Types of sensor

Passive and Active Sensors

, sensors convert physical variables to signal
variables. Sensors are often transducers in that
they are devices that convert input energy of one
form into output energy of another form.
Sensors can be categorized into two broad
classes depending on how they interact with the
environment they are measuring.
Passive sensors do not add energy as part of the
measurement process but may remove energy in
their operation. One example of a passive
sensor is a thermocouple, which converts a
physical temperature into a voltage signal. In
this case, the temperature gradient in the
environment generates a thermoelectric voltage
that becomes the signal variable. Another
passive transducer is a pressure gage where the
pressure being measured exerts a force on a
mechanical system (diaphragm, aneroid or
Bordenpressure gage) that converts the pressure
force into a displacement, which can be used as
a signal variable.
For example, the displacement of the diaphragm
can be transmitted through a mechanical gearing
systemto the displacement of an indicating
needle on the display of the gage.
Active sensors add energy to the measurement
environment as part of the measurement
process. An example of an active sensor is a
radar or sonar system, where the distance to
some object is measured by actively sending out
a radio (radar) or acoustic (sonar) wave to
reflect off of some object and measure its range
from the sensor.
Analog sensors provide a signal that is
continuous in both its magnitude and its
temporal (time) or spatial (space) content. The
defining word for analog is “continuous.” If a
sensor provides a continuous output signal that
is directly proportional to the input signal, then
it is analog.
Most physical variables, such as current,
temperature, displacement, acceleration, speed,
pressure, light intensity, and strain, tend to be
continuous in nature and are readily measured
by an analog sensor and represented by an
analog signal. For example, the temperature
within a room can take on any value within its
range, will vary in a continuous manner in
between any two points in the room, and may
vary continuously with time at any position
within the room. An analog sensor, such as a
bulb thermometer or a thermocouple, will
continuously respond to such temperature
changes. Such a continuous signal is shown in
Figure , where the signal magnitude is
analogous to the measured variable
(temperature) and the signal is continuous in
both magnitude and time.
Digital sensors provide a signal that is a direct
digital representation of the measured. Digital
sensors are basically binary (“on” or “off ”)
devices. Essentially, a digital signal exists at
only discrete values of time (or space). And
within that discrete period, the signal can
represent only a discrete number of magnitude
values. A common variation is the discrete
sampled signal representation, which represents
a sensor output in a form that is discrete both in
time or space and in magnitude

Capacitive sensors generate and measure

changes in an electric field caused by either a
dielectric or conducting object in their
proximity.
There are basically two types of capacitive
proximity sensor. One type uses the principle of
a parallel plate capacitor, the other uses the
principle of fringing capacitances [8, 27, 28].
For the parallel plate type proximity sensor, the
transducer forms one plate and the object
measured forms the other plate. The structure of
a parallel plate type proximity sensor and its
typical response are.
The parallel plate type proximity sensor is
widely applied in industry. However, this type
of a sensor has three major limitations:
(1) The object being measured must be
conductive;
(2) The inverse gap-capacitance relationship is
highly nonlinear and
(3) The sensitivity drops significantly in the
case of large gaps.
The second type of capacitive proximity sensor
uses the principle of fringing capacitance [8].
The sensor has two “live” electrodes and the
object being measured does not need to be part
of the sensor system. The target object could be
either conductive or nonconductive. However,
the measurement of distances is affected by the
type of object material. Therefore, separate
calibrations must be carried out for different
materials.