gauges are applied on by sputtering. This measuring element can
either be a diaphragm or for metal foil gauges measuring bodies in can-type can also be used.
The big advantages of this monolithic can-type design are an improved rigidity and the capability
to measure highest pressures of up to 15,000 bar. The electrical connection is normally done via
a Wheatstone bridge which allows for a good amplification of the signal and precise and constant
measuring results.

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  Optical

Techniques include the use of the physical change of an optical fiber to detect strain due to
applied pressure. A common example of this type utilizes Fiber Bragg Gratings. This
technology is employed in challenging applications where the measurement may be highly
remote, under high temperature, or may benefit from technologies inherently immune to
electromagnetic interference. Another analogous technique utilizes an elastic film
constructed in layers that can change reflected wavelengths according to the applied pressure
(strain).

 Potentiometric

Uses the motion of a wiper along a resistive mechanism to detect the strain caused by applied
pressure.

 Force balancing
A force-balanced fused quartz bourdon tube pressure sensor, the mirror that should be mounted
to the armature is absent.

Force-balanced fused quartz bourdon tubes use a spiral bourdon tube to exert force on a pivoting
armature containing a mirror, the reflection of a beam of light from the mirror senses the angular
displacement and current is applied to electromagnets on the armature to balance the force from
the tube and bring the angular displacement to zero, the current that is applied to the coils is used
as the measurement

Other types

These types of electronic pressure sensors use other properties (such as density) to infer pressure
of a gas, or liquid.

 Resonant

Uses the changes in resonant frequency in a sensing mechanism to measure stress, or changes in
gas density, caused by applied pressure. This technology may be used in conjunction with a force
collector, such as those in the category above. Alternatively, resonant technology may be
employed by exposing the resonating element itself to the media, whereby the resonant

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frequency is dependent upon the density of the media. Sensors have been made out of vibrating
wire, vibrating cylinders, quartz, and silicon MEMS. Generally, this technology is considered to
provide very stable readings over time.

 Thermal

Uses the changes in thermal conductivity of a gas due to density changes to measure pressure. A
common example of this type is the Pirani gauge.

 Ionization

Measures the flow of charged gas particles (ions) which varies due to density changes to measure
pressure. Common examples are the Hot and Cold Cathode gauges.

Application of pressure sensor

There are many applications for pressure sensors:

 Pressure sensing

This is where the measurement of interest is pressure, expressed as a force per unit area. This is
useful in weather instrumentation, aircraft, automobiles, and any other machinery that has
pressure functionality implemented.

 Altitude sensing

This is useful in aircraft, rockets, satellites, weather balloons, and many other applications. All
these applications make use of the relationship between changes in pressure relative to the
altitude. This relationship is governed by the following equation:

 Flow sensing

This is the use of pressure sensors in conjunction with the venturi effect to measure flow.
Differential pressure is measured between two segments of a venturi tube that have a
different aperture. The pressure difference between the two segments is directly proportional
to the flow rate through the venturi tube. A low pressure sensor is almost always required as
the pressure difference is relatively small.

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  Level / depth sensing
Further information: Level sensor § Pressure, and Depth gauge

A pressure sensor may also be used to calculate the level of a fluid. This technique is
commonly employed to measure the depth of a submerged body (such as a diver or
submarine), or level of contents in a tank (such as in a water tower). For most practical
purposes, fluid level is directly proportional to pressure. In the case of fresh water where the
contents are under atmospheric pressure, 1psi = 27.7 inH20 / 1Pa = 9.81 mmH20. The basic
equation for such a measurement is

where P = pressure, ρ = density of the fluid, g = standard gravity, h = height of fluid

column above pressure sensor

 Leak testing
A pressure sensor may be used to sense the decay of pressure due to a system leak. This is
commonly done by either comparison to a known leak using differential pressure,
Temperature Sensor Types 
Temperature detection is the foundation for all advanced forms of temperature
control and compensation. The temperature detection circuit itself monitors ambient temperature.
It can then notify the system either of the actual temperature or, if the detection circuit is more
intelligent, when a temperature control event occurs. When a specific high temperature threshold
is exceeded, preventative action can be taken by the system to lower the temperature. An
example of this is turning on a fan.
Similarly, a temperature detection circuit can serve as the core of a temperature compensation
function. Consider a system such as liquid measuring equipment. Temperature, in this case,
directly affects the volume measured. By taking temperature into account, the system can
compensate for changing environment factors, enabling it to operate reliably and consistently.

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There are four commonly used temperature sensor types:
1. Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) thermistor
A thermistor is a thermally sensitive resistor that exhibits a large, predictable, and precise
change in resistance correlated to variations in temperature. An NTC thermistor provides a very
high resistance at low temperatures. As temperature increases, the resistance drops quickly.
Because an NTC thermistor experiences such a large change in resistance per °C, small changes
in temperature are reflected very fast and with high accuracy (0.05 to 1.5 °C). Because of its
exponential nature, the output of an NTC thermistor requires linearization. The effective
operating range is -50 to 250 °C for glass encapsulated thermistors or 150°C for standard.
2. Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD)
An RTD, also known as a resistance thermometer, measures temperature by correlating the
resistance of the RTD element with temperature. An RTD consists of a film or, for greater
accuracy, a wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass core. The most accurate RTDs are made
using platinum but lower-cost RTDs can be made from nickel or copper. However, nickle and
copper are not as stable or repeatable. Platinum RTDs offer a fairly linear output that is highly
accurate (0.1 to 1 °C) across -200 to 600 °C. While providing the greatest accuracy, RTDs also
tend to be the most expensive of temperature sensors.
3. Thermocouple
This temperature sensor type consists of two wires of different metals connected at two points.
The varying voltage between these two points reflects proportional changes in
temperature. Thermocouples are nonlinear, requiring conversion when used for temperature
control and compensation, typically accomplished using a lookup table. Accuracy is low, from
0.5 °C to 5 °C.  However, they operate across the widest temperature range, from -200 °C to
1750 °C.
4. Semiconductor-based sensors
A semiconductor-based temperature sensor is placed on integrated circuits (ICs). These sensors
are effectively two identical diodes with temperature-sensitive voltage vs current
characteristics that can be used to monitor changes in temperature. They offer a linear response
but have the lowest accuracy of the basic sensor types at 1 °C to 5 °C. They also have the slowest
responsiveness (5 s to 60 s) across the narrowest temperature range (-70 °C to 150 °C).by means
of utilizing the pressure sensor to measure pressure change over time.

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Temperature Sensor Applications

There are Temperature Sensor applications in many industries including medical, motorsport,
HVAC, agriculture, industrial, aerospace and automotive. Here are some of the specific
temperature sensor applications which we have come across.

 Motors– there are many different aspects of motors and most of these require
temperature measurement to ensure the motor itself does not overheat.

 Surface plates – ring terminal temperature sensors are often used on surface plates as
they can be mounted onto a flat surface and measure temperature effectively.

 Home appliances – kettles, toasters, washing machines, dishwashers and coffee

machines will all contain temperature sensors.

 Computers– within computers there are temperature sensors to ensure the system does
not overheat

 Industrial equipment – temperature sensors used within these applications will need to
be robust as the environment can be very demanding.

 Warming Electrical Radiators – NTC thermistors are used to control the heat on
electric radiators.

 Exhaust Gas Monitoring on Motorsport Vehicles – Motorsport temperature sensors

need to be highly reliable and durable to ensure performance is not compromised in this
harsh environment.

 Food Production; 3D printed chocolates – temperature sensors are used to monitor the
temperature of the melted chocolate for 3D printing.

 Alcohol breathalyser – thermistors are used within alcohol breathalysers to measure the
temperature of the subjects breath.

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