08 - Chapter 1
08 - Chapter 1
08 - Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
The essence of engineering lies in making improvements in every walk of life, thus
taking the world from ‘what is’ to ‘what could be’. The feats in science and technology
have, over the years, made it possible to better understand the world we live in and
build insights as to how it can be elevated through engineering. To make even the
smallest improvement to any process, product or system, in any field, the most efficient
approach is to quantify the parameters of interest. As the eminent engineer and natural
philosopher Lord Kelvin put it, ‘If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it’.
Practical experience sets certain criteria that the chosen measurement method needs to
fulfil because a measurement is useful only if the adopted method gives a numerical
value that lies within the acceptable percentage of error for the intended application.
This understanding has given birth to the ever-expanding role of sensors in every field
of human endeavor.
Sensors are to machines what the sense organs are to human beings. They translate
external physical stimuli into a form that is understandable to the machine. Thus,
electrical quantity [1]. There are a wide variety of sensors to measure every parameter
of significance. They can be classified based on different criteria: (a) Power supply –
active or passive, (b) Output signal – analog or digital, and (c) Operating mode –
The classical sensor unit, as shown in Fig. 1.1, consists of the sensing element, followed
measurand manipulates the sensing element. The resultant signal embeds information
Fig. 1.1 Classical sensor unit
about the measurand. This is extracted by the signal conditioning block that typically
provides an analog output. It is subsequently digitized by the ADC block, whose digital
good as its signal conditioning circuit (including the ADC), as it is this block that
mainly determines the overall sensitivity, linearity, power consumption, accuracy, and
ease of interfacing the sensor with digital systems for automation, analysis, and control.
A sensor unit that fulfils its desired objectives to the highest degree is critical, especially
when it is present in the feedback path of process control systems, autonomous systems,
and systems with self-diagnostic capability [3]. Even the smallest error in the
the microelectronic design, the blocks of the sensor unit shown in Fig. 1.1 can be
integrated into a single chip. The sensing element can be designed and fabricated using
sensors utilizing energy harvesting technologies (e.g. a photovoltaic panel) are needed
limited. These approaches help to realize smart and/or autonomous sensors that are
important for the deployment wireless sensor networks and Internet of Things (IoT).
In the current era of robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, the field of
sensor development is driven by the ever-growing demand for low-cost, easy to install,
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robust sensors that offer high performance. This need is answered by the non-intrusive,
where the measurand is physically inaccessible, or when contact with the measurand
degrades the measurement, the only viable solution is the non-contact approach [1].
The absence of the critical requirement of direct contact, between the measurand and
the sensing element, adds to the reliability and versatility of this sensing method.
Additionally, a non-contact sensing mechanism, being less prone to wear and tear, can
ensure the long life of the sensor, and impact the overall cost of the measurement system
positively [4].
Among the non-contact sensing paradigms available to the design engineer, one of the
most popular is the capacitive sensing approach. Capacitive sensors are known for their
accuracy [4]. The electrodes are available in many configurations, such as single-
electrodes), or with multiple-electrodes (more than three). These can be in the parallel-
plate form or the cylindrical or hemispherical shapes. They are used in consumer
while reversing the vehicle, to facilitate key-less entry [6], and in the HMI stereo and
media center [7]. In the automobile industry, the role of MEMS-based capacitive
sensing is also very significant, for instance, to measure the tire pressure and the
used for liquid level detection [8], differential pressure sensing [9], and monitoring
harsh environments [10]. These sensors are used extensively in healthcare [11], for non-
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contact blood pressure measurement, sweat analysis, respiratory measurement, and in
agriculture for soil-moisture detection [12]. They are used in scientific research for
position [13], pressure [14] and humidity [15] measurements, and material analysis
capacitance, which the sensor senses and processes to give an equivalent electrical
output. The output can be in the form of a voltage, current, or a quasi-digital signal [19],
which is subsequently converted to a digital value in the final stage. The capacitive
insulating dielectric. The capacitance of the sensor is dependent upon the physical
dimensions of this element, number of electrodes and the material properties of the
dielectric material present between the electrodes [4]. A brief overview of some of the
This sensor typically consists of two conductor plates, placed parallel with respect to
each other. The capacitance 𝐶, which is the ability of a capacitor to store electrical
𝜖0 𝜖𝑟 𝐴
𝐶= (1.1)
𝑑
(1.1) is characterized by the overlapping area of the two plates, 𝐴, the dielectric constant
of the material between the plates, 𝜖𝑟 , the permittivity of free space (8.85 × 10-12 F/m),
𝜖0 , and the separation between the plates, 𝑑. Though this equation ignores the fringing
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effect, it is an acceptable approximation as long as the distance (𝑑) between the plates
is small compared to the other dimensions of the plates such that the field in the
capacitive sensor that relies on the variation of capacitance due to change in either 𝐴 or
𝜖𝑟 exhibits linear sensor characteristic, as can be garnered from (1.1), while that which
make the capacitive sensor a versatile one. Some interesting applications of the single-
element capacitive sensor include proximity sensing [20] or flow [21] measurement,
touchscreens [22] and respiratory rate measurement [11]. Some of these sensors use
pressure sensing application is given in Fig. 1.2. Here, PR1 is the pressure at the input
port on the left hand side and PR2 is the pressure at the input port on the right. These
pressure ports shown in the diagram are meant for non-conducting fluids. 1, 2, and 3
are conducting plates. While 1 and 2 remain fixed, 3 is movable. The plates are
electrically insulated from each other. P, Q, and R are the terminals connected to the
plates 1, 3, and 2, respectively. The electrical equivalent of the DCS is given in Fig. 1.3
with the two sensing capacitances, 𝐶1 and 𝐶2 , sharing a common electrode. 𝐶1 and 𝐶2
In the case of the differential pressure sensor in Fig. 1.2, when pressures PR1 = PR2, the
distance between plates 1 and 3 is the same as that between 2 and 3. So, 𝐶1 = 𝐶2 = 𝐶0 .
This indicates that the measurand, the differential pressure (PR1 - PR2) is zero. In case
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Fig. 1. 2 The simplified structure of a differential capacitive sensor (DCS) used
to sense differential pressure. ‘i’ indicates the insulation layer.
PR1 > PR2, then the differential pressure (PR1 - PR2) will be non- zero, and the middle
plate will move. Then the distance between the plates 1 and 3 will be greater than that
In a DCS, the change in capacitance with respect to the measurand, x, can be linear or
non-linear (inverse) as given in (1.2) and (1.3), respectively, where 𝑘 is the sensor
constant, and 𝐶0 is the nominal capacitance of the sensor [23]. The sensor shown in
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Fig. 1.2 has an inverse characteristic as the distance between the plates changes with
respect to the measurand. Similar to the single-element sensor discussed in sec. 1.1.1,
for the DCS also the characteristic is linear, as in (1.2), in case of parallel-plate
arrangement of the electrodes which utilize the change in the area of overlap between
the plates, or change in the dielectric constant, with respect to the measurand.
𝐶
0 0 𝐶
𝐶1 = (1∓𝑘𝑥) and 𝐶2 = (1±𝑘𝑥) (1.3)
capacitive technology are its simplicity, ease of fabrication, low power consumption,
high sensitivity, accuracy and resolution over the measurement range [4]. They are
1.1.3.1 Touchscreens
The prevalent touch technologies can be categorized into six basic types – capacitive,
resistive, acoustic, optical, embedded and other (force sensing) [24]. Among these, the
capacitive touch technology has been widely used and accepted. It has been employed
in mobile devices, consumer devices, as well as large-format displays. There are two
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electrode layer, which is enveloped by a protective cover [22]. When the screen is
touched by a bare finger or stylus, some of the electrical charge transfers from it to the
user. This leads to a decrease in capacitance which is detected by sensors located at the
four corners of the screen, allowing the controller to determine point of touch. This
feature has been redeemed in the case of the projected capacitive technology [22].
finger, be activated with surgical gloves or thin cotton gloves. It constitutes of a sheet
of glass with embedded transparent electrode films, and an IC chip, creating a three
dimensional electrostatic field. When a finger comes into contact with the electric field,
the computer is able to detect the points of touch using the change in the ratios of the
electric currents.
The presence of ice layers on the surface of runways and roads is a cause of concern
for the safe maneuvering of airplanes and automobiles. It makes continuous inspection
of the road surfaces mandatory in order to prevent freak accidents. Human inspections
may not be the best way to deal with such scenarios, owing to the frequency and
accuracy that these repeated checks demand. A sensor-based solution can be realized
in a non-contact manner using the capacitive sensing approach. This is based on the
relative permittivity of ice, and of water which depend upon the excitation frequency
given to the sensor and the temperature of the system [25], [26]. The relative
permittivity of ice is close to 80 when the applied excitation frequency is below 1 kHz.
increased beyond 20 kHz, the relative permittivity of ice will be around 3 [26].
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An automated inspection of ice layers can be performed using a capacitive sensor that
is integrated into a remotely operated vehicle. This inspection vehicle can be moved
over the runways and roads with the ice layers [27]. The sensor is mounted to the bottom
layers reliably.
water to be tested. The critical requirement of contact in this resistive sensing method
makes it fraught with issues in reliability due to the deposition of organic and inorganic
compounds on the probe and subsequent corrosion. These issues can be avoided if a
Here the electrodes are coupled capacitively to the resistive water column as shown in
Fig. 1. 4.
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1.1.4 Interfacing Circuits for Capacitive Sensors
It is the interfacing circuit that extracts the measurand information that is embedded in
the signal from the sensing element and converts it into the form suitable for use by
systems for monitoring, automation and control. The utility, reliability and versatility
of a sensor depends heavily on the efficiency of the interfacing circuit since it needs to
faithfully capture and communicate the variations in the measurand for decision
making. Simple, yet sophisticated, interfacing circuits are invaluable as they reduce the
overall cost and power consumption of the system, while enhancing the performance.
Designing such circuits requires a clear understanding of the factors that may degrade
the sensor data, and an appropriate selection of the conversion paradigm to translate the
One of the most common causes of concern while designing capacitive sensing schemes
is the presence of parasitic capacitance that can result in unwanted output [2]. Parasitic
capacitance to ground will be present when the shield of the cables, used to connect the
capacitive sensor to the interfacing circuit, is grounded. It can also exist between the
ground plane and traces in a printed circuit board or lines of a breadboard. Thus, it is
beneficial to develop a circuit which by virtue of its design tackles the sensitivity of the
the presence of offset capacitance. Generally, the capacitive transducers used in practice
produce very small changes of capacitances (usually, in the picofarad range) with the
changes in measurand. Thus, if not compensated for, the offset also gets converted, and
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In the case of capacitive touch sensors, which require unshielded or partially shielded
methods used to deal with this issue at a circuit level are filtering techniques and
that converts the sensed capacitance to a digital signal, either by first converting it to a
voltage and then using an ADC [2], or by modifying its design to give an easy-to-
digitize output without using a separate ADC, is predominantly used with touch
sensors. However, most of the available CDCs are highly susceptible to interference
[30]. Though some CDC designs such as the sigma-delta and dual-slope integrating
ones have tried to achieve interference rejection, they have had only limited success
[31], [32].
differential capacitive sensors are widely used. These sensors may be excited by either
are compatible with both single-element capacitive sensor and DCS adds to the
versatility of applications. However, such circuits are rare [33], [34]. Existing circuits
are mostly designed for either single-element sensors or DCS. There are some single-
element sensor interfacing schemes that can be extended to multiple sensors using
scheme that works for both types of sensor is that the output is linear irrespective of the
sensor characteristic being linear or inverse. One available open-loop CDC [36] that
can interface both sensors fails to exhibit this feature, while additionally being
DCS.
In the design of interfacing circuits that are compatible with both single-element and
DCS, which provide a linear digital output insensitive to parasitic and offset
circuits that provide a quasi-digital output, like frequency or pulse-duration, are gaining
popularity due to their simplicity, low power consumption, high update rate sans high
linear channels and the facility to digitize these signals using digital counters [33], [37]-
[39]. Capacitance-to-frequency converters (CFCs) are relatively simpler and less power
demanding circuits than CDCs. In the CFC circuits the sensor capacitance is converted
into an equivalent frequency signal that can be easily measured using a counter.
negatively impacted by the high sensitivity to temperature and process parameters [37].
increased complexity and cost of the interfacing circuit. Hence, the CFC which can be
configuration, may not be the best design for a measurement scheme that needs a
precise sinusoidal excitation. This calls for a simpler quasi-digital scheme, the
capacitance-to-pulse-width converter (CPC), which has all the attractive features of the
CFC [37]. The CPC can be easily interfaced to a digital system by synchronizing the
frequency of the pulse-width modulated (PWM) signal to that of the inbuilt clock of the
microcontroller [39] without the additional cost and complexity of additional analog
blocks like the VFC. A closed-loop configuration for the CPC is yet to be explored.
Also, no CPC has yet been designed for sensors that require sinusoidal excitation.
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In the case of capacitively-coupled parameter sensing application of non-contact
capacitively-coupled resistive sensing [28], [40], [41] have their limitations. Generally,
these interface circuits employed are relatively complex with the requirements of a
precise sinusoidal excitation, and a phase-sensitive detector [28], [41]. The complexity
in these circuits is predominantly because they need to measure small resistances in the
range of tens of ohms (<100 Ω). However, in applications that involve the scaling of
the circuit for an array of sensors or the measurement of higher resistance values, such
levels of complexity are not required. In fact, this is the case for the typical sensor probe
dealing with drinking water which has its conductivity varying from
50- 800 S/cm [42], making the resistance to be measured be in the range of hundreds
interface that involves no active components between the sensor and the
microcontroller [43]. It is simple, low cost and consumes relatively less power.
However, it has not yet been employed in contactless resistive sensing. Such a simple
interface will be very promising in the water quality monitoring to determine the
potability of drinking water [42] and the quality of river water [44], [45].
1.2 MOTIVATION
From the above discussion it is evident that simple, yet efficient, capacitance
measurement circuits that can obtain the values of the parameters of interest from the
sensor, in the digital domain, with high linearity, accuracy and repeatability, need to be
developed. Also, converters that possess negligible sensitivity towards offset voltage,
bias current, parasitic capacitance, and other circuit non-idealities, are preferred by
The objectives of the research work conducted and presented in this thesis are listed
below.
characteristic.
The series equivalent model of the capacitance and resistance better embodies the
5. Ensure that in each of the designs proposed in objectives 1-4, the final output is in
digital form. The outputs in each design should be relatively insensitive to circuit
and offset or nominal capacitance values in cases where the output is degraded by
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dependence on these factors. Further, the circuits must be characterized
development.
Chapter 1 gives a brief introduction into the role of sensors in today’s world. Further it
elaborates on the sensor of interest, namely capacitive sensors. Some of the important
configurations in which these sensors are available are discussed. Certain capacitive
sensing applications that illustrate the significance of capacitive sensors are explained,
which lead to the motivation behind designing and developing advanced interfacing
circuits for these non-contact sensors. The objectives that were formulated ahead of the
schemes, are elaborated in this chapter. The organization of the thesis is also presented.
to-digital converter (CDC) that is vital in capacitive sensing applications with open-
electrode. Its principle of operation, the impact of circuit non-idealities and noise on
the final digital output, as well as the development of the hardware prototype, and the
test results obtained through exhaustive experiments using it, are detailed in this
chapter.
capacitive sensors. This CFC uses dc excitation and provides a linear digital output,
irrespective of the sensor characteristic being linear or inverse. Additionally, the output
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is insensitive to parasitic, nominal and offset capacitances. The operating principle of
the proposed CFC, along with the analysis of the effect of circuit non-idealities on its
performance are presented in this chapter 3. Also, the experimental studies based on
sinusoidal ac signal for excitation or those that utilize the frequency dependence of the
dielectric [27], [46]. Unlike most of the existing CPCs, the proposed interface circuit is
also compatible with both single-element and differential capacitive sensors. The final
digital output is independent of the nominal capacitance of the sensor and has a linear
characteristic irrespective of the sensor characteristic being linear or inverse. The CPC
is designed such that the PWM output depends on the change in the sensor capacitance
alone. It is insensitive to parasitic capacitance and has very low sensitivity to the non-
idealities of the components and ICs used. The operating principle, analysis of the
impact of circuit non-idealities on the output, and the experimental results from the
resistance of the sensing element, by eliminating the need for direct contact of
higher value of resistances, which are utilized to determine the quality of drinking
water. The design and working of the proffered interface are presented in this chapter.
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The effect of circuit non-idealities are analyzed, and the performance evaluated using
hardware prototypes. The details of the same are elaborated in this chapter.
simple in design, but efficient in performance. All of them are insensitive to parasitic
capacitance and provide digital output. Extensive analysis has been conducted on every
one of the proposed schemes to assess and quantify the effect of various error sources
on the final digital output, and offer design criteria than can make the effect, if present,
Further, these are compared with existing schemes used to perform the intended
measurement.
Chapter 6 outlines the summary, conclusion and scope for future work.
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