National school of engineer

Sfax

Temperatur
e
ensors
Realised by: Moncef
Essalah

10/09/2020
 Outline

1 Introduction and history

2 thermoresistive sensors

3 Thermoelectric sensor

4 Conclusion

2
 A bit of history
• Temperature measurements and thermometers
– 1600 - thermometers (water expansion, mercury)
– 1650 - first attempts at temperature scales (Boyle)
– 1700 - “standard” temperature scales (Magelotti,
Renaldini, Newton) - did not catch
– 1708 - Farenheit scale (180 div.)
– 1742 - Celsius scale
– 1848 - Kelvin scale (based on Carnot’s thermodynamic
work)
– 1927 - IPTS - International Practical Temperature Scale
 More history - sensors
• Temperature sensors are the oldest
– 1821 - Seebeck effect (Thomas Johann Seebeck)
• 1826 - first sensor - a thermocouple - based on the Seebeck effect
(Antoine Cesar Becquerel)
– 1834 - Peltier effect (Charles Athanase Peltier).
• First peltier cell built in 1960’s
• Used for cooling and heating
– 1821 - discovery of temperature dependence of
conductivity (Sir Humphrey Davey)
• 1771 - William Siemens builds the first resistive sensor made of
platinum
 Temperature sensors - general
• Temperature sensors are deceptively simple
– Thermocouples - any two dissimilar materials, welded
together at one end and connected to a micro-voltmeter
– Peltier cell - any thermocouple connected to a dc source
– Resistive sensor - a length of a conductor connected to an
ohmmeter
• More:
• Some temperature sensors can act as actuators as well
• Can be used to measure other quantities (electromagnetic
radiation, air speed, flow, etc.)
• Some newer sensors are semiconductor based
 Temperature sensors - types
• Thermoelectric sensors
– Thermocouples and thermopiles
– Peltier cells (used as actuators but can be used as sensors)
• Thermoresistive sensors and actuators
– Conductor based sensors and actuators (RTDs)
– Semiconductor based sensors - thermistors, diodes
• Semiconductor junction sensors
• Others
– Based on secondary effects (speed of sound, phase of light)
– Indirect sensing (infrared thermometers - chapter4)
– Expansion of metals, bimetals
 Thermal actuators
• A whole class of thermal actuators
– Bimetal actuators
– Expansion actuators
– Thermal displays
– Sometimes sensing and actuation is combined in a
single device
 Thermoresistive sensors
• Two basic types:
– Resistive Temperature Detector (RTD)
• Metal wire
• Thin film
• Silicon based
– Thermistors (Thermal Resistor)
• NTC (Negative Temperature Coefficient)
• PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient)
 Thermoresistive effect
• Conductivity depends
on temperature
• Conductors and
semiconductors
• Resistance is
measured, all other
parameters must stay R= L
S
constant.
 Thermoresistive effect (cont.)
• Resistance of a length of
R= L
wire S

• Conductivity is: 0
=
1 +  T  T0
• Resistance as a function
of temperature: R T = L 1 +  T  T0
0S
• a - Temperature
Coefficient of Resistance
(TCR) [C]
 Thermoresistive effect (cont.)
• T is the temperature [C ]
• 0 is the conductivity of the conductor at the
reference temperature T0.
• T0 is usually given at 20C but may be given at
other temperatures as necessary.
• a - Temperature Coefficient of Resistance
(TCR) [C] given at T0
Temperature Coefficient of Resistance
Material Conductivity [S/m] Temperature Coefficint of
Resistance (TCR) C
7
Copper (Cu) 5.7-5.9 x 10 0.0039
5
Carbon (C) 3.0 x10 0.0005
6
Constantan (60%Cu,40%Ni) 2.0 x10 0.00001
6
Cromium (Cr) 5.6 x 10 0.0059
Germanium (Ge) 2.2 0.05
7
Gold (Au) 4.1 x 10 0.0034
7
Iron (Fe) 1.0 x 10 0.0065
Mercury (Hg) 1.0 x 106 0.00089
6
Nichrome (NiCr) 1.0 x 10 0.0004
7
Nickel (Ni) 1.15 x 10 0.0069
6
Platinum (Pl) 9.4 x 10 0.01042
-6
Silicon (Si) (pure) 4.35 x 10 0.07
7
Silver (Ag) 6.1 x 10 0.0016
Titanium (Ti) 1.8 x 106 0.042
7
Tungsten (W) 1.8 x 10 0.0056
7
Zinc (Zn) 1.76 x 10 0.0059
7
Aluminum (Al) 3.6 x 10 0.0043
Note: Instead of conductivity [S/m], some sources list resistivity , measured in ohm.meter =
1/ [ m). 1S/m=1/ m
 Other considerations
• Tension or strain on the wires affect resistance
• Tensioning a conductor, changes its length and cross-
sectional area (constant volume)
– has exactly the same effect on resistance as a change in
temperature.
– increase in strain on the conductor increases the
resistance of the conductor (strain gauge)
• Resistance should be relatively large (25W and up)
 Construction - wire RTD
• A spool of wire (length)
– Similar to heating elements
– Uniform wire
– Chemically and dimensionally stable in the sensing range
– Made thin (<0.1mm) for high resistance
• Spool is supported by a glass (pyrex) or mica support
– Similar to the way the heating element in a hair drier is supported
– Keeps strain at a minimum and allows thermal expansion
– Smaller sensors may not have an internal support.
• Enclosed in a glass, ceramic or metal enclosure
– Length is from a few cm, to about 50cm
Glass encapsulated RTDs
 Construction (cont.)
• Materials:
• Platinum - used for precision applications
– Chemically stable at high temperatures
– Resists oxidation
– Can be made into thin wires of high chemical purity
– Resists corrosion
– Can withstand severe environmental conditions.
– Useful to about 800 C and down to below –250C.
– Very sensitive to strain
– Sensitive to chemical contaminants
– Wire length needed is long (high conductivity)
 Thin Film RTDs
• Thin film sensors: produced by depositing a thin layer
of a suitable material (platinum or its alloys) on a
thermally stable, electrically non-conducting,
thermally conducting ceramic
• Etched to form a long strip (in a meander fashion).
• Eq. (3.1) applies but much higher resistance sensors
are possible.
• Small and relatively inexpensive
• Often the choice in modern sensors especially when
the very high precision of Platinum wire sensors is
not needed.
 Tnin film RTDs - (cont.)

• Two types of thin film RTDs from different

manufacturers
• Dimensions are typical - some are much larger
 Some parameters
• Temperature range: -250 C to 700 C
• Resistances: typically 100W (higher available)
• Sizes: from a few mm to a few cm
• Compatibility: glass, ceramic encapsulation
• Available in ready made probes
• Accuracy: ±0.01 C to ±0.05 C
• Calibration: usually not necessary beyond
manufacturing
 Self heat in RTDs
• RTDs are subject to errors due to rise in their
temperature produced by the heat generated in
them by the current used to measure their resistance
• Wire wound or thin film
• Power dissipated: Pd=I2R ( I is the current (RMS) and R
the resistance of the sensor)
• Self heat depends on size and environment
• Given as temperature rise per unit power (C/mW)
• Or: power needed to raise temperature (mW/ C)
 Self heat in RTDs (cont.)
• Errors are of the order of 0.01C/mW to
10C/mW (100mW/C to 0.1mW/C)
• Given in air and in water
– In water values are lower (opposite if mW/C used)
• Self heat depends on size and environment
– Lower in large elements, higher in small elements
– Important to lower the current as much as possible
 Response time in RTDs
• Response time
• Provided as part of data sheet
• Given in air or in water or both, moving or stagnant
• Given as 90%, 50% (or other) of steady state
• Generally slow
• Wire RTDs are slower
• Typical values
– 0.5 sec in water to 100 sec in moving air
 Silicon Resistive Sensors
• Conduction in semiconductors
• Valence electrons
– Bound to atoms in outer layers (most electrons in pure semiconductors)
– Can be removed through heat (band gap energy)
– When removed they become conducting electrons (conduction band)
– A pair is always released - electron and hole
• Conductivity of semiconductors is temperature
dependent
– Conductivity increases with temperature
– Limited to a relatively small temperature range
 Silicon Resistive Sensors (cont.)
• Pure silicon:
• NTC device - negative temperature coefficient
– Resistance decreases with temperature
– Resistance in pure silicon is extremely high
– Need to add impurities to increase carrier density
– N type silicon - add arsenic (As) or antimony (Sb)
• Behavior changes:
– Resistance increases up to a given temperature (PTC)
– Resistance decreases after that (NTC)
– PTC up to about 200 C
Resistance of silicon resistive sensor
Resistance of silicon resistive sensor - specific
device
 Silicon resistive sensors
• Silicon resistive sensors are somewhat nonlinear
and offer sensitivities of the order 0.5-0.7 %/C.
• Can operate in a limited range of temperatures
like most semiconductors devices based on silicon
• Maximum range is between –55C to +150C.
• Typical range: - 45C to +85C or 0C to +80C
• Resistance: typically 1k at 25 C.
• Can be calibrated in any temperature scale
• Made as a small chip with two electrodes and
encapsulated in epoxy, metal cans etc.
 Thermoelectric sensors
• Among the oldest sensors (over 150 years)
• Some of the most useful and most common
• Passive sensors: they generate electrical emfs
(voltages) directly
– Measure the voltage directly.
– Very small voltages - difficult to measure
– Often must be amplified before interfacing
– Can be influenced by noise
 Thermoelectric sensors (cont.)
• Simple, rugged and inexpensive
• Can operate on almost the entire range of
temperature from near absolute zero to about
2700C.
• No other sensor technology can match even a
fraction of this range.
• Can be produced by anyone with minimum skill
• Can be made at the sensing site if necessary
 Thermoelectric sensors (cont.)
• Only one fundamental device: the thermocouple
• There are variations in construction/materials
– Metal thermocouples
– Thermopiles - multiple thermocouples in series
– Semiconductor thermocouples and thermopiles
– Peltier cells - special semiconductor thermopiles used as
actuators (to heat or cool)
 Thermoelectric effect
• The Seebeck effect (1821)
• Seebeck effect is the sum of two other effects
– The Peltier effect
– The Thomson effect
• The Peltier effect: heat generated or absorbed at the
junction of two dissimilar materials when an emf exists
across the junction due to the current produced by this
emf in the junction.
– By connecting an external emf across the junction
– By the emf generated by the junction itself.
– A current must flow through the junction.
– Applications in cooling and heating
– Discovered in 1834
 Thermoelectric effect (cont.)

• The Thomson effect (1892): a current carrying

wire if unevenly heated along its length will
either absorb or radiate heat depending on
the direction of current in the wire (from
hot to cold or from cold to hot).
– Discovered in 1892 by William Thomson (Lord
Kelvin).
 Thermoelectric effect (cont.)

• The Seebeck effect: an emf produced across the

junction of two dissimilar conducting materials
connected together.
• The sum of the Peltier and the Thomson effects
• The first to be discovered and used (1821)
• The basis of all thermoelectric sensors
• Peltier effect is used in Thermoelectric Generators
(TEG) devices
 conclusion
Sensors fall into two categories: physical sensors and
chemical or biological sensors.
•Physical sensors: used to measure physical variables
such as force, acceleration, pressure, temperature, flow
rate, acoustic vibration, and magnetic field strength.
•Chemical/ biological sensors: used to detect chemical
and biological variables including concentrations of
chemicals, pH, binding strength of biological molecules,
protein–protein interactions , and so forth.