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2A2 Signal Conditioning L1 Notes Collins
2A2 Signal Conditioning L1 Notes Collins
1
user, stored for later analysis, transmitted to a remote location or used by a
controller.
Another aspect of the performance of the ADC that must also be taken into
consideration when designing the signal conditioning circuit is that the ADC
samples the transducer output at specific time intervals. An
unfortunate consequence of this is that several frequencies will
become indistinguishable at the ADC output. This is referred to as
aliasing, and the effect can only be avoided by using a low-pass, anti-
alias filter to ensure that only the low frequencies that can be represented
accurately are present in the signal applied to the ADC input. Since the
2
requirement for the anti-alias filter arises from a fundamental property of
the ADC, this type of filter should always be present.
3
constructed for the 2000 Olympics that had approximately 300 sensors
embedded within the structure. These include:
strain gauges to keep track of framework fatigue
sensors to monitor motion in the stay cables caused by cross winds
accelerometers in the roadway to measure the impact of earthquakes
The data from these sensors are gathered by four separate data-
acquisition units (one in each pier of the bridge). These linked units are
then connected to offices at the bridge site, in the headquarters of the
bridge operating company in Athens and in the headquarters of the
structural monitoring division of one of the bridge builders, which is in
France.
This technology trend and its impact on every conceivable system means
that all engineers should be familiar with instrumentation systems.
4
Aims and Organisation of the Course
The first parts of the instrumentation system that will be considered are the
sensors. There are many different sensors that rely upon one of a range of
different physical phenomena to create an output signal in response to
different stimuli. A comprehensive survey of all sensors is time-consuming
and beyond the scope of this course. However, we will aim to give a brief
survey (or list) of sensor types and the types of signals which might be
produced. Such signals are typically rather weak. These signals must
therefore be amplified before they are converted into digital words.
5
amplifier, is therefore used. This was discussed in the first year P2 course,
but it is so important we will cover it again here.
Once the analogue output signals have been amplified they need to
be converted into a digital word. Any instrumentation system must
therefore include an analogue to digital converter (ADC). Two types of
ADCs that are often used in instrumentation systems were discussed in the
first year P2 course. The flash converter is conceptually simple and fast.
However, it necessarily contains a large number of components and it is
therefore relatively expensive. In some situations it is necessary to use an
alternative type of converter. The alternative converter that was described
in the P2 course, known as the successive approximation converter,
contains a digital to analogue converter (DAC). These DACs are also
useful in digital control systems, such as the one shown in Figure 2. In this
course, the discussion of ADCs will concentrate on issues relating to
interfacing.
6
Amplification of the sensor output signal is designed to match the
maximum expected sensor output signal to the maximum input signal
of the ADC. The sensitivity of the resulting data is then determined by
the minimum change in the signal that can be reliably detected. The
performance of ADCs means that this important aspect of the system
performance is often limited by undesirable signals which are generated
within the components of the electronic circuit. The origin of these noise
signals, their effect on instrumentation systems and methods to limit their
effects will therefore be described.
The discussion of noise highlights the fact that one of the important
system parameters that determines the amount of noise in a system
is the system bandwidth. Filter circuits that can be used to control the
bandwidth of the system therefore play a critical role in limiting the
impact of noise on a system. In fact there are four key different types of
filters that are commonly used in instrumentation systems to fulfil a variety
of functions. The circuits and characteristics of such filters were discussed
in the first year P2 course. In this course the characteristics, applications
and implementation of each of various filters will be further described.
7
particular op-amp that should be used so that it 'appears' to be ideal
in the particular circuit that is being designed. Even after an op-amp
has been selected that appears to be ideal additional components may be
required in a circuit to compensate for other non-ideal aspects of an op-
amps behaviour. Finally, all op-amps have a gain that reduces at high
frequencies. This means that any op-amp will only appear to be ideal
for frequencies less than a maximum value.
The output voltage from a strain gauge and several other sensors is a d.c.
voltage. However, there are sensors in which the stimulus of interest
causes a change in either capacitance or inductance. Changes in
these two parameters can only be sensed if an a.c. signal is applied to
the sensor. In addition, to avoid strong sources of interference, a.c. signals
can also be applied to circuits containing sensors such as strain gauges.
The use of this approach, with a lock-in amplifier, will be discussed.
8
Syllabus and Learning Outcomes
9
Textbooks
10
AN INTRODUCTION TO SENSORS
There are many different types of sensor for some physical quantities (for
example, temperature, strain, light flux etc...). In addition, there are other
physical quantities, such as pressure and viscosity, which can only be
measured if a mechanical transducer is used to convert the primary
variable, such as a pressure, into a secondary mechanical variable, such
as strain in a thin membrane, which can be measured. A description of the
various sensors available to measure each physical quantity could be the
11
subject of an entire course of lectures. This type of review is not within the
scope of this course, but we discuss some key issues in relation to sensors
and some typical sensors.
12
Ideal sensors are designed to be linear. The output signal of such a sensor
is linearly proportional to the value of the measured property. The
sensitivity is then defined as the ratio between output signal and measured
property. For example, if a sensor measures temperature and has a
voltage output, the sensitivity is a constant with the unit [V/K]; this sensor is
linear because the ratio is constant at all points of measurement. In general
it is rather difficult to design sensors which are linear over wide ranges. For
example, for the platinum resistance thermometer the resistance as a
function of temperature can actually be expressed as:
[
RT = R0 1 + AT + BT 2 + CT 3 (T 100 ) ]
(see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistance_thermometer)
where the quadratic and cubic terms are small, but not necessarily
negligible. It might be possible to correct for this non-linearity in the signal
conditioning stage. However the programmability of microcontrollers and
microprocessors means that it is easier to perform this correction after
analogue to digital conversion.
Sensor deviations
More generally, if the sensor is not ideal, several types of deviation can be
considered:
The sensitivity may in practice differ from the value specified. This is
termed a sensitivity error, but the sensor may still be linear.
Since the range of the output signal is always limited, either by the
voltages powering any circuits or by the ADC input range, the output
13
signal will eventually reach a minimum or maximum when the measured
property exceeds the limits often referred to as saturation. The full-
scale range defines the maximum and minimum values of the measured
property.
If the output signal is not zero when the measured property is zero, the
sensor has an offset or bias. This is defined as the output of the sensor
at zero input it is very common.
If the sensitivity is not constant over the range of the sensor, this is
termed nonlinearity. Usually this is defined by the amount the output
differs from ideal behaviour over the full range of the sensor.
If deviation is caused by a rapid change of the measured property over
time, there is a dynamic error. Often, this behaviour is described with a
Bode plot showing sensitivity error and phase shift as function of the
frequency of a periodic input signal.
If the output signal slowly changes independent of the measured
property, this is defined as drift.
Long-term drift can indicate a slow degradation of sensor properties
over a long period of time.
Noise is a random deviation of the signal that varies in time.
Hysteresis is an error caused when the measured property reverses
direction, but there is some finite change required for the sensor to
respond, creating a history-dependent offset error.
The sensor may, to some extent, be sensitive to properties other than
the property being measured. For example, most sensors are influenced
by the temperature of their environment, even if that is not what they are
designed to measure.
14
Such deviations can generally be classified as systematic errors or random
errors:
Systematic errors can sometimes be compensated for by means of
some kind of calibration strategy. (e.g. the non-linearity of the platinum
resistance thermometer mentioned above)
Noise is a random error that can be reduced by signal processing,
such as filtering, usually at the expense of the dynamic behaviour of the
sensor. This is discussed further later.
Resolution
The resolution of a sensor is the smallest change it can detect in the
quantity that it is measuring. The resolution is related to the precision with
which the measurement can be made.
Sensors
The list of physical phenomena that can be measured is very long and
includes:
Acoustic, sound, vibration
Chemical, Humidity
Electric current, electric potential, magnetic, radio
Flow, Pressure, force, density, level
Ionising radiation, subatomic particles
Position, angle, displacement, distance, speed, acceleration
Optical, light, imaging
Thermal, heat, temperature
Proximity, presence
15
Since there are typically several different sensors per phenomenon then
the list of sensors would be even longer. This is why a description of
sensors would require a whole course. For this reason this course will be
limited to using strain gauges to highlight the main problems that have to
considered when designing analogue signal processing circuits.
Strain gauge
16
The so-called gauge factor is defined as:
R / RG
GF =
where RG is the initial resistance of the strain gauge
R is the change in resistance when strain is applied
is the applied strain.
R / RG = GF
Typically a gauge factors are ~2, which means that the fractional change
in resistance is only twice as large as the strain. This means that the
fractional changes in resistance are very small and they can only cause
small changes in any electrical signals.
17
Signal Conditioning
18
In instrumentation, signal conditioning generally means manipulating an
analogue signal (from a sensor) in such a way that it meets the
requirements of the next stage of a system for further processing. In
general the most common next stage will involve analogue-to-digital
converters.
19
Simple Amplifier Circuits for Signal Conditioning
The output from many transducers is a voltage and there are two simple
circuits (described in the P2 course), the non-inverting and the inverting
amplifier, which can be used to amplify a voltage signal.
Dont forget the analysis of any op-amp circuit to understand its function is
based on the simple ideal op-amp rules (taken from P2):
An ideal op-amp has an infinite input resistance, an infinite
differential gain and an output resistance of zero.
The infinite gain means that provided there is negative feedback:
20
This equation and the characteristics of an ideal op-amp can be used to
show that for the non-inverting amplifier
Using the same rules as above, and noting that for the inverting amplifier
V+ is connected to ground (0V) we can show that:
R
Vout = 2 Vin
R1
21
Mini-Summary
22
INTERFERENCE AND INSTRUMENTATION AMPLIFIERS
Introduction
A lot of this material was also covered in the P2 course, but it is important,
so it will be included here.
23
Illustration (see also P2 notes):
In the analysis of the inverting op-amp circuit presented above you will
notice that there are three points which are shown as ground. Now, this can
present a problem:
R
Vout =
R2
( ) R
Vin V + + V + = 2 Vin + 1 + 2 V +
R1 R1 R1
It is clear from this that we would not be able to distinguish between sensor
signal (Vin) and ground-point errors. This is a real problem!
There are at least two origins of such problems. In the P2 course the issue
of careful grounding was discussed, illustrated by the following diagram:
24
Figure (6) Schematic diagrams of a poor earthing scheme, on the left,
and a good earthing scheme, on the right.
In Figure (6) the ground connections of three parts of the system on the left
are connected to one another (chained together) within the overall circuit
before a single connection is made to earth. A hidden danger with this
simple grounding scheme is that each connection has a small but
25
total resistance that is shared could be a few Ohms. If we approximate this
to say 10 Ohms then it would only require a current of 50A to flow through
this shared resistance to change the 'ground' potential of the input amplifier
by 0.5mV. If the subsequent signal conditioning circuits have an overall
gain of say 1000 this would cause an output voltage error of 0.5V. It is
therefore quite possible for changes in the current drawn by one part of the
circuit to create a fluctuation in the 'ground' potential of another part of the
circuit that will be (incorrectly) interpreted as a significant signal.
Electromagnetic interference
All of the connecting wires act as aerials which can receive any
electromagnetic fields in the environment. (This is especially so if there are
any multiple ground paths, which can form beautiful loop aerials!) This can
then result in significant time-varying currents flowing through the ground
connections that could interfere with the circuit ground. Within small-scale
circuits such effects can generally be avoided at low frequencies. However,
in connecting sensors to signal conditioning circuits such electromagnetic
interference on the cables can be problematic.
26
Bridge Circuits
so that
hence
27
For small values of this expression shows that the output voltage is
proportional to and does not include a large constant term. This
means that none of the limited input range of the ADC is wasted
representing a large, constant voltage which contains no information.
Rather with this circuit the entire input range of subsequent circuits can be
used to represent the useful signal.
(However, it should be noted that neither of the outputs are grounded, and
this must be kept in mind in designing the next stage of the system.)
28
Cables as a source of interference
The bridge circuit with a sensor avoids interference from signals on the
ground connection of the instrumentation system. However, the output
signals are still small and are therefore vulnerable to electromagnetic
interference. With a pair of wires connecting the bridge circuit to the
instrumentation system it is possible for interference to be caused by
fields which couple to the connecting wires. There are particular effects
with a connection formed by two wires.
The first is that the pair of wires can form a loop aerial that couples
to any stray changing magnetic field. This can then generate an
emf (i.e. voltage) around the loop.
The second is that if the two wires run parallel, but, separately they
will have different coupling capacitances to other conductors in
the local environment, particularly the local mains power leads.
To minimise the impact of both these phenomena the two wires are
typically twisted around each other to form a twisted pair. This cheap,
and neat, solution ensures that the cross-sectional area of any loop formed
by the wire is minimal and that both wires have the same coupling
capacitance to any other conductor. A twisted pair is therefore often used
as a cheap but effective method of connecting two separate parts of an
instrumentation system.
29
The full bridge circuit
For example, the output signal from a bridge circuit can sometimes be
increased by using the full bridge circuit with four sensors, as shown
in Figure (8). In this circuit, the sensors are arranged so that each branch
of the circuit contains a pair of sensors acting in complement (for example
one strain gauge in tension and the other in compression). In this way, the
output signal from the bridge circuit is enhanced by a factor of 4.
30
The differential amplifier
The output from the bridge circuit, and many other types of transducer, is
the difference between two voltages. These differential voltages will be
smaller than the input range of a typical ADC. A signal conditioning circuit
is therefore required that amplifies a differential voltage, rather than a
voltage relative to a ground point. i.e. given two wires coming from a sensor
(or sensor in a bridge circuit) the voltage levels relative to a ground-point
may be not well defined (due to electromagnetic interference, difficulty of
defining the ground voltage, etc.). However, the voltage difference should
be representative of the quantity being sensed.
A simple op-amp circuit that can amplify a differential voltage is shown in
Figure (9). This was analysed in the P2 course.
31
Assume the op-amp is ideal and considering the connections to the op-amp
inverting input:
vo v v v1
=
R2 R1
The second input voltage is connected to the non-inverting input through a
simple potential divider, so for this we can write:
The normal ideal op-amp rules, together with negative feedback allow us,
The magnitude of the gain is the same as we saw for the inverting amplifier
earlier, but now it is the difference between the voltages which is
amplified, which is just what we need!
Consider the situation when the two inputs are the same, lets say v1=v2=v.
Now the potential divider rule for the non-inverting input remains the same
32
R2
v = v+ = v
R1 + R2
But, the v- input is fed by a potential divider between v1 and vo , and given
that v1 is also v the op-amp conditions can only be satisfied if vo is also
zero. This means that the output depends only on the difference
between the inputs.
v2 + v1
vcm =
2
vdiff = v2 v1
REMEMBER: these are just a pair of simultaneous equations, so any pair
of voltages can be expressed in terms of either their individual voltages or
in terms of their common-mode and differential terms. We can re-arrange
between the notations using the above expressions for the common-mode
and differential voltages in terms of the input voltages, or their complement:
vdiff
v1 = vcm
2
vdiff
v2 = vcm +
2
33
CAUTION: although there is no ambiguity in the definition of the common-
mode term there is a sign ambiguity in the differential term, the sign of
which will depend on the labelling of the two individual voltages be
careful!
Now, going back to the gain equation for the differential amplifier
determined above:
More generally the output voltage from a circuit intended for differential
amplification can then be written in the form:
34
output is independent of the common mode signal. The differential gain
The above analysis is an ideal situation, but of course in the real world the
differential amplifier might not be so ideal. There are a number of reasons
for this, but most commonly it is because the two resistors labelled R1 will
not be identical to one another and similarly the two resistors labelled R2
will not be identical to one another. You may recall that you analysed this
issue as a tutorial problem for P2! In this analysis you assumed a small
error in the resistors, so that the circuit became something like:
35
where x is a small error (<<1) and is chosen to represent a worst case.
Assuming the normal op-amp rules, and after a bit of algebra, in the P2
tutorial you came up with an equation for the output voltage of the form:
R (1 + x ) R2 (1 x )
vo = 1 + 2 v2
( ) ( ) (
R1 1 x R2 1 x + R1 1 + x )
R (1 + x )
2 v1
R1 (1 x )
Now, expanding this for small x (i.e. ignoring terms in x2 or higher order)
this can be written:
R2 R R1
vo = 1 + 2 x 2 v 2
R1 R1 + R2
R2
(1 + 2 x )v1
R1
then substituting for v1 and v2 in terms of vcm and vdiff , and again assuming
x is small we have:
R2 R2 4 xR1
vo = vdiff + vcm
R1 R1 R1 + R2
so now there is an extra term in addition to the differential gain found
above. The differential gain remains the same ( Adiff = R2 / R1 ), but now
there is also a common mode gain:
R2 4 xR1
Acm =
R1 R1 + R2
36
(which, as expected, obviously vanishes in the limit of perfectly matched
resistors, i.e. when x=0).
This means that the common mode rejection ratio of an ideal circuit is
infinity. Despite non-ideal effects the CMRR of a good differential amplifier
is usually large and it is therefore often quoted in decibels
Input impedance
When using the basic differential amplifier illustrated above there is another
problem, even if the circuit is carefully engineered with high tolerance
resistors to maximise the CMRR. The two op-amp inputs are at the same
voltage as one another (due to the negative feedback), so any differential
input voltage sees the two resistors labelled as R1. The differential input
impedance is therefore 2R1. You will recall from P2 that in general when
connecting a signal source (in our case from a sensor/transducer) to an
amplifier it is good to ensure that the input impedance of the amplifier is
37
large compared with the source output impedance. However, this cannot
be guaranteed here. It would therefore be useful to arrange to INCREASE
the input resistance of the differential amplifier.
which means that the signals from the sensor are applied to the differential
amplifier as before. Adding op-amp buffers to the standard differential
amplifier therefore simply increases its input impedance.
38
Instrumentation amplifiers
In principle we could add further gain to the input stages (buffers) by using
the circuit for the basic non-inverting op-amp amplifier presented earlier.
However, this is unwise because differences between the nominally
identical resistors in the two non-inverting amplifiers will create different
gains on the two input signals. It turns out we can do a bit better than the
circuit in Figure (10) if we connect the non-inverting inputs through a
common resistor, forming the standard 3 op-amp instrumentation
amplifier shown in Figure (11).
39
The analysis of this circuit was presented in the P2 lectures, and is
repeated here: To understand the circuit first consider the current flowing
then subtracting the first of these two equations from the second gives
So, the differential output from the first pair of op-amps (referred to as the
first stage) is equal to the differential input multiplied by a differential gain
factor, lets say Adiff_1
2 R2
Adiff _ 1 = 1 +
R1
Adding the equations for and together (and dividing by two) we also
have:
v'1 +v' 2 v1 + v2
=
2 2
i.e. the common mode term in the output from the first stage is identical to
the common mode term in the input to the first stage, so the common-mode
40
gain is unity. Thus the first stage can provide a differential gain and
unity common-mode gain, thereby increasing the CMRR as well as the
input resistance.
Additionally, analysis shows that the CMRR of the first stage is not
substantially damaged by small errors in the resistor values.
Normally the R2 resistors are part of the package and the single R1
resistor is chosen by the user.
The output from this first stage is fed to a differential amplifier circuit
which is effectively identical to that considered above. This last stage
is often given a fixed low differential gain (unity, for example) by the
manufacturer. The advantage of this is that all the resistors within this part
of the circuit can be integrated within the instrumentation amplifier package.
Matching to the required accuracy is then achieved as part of the
manufacturing process. With a low differential gain the main function of the
differential amplifier is to provide a single output whilst rejecting any
common-mode input signal.
2R
( )
v' 2 v'1 = v2 v1 1 + 2
R1
41
and
v'1 +v'2 v1 + v2
=
2 2
or
v'cm = vcm
For the last stage:
or
Acm _ laststage
Generally the CMRR is therefore:
Adiff _ laststage
CMRR = Adiff _ 1
Acm _ laststage
42
If the first stage does also have common mode gain then this generalises
to:
43
Mini Summary
44
Another approach to creating a system that is robust to interference, that
has the added advantage of creating a signal that only represents the
change induced by the physical effect of interest, is to use a sensor with a
differential output. This type of sensor must then be connected to a
differential amplifier. A simple differential amplifier can be created from a
single op-amp and two pairs of identical resistors. However, variations
between the resistances of nominally identical components leads to circuits
which respond to the average input (common mode) signal.
45
REAL OP-AMPS
This makes the full analysis of a signal conditioning circuit built using
op-amps potentially rather difficult, as the op-amp may not be as ideal as
initially assumed!
46
There are two stages in analysing any real op-amp circuit. Initially, the
function of the circuit can be determined assuming that the op-amp is
ideal. Subsequently, it may be necessary to perform a more detailed
analysis of any circuit, including the non-ideal behaviour of the
op-amp, in order to quantify the performance of the circuit more
precisely. Alternatively, this type of detailed analysis is needed to
ensure that an op-amp is chosen which appears to be ideal in the
context of a particular circuit.
For a real op-amp the gain and input impedance are large and the
output impedance is small, however, they are all finite. A model of the
op-amp that includes these effects is shown in figure (44). This model
of the op-amp can be included in the analysis of a particular circuit to
ensure that the non-ideal behaviour of the op-amp selected for a
particular application has a negligible effect on the circuit performance.
Figure 44: A model for an op-amp that includes its finite input
impedance, output impedance and gain.
47
In addition, to the finite gain and impedances of the op-amp there are a few
other non-ideal aspects of the behaviour of the op-amp which must be taken
into account when either designing/analysing a circuit or selecting an op-
amp.
Limited Output Voltage Range Power is supplied to the op-amp via two
power supply connections, not shown on most circuit diagrams. The output
voltage of the op-amp is limited by the supply voltages applied to these
pins. Thus if an op-amp has a positive supply voltage of +5V and a negative
supply voltage of -5V the output voltage will be limited to the range between
+5V and -5V. In fact the actual output voltage range is likely to be less than
the supply voltage range. If the input conditions require an output voltage
outside the allowed range then the output voltage will saturate to a maximum
positive or minimum negative value. If this range is too small for a particular
circuit then an alternative op-amp should be used which has a larger
maximum supply voltage and hence output voltage range.
Input Offset Voltages The two input signals are connected to two different
input transistors within the op-amp. Ideally, these two transistors are
identical. However, variations in the manufacturing process mean that this
ideal condition is rarely achievable, which means that for a real op-amp a
small differential input voltage is required to create an output of 0 V.
This input offset voltage can be accommodated by one of two
alternative techniques. In some op-amps extra connections are
provided to allow the user to add a variable resistance that can then be
used by the user to zero the input offset voltage. This trimming is the
least expensive technique of compensating for the offset voltage, however, it
48
is inconvenient. For example the resistance may need to be adjusted if the
operating temperature changes. The more usual solution to this problem
is therefore for the op-amp manufacturer to include an equivalent
resistance within the op-amp package that is adjusted as part of the
manufacturing process. The additional manufacturing processes required
to trim a circuit means that these components are more expensive. However,
they are more ideal when received by the user and they are therefore very
popular.
The ideal op-amp will only respond to the differential part of these two
input signals. However, a real op-amp will respond to the common-
mode signal with a common-mode gain . By convention this aspect of
the performance of an op-amp, and other circuits, is characterised by the
49
logarithm of the ratio of the differential gain to the common mode gain
Many important op-amp circuits are based upon a constant bias, usually 0V,
circuits is based upon a high differential gain this ensures that , and
since is a constant this means that is constant. For these circuits the
effect of a finite common-mode gain is therefore negligible. However, in
instrumentation amplifiers the input voltages to the op-amps will vary with the
common-mode signal. For these circuits the CMRR of the op-amp can have
a significant impact on performance.
50
Real Op-amps in an Inverting Amplifier
In order to understand how the finite gain and impedances of an op-amp can
be included in the analysis of a circuit we consider an example, the inverting
amplifier shown in figure (45).
51
The voltage at the inverting input to the op-amp can be determined by
linear superposition of the voltages created by the two voltage sources
within the circuit. To simplify the analysis assume that the op-amp is
almost ideal so that the input impedance is large and the output impedance
First to determine the effect of the op-amp output voltage, assume that
the input voltage is zero. Then the voltage at the inverting input arising
from the output of the op-amp is equal to vf and is given by:
Linear superposition means that the voltage at the inverting input can then
be determined by adding the effects of the input voltage and the op-amp
output voltage
R2 R1
vd = v + v = 0 vin + vo
R1 + R2 R1 + R2
This expression for can now be included in the equation for the voltage
at the output from the op-amp. Taking into account that the input is
connected to the inverting input to the op-amp and the direction of the output
current
52
vo = AOL vd io Z o
and then re-arrangement (eliminating vd ) gives
but since
Finally, if then
53
Real op-amps in a non-inverting amplifier
This means that the circuit behaves as an amplifier with closed-loop gain:
The expression for the closed-loop gain can also be re-written as follows:
54
If , then and the closed-loop gain once again only
depends upon the components in the feedback circuits and is independent of
55
ZL ZL
vin = AOL vd + vd = vd 1 + AOL
Z L + Zo Z L + Z o
vin vd ZL
Z inCL = = 1 + AOL
iin iin Z L + Z o
Thus
Finally, assuming that , so that most of the power from the op-amp
output is delivered to the load and not dissipated internally.
To summarize:
56
Correcting for finite input bias currents
Figure 47: An inverting amplifier circuit including input bias currents. For an
ideal op-amp only two resistors are required, however, a third resistor is
required to compensate for the input bias currents.
57
In the example circuit shown, an inverting amplifier, there are three signal
output voltages from both the voltage sources set to zero then both and
connect the inverting input to ground. The bias current flowing through
this parallel combination of resistors will then cause a voltage signal
58
Unfortunately in some situations neither of these two solutions are
possible. In this case the circuit can be modified to significantly reduce
the impact of the undesirable signal.
In the ideal circuit the voltage at the non-inverting input is zero, even when
there is a finite input bias current. To allow the input bias current to
create a finite input voltage a resistor is required between the non-
inverting input and ground, see the dashed box in figure (47). Assuming
and since in op-amps the two inputs to the op-amp will be connected to
nominally identical devices we can assume that and hence
59
that is the new resistor is equivalent to the other two resistors acting in
parallel. The addition of this extra resistor, which would have no effect on an
ideal op-amp, is therefore to cancel the effects of the finite input bias current.
Frequency Response
60
The op-amp is then designed to ensure that its gain falls to unity at a
frequency that is low enough so that any other frequency dependant
responses within the op-amp are negligible. The consequence of this
becomes
Because for this particular circuit the feedback network only contains
61
Figure 48:Closed-loop frequency response of a non-inverting amplifier.
The bandwidth of the circuit with the feedback loop, the closed-loop
62
Thus although the open-loop bandwidth of the op-amp alone is only , the
The greater the amount of feedback (i.e. the greater the value of and the
lower the gain ), the greater the bandwidth . In fact this equation
shows that the gain bandwidth product of the closed loop circuit
63
Frequency compensation and slew rate
Op-amp data sheets usually give the slew rate for unity gain. Assume,
therefore, that the input to a voltage follower is a large-amplitude high-
frequency sinewave where:
For an output free of distortion, the slew rate determines the maximum
64
Mini-Summary
The slew-rate of the op-amp limits the maximum rate of change of the
output voltage of an op-amp.
65
NOISE
Introduction
.
In itself this is a small voltage that shows that the system is
vulnerable to interference. However, the original source of this ADC
input signal is a sensor output signal that is considerably smaller.
Thus for example if the maximum transducer signal was itself 10 mV,
i.e. an amplifier with a gain of 500 has been used between the
transducer and the ADC, then 1/2 LSB is equivalent to a change in
transducer output of 1.2 V. Careful design is then required to
ensure that this small signal can be reliably detected despite
interference and other signals generated by various unavoidable
physical processes within components. Assuming that interference
66
can be avoided it is the noise signals, caused by the physical
processes underlying charge flow in components, that determine
the sensitivity of modern instrumentation systems.
There are three noise mechanisms that are found in many components,
67
and hence the average current, is determined by the electric field,
however, interactions between carriers mean that there are
variations in the velocity of individual carriers. These fluctuations in
the motion of charge carriers in the resistor then lead to fluctuations
in the current flowing through the resistor, which translate into
momentary random changes in the voltage across the resistor such
as those shown in figure (24). In the frequency domain these random
fluctuations correspond to equal amounts of power at all frequencies and
it is this flat frequency spectrum which leads to this type of noise also
being known as white noise.
The flat frequency power spectrum means that the total amount of
noise power will be proportional to the noise bandwidth of the
system B . It is therefore not surprising that the root-mean-square output
To estimate the voltage change that this can represent, consider a 100 k
resistor at room temperature, over a modest bandwidth of 10 kHz:
The equation for thermal noise shows that two general principles should
be followed in order to reduce the amount of Johnson noise.
69
noise source or in parallel with a current noise source as shown in
figure (25).
Figure 25: The Thevenin and Norton equivalent circuits to represent noise
in a resistor.
Shot noise
Like thermal noise, shot noise also arises because the measured current
represents a flow of charge carriers through a device. Thermal noise
arises from instantaneous variations in the average velocity of
carriers. Shot noise arises from fluctuations in the number of
carriers. The result of these microscopic fluctuations in carrier flow can be
represented by a macroscopic current noise source . If a current is
flowing then for a noise bandwidth
where
70
This is an important contribution to the noise in some op-amps that will be
considered later.
Unlike the other two noise sources that have been mentioned the flicker
noise power per unit frequency depends upon frequency. Thus when a
dc current I is flowing the noise in a frequency range of 1Hz centred
on frequency f, is
The most important aspect of 1/f noise is that it shows that the
significance of 1/f noise decreases as the frequency of interest increases.
In all devices it will therefore always be less than the thermal noise at all
71
frequencies above a critical frequency. The value of this critical frequency
depends upon the particular device. However, there are some important
general trends.
(i) 1/f noise is most significant in MOSFET transistors. These
form the basis of almost all digital circuits and are increasing used to
design analogue circuits on the same substrate as digital circuits.
For this type of device 1/f noise can be the dominant noise source
for frequencies up to 10kHz or above. 1/f noise therefore usually has
to be taken into account in noise calculations.
72
Noise in Ideal Capacitors and Inductors
where is the rms value of the signal and is the rms value of the
noise.
73
For two noise sources the total mean square output voltage is
If the two noise sources are independent, they will be uncorrelated and
so that
noise sources are and , then the total rms output will be
.
This clearly demonstrates that if there are two unequal noise sources
then the larger noise source will dominate. In order to reduce the
amount of noise in this situation the designer should concentrate
upon reducing the noise from the larger noise source. A good
strategy when designing a system is therefore to ensure that all
noise sources are approximately equal.
The equation
74
can also be used to add the effect of two noise sources in the same
circuit. However, before it can be used the effect of each noise
source within the circuit must be calculated. This can be done by
simply assuming that each source acts alone in a circuit in which all
other voltage sources are short-circuited and other current sources
are open-circuited. This first stage of these calculations is therefore
similar to using superposition to calculate the response of a circuit
to several signal sources. This principle states that in a linear circuit
the response of two or more sources acting simultaneously is the
sum of the responses for each source acting alone with the other
voltage sources short-circuited and other current sources open-
circuited. However, in the principle of superposition it is implicitly
assumed that there is a fixed relationship between the phase of the
various sources. The overall response is therefore calculated by
simply adding the individual responses. This assumption is not valid
for the signal sources representing noise that contains many
frequency components. In this case the equation
75
Figure 26:Two resistors in parallel, including the current sources that
represent noise generated within each resistor.
and similarly
76
which means that
This is the noise voltage arising from a resistor with the same resistance
as the parallel combination. In this example it would therefore be easier to
combine the resistors to determine the effective total resistance and then
calculate the corresponding noise. In fact this is an example of a general
principle. A simple approach to calculating noise in networks of
resistors is to calculate the effective resistance and then add a
single noise source to represent the noise of the whole resistor
network.
77
A circuit model for op-amp noise
78
Figure 28 Circuit diagram showing the various noise sources
in an inverting amplifier circuit.
This model can be used within any circuit to calculate the total noise. For
example consider the inverting amplifier circuit, which includes a resistor
connecting the non-inverting input to ground to compensate for the input
current. Figure (28) then shows the circuit including the model of a noisy
op-amp.
The first stage in calculating the total equivalent noise at the input is
to calculate the effect of each of the individual signal sources.
Now in the circuit attached to the inverting input there are two
resistors. These can be combined into an equivalent circuit before
proceeding. Since the voltage source at the output of the op-amp is
assumed to be short-circuited during the calculation of the signal
from all the noise sources the resistors and appear in parallel
to create an effective resistance
This effective resistance both generates its own thermal noise and
acts as the effective resistance to ground for the current noise .
The noise voltage at the non-inverting input is therefore
The final step of the calculation is to combine the noise at the two
input pins to give the total noise at the non-inverting amplifier input
80
To simplify this expression further assume that the amplifier circuit has
1
been well designed so that . Hence
This last expression shows the three contributions to the total noise
at the input to the amplifier;
(i) the voltage noise generated by the amplifier
(ii) the voltage noise generated by the current noise in the
1
The resistance R3 has been included to compensate for the DC bias
current that flows into the inputs of some non-ideal op-amps (see
earlier section.)
81
contribution from the current noise of the amplifier, which is proportional to
82
Quantisation Noise
For the situations in which cost means that it is not possible to use an
ADC with a large number of bits, it is possible to calculate the variance of
the error introduced by the quantisation process. This error is often
referred to as quantisation noise. It can be treated as another voltage
noise source acting at the input to the ADC, however, the effects of
this can only be quantified using an expression for the variance of
this error.
83
To calculate this variance it is conceptually easiest to consider a flash
converter, however, the result will apply to any converter. Let the voltage
difference between reference levels in the ADC be . Then the error, e, for
each conversion will be between /2 and -/2. Assuming that each error is
equally probable, then the probability density of error e, p(e), is
and hence
This suggests that the ADC is more accurate than the simple
estimate based upon the largest error, /2, suggests. However, the
difference is relatively small. In many situations it is therefore appropriate
to use the estimated error /2, but, to remember that this is a conservative
figure so that if an n-bit ADC appears to be just adequate based upon the
simple estimate, it will be adequate because the quantisation noise has
been overestimates by a factor of 1.7, which is almost the equivalent of an
extra bit.
84
Mini Summary
The power per unit bandwidth of flicker (1/f) noise reduces as frequency
increases. In most devices this noise source is only important at low
frequencies. However, it is important in MOSFET devices that are
increasingly used to design analogue circuits in the same package as
digital circuits.
85
Noise is a randomly fluctuating signal which is characterised by its root
means square amplitude.
where is the rms value of the signal and is the rms value of the
noise.
86
op-amp amplifier the total noise of the circuit can be dominated by the
current noise of the op-amp. It is therefore important to minimise output
resistances. When this is not possible it may be necessary to select a op--
amp with a zero input bias current, and hence a negligible current noise.
87
NON-IDEAL DIGITAL-TO-ANALOGUE
AND ANALOGUE-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSION
Introduction
Figure 12: The ideal response of a 3-bit DAC, showing the analogue
output voltage as a fraction of the full scale output FS. Each bar
represents the output for a particular input and the dashed line shows
the line connecting the ideal outputs.
88
value of this input. The ideal relationship between the analogue output
2
and digital input for a 3-bit converter is shown in figure (12).
2
In figure 13 only 3 bits have been shown for clarity. However, in real instrumentation systems
DACs with 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14 bits are often used.
89
The maximum deviation of the actual output from the ideal output is the
absolute accuracy of the DAC. There are several different types of error
that might occur in the output of a DAC. An offset error means that the
error between the actual output and the ideal output is the same for
all binary inputs. In contrast, a gain error means that the slope of the
ideal and actual outputs are different, see figure (13).
Figure 14: The response of a DAC showing the two lines used to define
the non-linear response of the DAC.
Even for a system with no offset error and an ideal gain the individual
outputs may still deviate from their ideal values. These errors are
characterised as the integral non-linearity (INL) and the differential
nonlinearity (DNL). The INL is the maximum difference between the
actual and ideal output calculated for each digital input. As with all
errors the INL should be less than 1 LSB. The DNL is a measure of
90
the changes in output between successive inputs expressed as a
fraction of the LSB. Again this should be less than an LSB. However,
this may not be achieved and in an extreme situation the DNL may be
more than 1LSB. In this case for a particular digital input an increase by
1 LSB in the input will cause a decrease in the output. This might be
acceptable, but, it has to be avoided in many applications, particularly
when the DAC output forms part of a control system or an ADC.
Clearly, for an n-bit DAC to be credible all errors should be less than
LSB/2. This will almost certainly be correct for low-frequency operation.
However, there are other sources of error that can degrade the DAC
performance at high frequencies. The most common cause of high
frequency errors are glitches. These are spikes in the output which occur
at transitions between different inputs because of imperfections in the
DAC circuitry, for example during a transition from 0111 to 1000 the most
significant bit (the MSB) may change fractionally faster than the other bits
so that there is an instant at which the output corresponds to 1111. These
glitches only become important when the difference between the
switching times of different bits become a significant fraction of the time
for which each different digital input is applied. These glitches are critical
to an increasing number of systems that rely upon a digital circuit and a
DAC to create a well controlled, programmable output signal (An example
of this type of system is the signal generators which you use in labs.).
Despite these applications many data sheets for DACs still specify the
maximum operating frequency as the highest frequency at which the DAC
output attempts to change in response to a new input. This may be
dramatically higher then the frequency at which the absolute error is less
91
than an LSB. All data sheets therefore have to be read carefully when
selecting a component to ensure that the required performance will
be achieved at the required frequency.
As with DACs, the ADC characteristics are rarely ideal. Once again the
ADC performance is specified in terms of offset error and gain error
together with integral and differential non-linearities. The offset and gain
error are each defined in terms of the input voltage at which the code
transitions occur. Ideally, as shown in figure (19), for an ADC with a
Figure 20: The response of an ADC showing the differential and integral
non-linearities and a missing code.
93
Finally, figure (20) also shows one last possible error. In some situations it
is possible for the ADC to have a missing output code that is never
generated.
Oversampling Converters
Over the past few years a new type of conversion architecture has
emerged for low and medium speed applications, for example high-quality
digital audio. These new architectures exploit the increasingly low cost
and high clock frequencies available in digital circuits to sample an input
signal at many times the rate required to represent its maximum
frequency. This oversampled digital signal is then processed by
algorithms, known as digital filters, that filter the signal to reduce its
bandwidth whilst increasing the number of bits representing the signal.
The advantages of this approach are:
94
Mini Summary
95
FILTER CIRCUITS
Introduction
A filter is a circuit whose transfer function, that is the ratio of its output
to its input, depends upon the frequency of the input signal. The
resulting frequency selectivity of filters means that they are used to fulfil a
variety of functions in instrumentation and signal conditioning systems. In
particular they are a vital part of any well-designed analogue signal
processing circuit between the sensor and the ADC.
Filters were part of the first year P2 course, so much of the material should
be familiar.
There are a number of ways to classify filters, but the simplest way is to
classify them in terms of their frequency-dependent transfer function. We
can write this as:
Vout ( j ) = G ( j )Vin ( j )
Note: Although this is very simple, there are variations in the way this
transfer function is presented. For example, sometimes it is written without
96
the j in front of the , i.e. Vout ( ) = G ( )Vin ( ) . The advantage of including
the j is that the same form can then be used with Laplace transforms, i.e.
G ( j ) G (s )
The transfer function contains information about how the amplitude and
phase of the signal is influenced when passing through the filter. It is
common to classify filters in terms of how the amplitude is influenced. Many
types of filter can then be classified, but the most important are:
97
Of course, practical filters do not have ideal pass/block properties therefore
it is important to consider the behaviour of various basic filter elements.
The most basic filter elements are first-order filters. This can be either low-
pass or high-pass other functions are not available with first-order filters.
The basic first order low pass filter consists of a resistor and capacitor:
You should be very familiar with the analysis of this circuit (remind
yourselves if not!), leading to a transfer function between the input and
output of the form:
G ( j ) =
1 1 1
1 + jRC 1 + jT 1 + j / 0
where RC is equal to the time constant T (sometimes given the symbol )
and the reciprocal of the cross-over (or 3dB) frequency 0 .
98
Here, (a) is a Bode-plot of the frequency response of the amplitude (A) and
phase angle () of the transfer function, where the time-constant is set to be
equal to unity. Logarithmic axes are used for the amplitude and frequency,
showing that above the cross-over frequency the amplitude of the transfer
function drops by a factor of ten for each factor of ten increase in frequency.
This is equivalent to 20dB per decade (remember dB is a logarithmic power
scale). We can determine the magnitude (or amplitude) of the transfer
function as an equation very simply:
G ( j ) =
1 1
=
1 + j / 0 1 + 2 / 02
which at high frequency is equivalent to 0/ , i.e. inversely proportional to
, hence the 20dB per decade drop-off.
99
The plots (b), (c) and (d) show the amplitude responses as a function of time
to a step, impulse and ramp input these will be important when you
consider control systems.
Plot (e) is a polar plot of the transfer function. To produce this plot the real
and imagninary components of the transfer function are plotted on an argand
diagram as the frequency is varied. For the basic first order low-pass filter we
can see that when =0 we have G(j)=1, and as tends to infinity G tends
to zero. Another easy point to see is that when =0 we have
The basic first-order high-pass filter can also be constructed with a resistor
and capacitor:
Again, you should be very familiar with the analysis of this (remind
yourselves if not!), leading to a transfer function between the input and
output of the form:
100
jRC j T j / 0
G ( j ) =
1 + jRC 1 + jT 1 + j / 0
where RC is again equal to the time constant T (sometimes given the symbol
) and the reciprocal of the cross-over (or 3dB) frequency 0 . Similar to the
diagrams of the low-pass filter transfer function and responses, we have:
Now (a) shows a 20dB per decade cut-off BELOW the cross-over frequency
(again chosen to be 0 is unity), and the polar plot (e) is inverted.
101
Active first order filters
The maximum gain of the passive filters shown above is unity. However,
we can see how to engineer basic filter circuits with gain if we consider the
inverting op-amp circuit in two variations.
and
102
which has a transfer function:
R j C R jR2C
G ( j ) =
R2
= 2 = 2
R1 + 1 / ( jC ) R1 jC + 1 R1 1 + jR2C
which is identical to the high-pass filter form shown above, but now
multiplied by a gain of R2/R1 .
Whilst the filter ideas introduced above are useful, they also have some
limitations. Only low-pass and high-pass functions can be implemented and
the cut-off is limited to 20dB per decade. What if we would like steeper cut-
offs etc.? One basic answer is simple, we can chain filters together. For
example if we connect two low-pass filters together (putting a buffer between
them) we have:
103
This gives a transfer function equivalent to the first order low pass filter
multiplied by itself, i.e:
G2 ( j ) =
1 1 1 1
1 + jRC 1 + jRC (1 + jT )2
(
1 + j / 0 )
2
For the first order low-pass filter the transfer function is always of the form:
G ( j ) =
1 1
1 + jT 1 + j / 0 .
However, does the second order low-pass filter always have a transfer
function of the form determined above? The answer is yes and no! This can
be illustrated by determining the response if we had not included the buffer.
The circuit is now:
104
To determine the transfer function of this we could use mesh/loop or node
analysis a very similar problem was on a P2 tutorial sheet. The resulting
transfer function is:
G2 ( j ) =
1 1 1
1 + 3 jRC R C
2 2 2
1 + 3 j T T
2 2
1 + 3 j / 0 2 / 02
which is not identical in form to the transfer function determined above, but
has a similar overall structure. Note that it is the middle term which has
changed, and in general we can write an expression for a second-order low-
pass filter which is of the form:
G2 ( j ) =
1
1 + 2j / 0 2 / 02
where is the referred to as the damping. In the buffered case above =1
and in the un-buffered case =1.5 .
105
For this circuit the transfer function is:
G2 ( j ) =
1
1 + jC2 (R1 + R2 ) 2C1C2 R1 R2
so,
1 C2 (R1 + R2 )
0 = and =
C1C2 R1 R2 2 C1C2 R1 R2
and given that there are four components and only two parameters to set we
have enough freedom to independently control the damping ratio and
characteristic frequency 0 .
106
G2 ( j ) =
1
1 + 2j / 0 2 / 02
G2 ( j ) =
1
(1 2
/ 02 ) 2
+ 4 2 2 / 02
10
Ang-frequency (w)
1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
0.1
damp=0
0.01 .1
damp=1
0.001 damp=3
|G(w)|
0.0001
0.00001
0.000001
For any damping we can see that when <<0 (in this case <<1) then G=1
and when >>0 (in this case >>1) G=02/ 2 , i.e. the roll-off is 40dB per
decade. However, the behaviour around =0 (in this case =1) varies
substantially.
For large values of damping (greater than 1) the transfer function for the
second order low pass filter can be factorised. For example, when the
damping is 10 we have:
G2 ( j ) =
1 1 1
1 + 20 j / 0 /
2 2
0 1 + 19.95 j / 0 1 + 0.05 j / 0
107
So the second order filter behaves as the product of two first order filters,
with cross-over frequencies of =0/19.95 and =0/0.05. This is evident
from the diagram above, where when the damping is 10 we can see two
cross over frequencies, the first at 1/19.95 and the second at 1/0.05, where
between them we see a first-order roll-off of 20dB per decade.
G2 ( j ) =
1 1 1
=
1 + 2 j / 0 2 / 02 1 + j / 0 1 + j / 0
If the damping is further reduced (less than unity) then it is less convenient to
factorise into two first order terms. The factors in front of the j terms
become complex! The resulting behaviour can be seen in the diagram
above. For example, when the damping is 0.1, we see a resonance around
the cross-over frequency.
108
start of the roll-off. The point normally chosen is the -3dB point. That is
where the gain of the low-pass filter has dropped by 3dB from its low
frequency value. This is also where the amplitude of the transfer function has
dropped by a factor of ( )
2 (because 20 log10 1 / 2 = 3dB ). Adjusting the
values of the cross-over frequencies in this way for a range of damping we
get the plots shown below:
10
Ang-frequency (w)
1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
0.1
damp=0.1
0.01
damp=0.7
07
0.001 damp=1
|G(w)|
0.0001
0.00001
0.000001
We can now see that for a fixed 3dB point, reducing the damping in a
second order low pass filter causes the transfer function to roll-off earlier
(qualitatively, this is sometimes referred to as sharpening the response).
The cost of this is the potential introduction of a peak around the cross-over
frequency. (Note: 0 now varies from curve-to-curve, and is not always =1!)
It turns out that the best which can be done without introducing any peak is
when the damping is equal to 1 / 2 0.707 . (This has the advantage that
0 is the 3dB frequency which avoids any possible confusion when
109
describing the filter) In this case the second-order low pass transfer function
becomes:
G2 ( j ) =
1
1 + 2 j / 0 2 / 02
and the amplitude of the transfer function is given by:
G2 ( j ) =
1
1 + 4 / 04
This is referred to as a second-order low-pass Butterworth filter, named after
the British engineer Stephen Butterworth (~1930).
2C1C2 R1 R2
G2 ( j ) =
1 + jR1 (C1 + C2 ) 2C1C2 R1 R2
so with,
110
1 R1 (C1 + C2 )
0 = and =
C1C2 R1 R2 2 C1C2 R1 R2
we have:
2 / 02
G2 ( j ) =
1 + 2j / 0 2 / 02
and the amplitude of the transfer function is then:
2 / 02
G2 ( j ) =
(1 2
/ 02 )
2
+ 4 2 2 / 02
This leads to amplitude Bode plots of the form:
10
Ang-frequency (w)
1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
0.1
damp=0.1
0.01
damp=0.7
07
0.001 damp=1
|G(w)|
0.0001
0.00001
0.000001
Or, if the cross-over frequencies are adjusted to make the -3dB points
identical for each case we have:
111
10
Ang-frequency (w)
1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
0.1
damp=0.1
0.01
damp=0.7
07
0.001 damp=1
|G(w)|
0.0001
0.00001
0.000001
Band pass
which resulted in a transfer function between the input and output of the
form:
112
G ( j ) =
1 1 1
1 + jRC 1 + jT 1 + j / 0
Now, consider what happens if an inductor is placed in parallel with the
capacitor, to give:
Glow ( j ) =
1
1 + j / 0 _ low
Gbp ( j ) =
1
1 + j / A + B / ( j )
j
=
j 2 / A + B
j / B
=
(
1 + j / B 2 / A B )
113
which is the transfer function for a band-pass filter, conventionally expressed
in the form:
2j / 0
Gbp ( j ) =
1 + 2j / 0 2 / 02
or, introducing the quality factor Q this can be written:
1
j / 0
Gbp ( j ) =
Q
1
1+ j / 0 2 / 02
Q
and the amplitude of the transfer function is:
2 / 0
Gbp ( j ) =
(1 2
/ 02 )
2
+ 4 2 2 / 02
We can again plot the amplitude Bode diagram for various damping, giving:
1
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Ang-frequency (w)
0.1
0.01
damp=0.1
damp=0.7
0.001 07
damp=1
0.0001
|G(w)|
0.00001
0.000001
In this case the curves are symmetric, and the cross-over (natural) frequency
is the useful characteristic. It is also clear that at =0 we have:
114
2 0 / 0
( )
Gbp j0 = =1
(1 0
2
) 2
/ 02 + 4 20 / 02
2
The behaviour of this filter is also nicely illustrated if we plot |G| on a linear
scale, giving:
0.8
0.6 damp=0.1
damp=0.7
07
damp=1
0.4
0.2
|G(w)|
0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Ang-frequency (w)
Clearly, the smaller the damping the narrower the range of frequencies that
are passed (centred around the natural frequency).
115
Recalling the well-known transfer function when only the resistors are
116
General second order filter implementation.
v0 Y1Y3
G= =
vi Y5 (Y1 + Y2 + Y3 + Y4 ) + Y3Y4
117
Now, by comparing this transfer function with the general transfer functions
for the various filter types we can see that by selecting appropriate
components they can be implemented. For example, if we use:
Y1 = 1 / R1
Y2 = 1 / R2
Y3 = jC3
Y4 = jC4
Y5 = 1 / R5
we get the transfer function:
R5 R1 R2
jC3
R1 R1 + R2
Gbp ( j ) =
RR RR
1 + j 1 2 (C3 + C4 ) 2C3C4 R5 1 2
R1 + R2 R1 + R2
RR
j 1 2 (C3 + C4 )
R
= 5
C3
R1 + R2
R1 (C3 + C4 ) 1 + j R1 R2 (C + C ) 2C C R R1 R2
R +R 3 3 4 5
R1 + R2
4
1 2
118
Band-stop filter
The transfer function for the circuit around the upper left op amp, between
Vin and Vlp is given by:
Glp ( j ) =
1
1 + 2j / 0 2 / 02
The transfer function for the circuit around the lower left op amp, between Vin
and Vhp is given by:
119
2 / 02
Ghp ( j ) =
1 + 2j / 0 2 / 02
The circuit around the right hand op amp is then an inverting summing
amplifier, so the overall transfer function between Vin and Vout is:
2 / 02 1
Gbs ( j ) =
1 + 2j / 0 2 / 02
If we plot the modulus of this for various damping ratios (where we have
fixed the cross-over (natural) frequency to be unity) we have:
1.2
|G(w)|
1
0.8
damp=0.
1
damp=0.
0.6 707
damp=1
0.4
0.2
0
0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Ang-frequency (w)
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had a roll-off of 40dB per decade. Clearly third, fourth, etc. order low-pass
filters would have roll-offs of 60, 80, etc. dB per decade. These are created
by connecting the correct number of first and second order filters in series.
Applications of filters
Noise rejection
Filters are often used to limit the noise bandwidth (see definition below) of
the input signal in order to reduce the amount of noise in the input signal.
The quality of a signal in the presence of noise is most often specified by the
signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) which is
Vs2 V
SNR = 10 log10 2 20 log10 s
Vn Vn
where is the rms value of the signal and is the rms value of the noise.
This definition shows that a signal-to-noise ratio of one means that the
noise power equals the signal power. Initially, it would appear that
under these conditions it would be difficult to distinguish a signal from
noise to obtain an accurate measurement. The signal in figure (31)
shows that as expected with a SNR of one it is difficult to make an
estimate of the signal component over a short interval, in this case less
than 0.1s. However, this figure also shows that over a longer timescale it
can be possible to distinguish a periodic signal from the random signal
caused by noise. In effect you can recognise the underlying 10 Hz signal
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using its predictable periodic behaviour. In an instrumentation system the
same effect can be achieved by filtering this voltage to reduce the amount of
noise.
Figure 31: A signal at 10Hz with noise when the signal-to-noise ratio is one.
One of the useful functions of a low-pass filter is that it limits the noise
bandwidth of the signal.
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Figure 37: The frequency response of a simple RC low-pass filter.
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For a white noise source the noise power in a small frequency range df is
independent of the actual centre frequency. As with independent noise
sources the total noise arising from contributions in different frequency
ranges is determined by adding the power in each frequency band. Hence
for a white noise source with a noise power of per Hertz, the output
power from the filter will be
1.57 . This is the noise equivalent band-width of the filter. Using the
characteristic frequency of the filter to determine the noise bandwidth
of the filter would therefore significantly under-estimate the amount of
noise that would be present at the output of the filter. However, not
unexpectedly, for filters with faster roll-offs at higher frequencies the noise
equivalent bandwidth quickly approaches the characteristic frequency of the
filter.
Anti-aliasing
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sampling frequency must be twice the maximum frequency of the
input signal. This is the Nyquist (or NyquistShannon) sampling
theorem.
Increasing the sampling rate of a signal will prevent aliasing problems for
signal frequencies, but, it can never prevent aliasing of high frequency noise.
Analogue anti-aliasing filters are therefore included in all well designed
instrumentation systems. However, good analogue filters, with a sharp roll-
off, requires a large number of components and must be carefully designed.
Even then they are not ideal. Once they have been sampled signal are
therefore sometimes filtered by the digital processor.
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AC SIGNALS IN INSTRUMENTATION the lock-in amplifier
Introduction
In the earlier description of a bridge circuit it was assumed that a d.c. bias
voltage was applied to the elements of the bridge. However, there are
some situations in which an a.c. bias voltage is either necessary or
beneficial. One example of a situation in which an a.c. bias voltage is
necessary is when taking measurements from a bridge circuit formed
by capacitors. The problem with using a d.c. bias voltage with this type of
bridge circuit is that the d.c. impedance of all capacitors is infinite and it is
impossible to detect a change in capacitance. In this case to reduce the
impedance of the capacitors an a.c. bias voltage should be applied to the
bridge circuit.
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Bridge Circuits and Capacitance Based Sensors
A change of resistance is only one of the means that can be used to create
a circuit element that is sensitive to a physical variable. The other two
properties that could be used are capacitance and inductance. An example
of the use of inductance to measure a variable, is the use of a moving core
within a inductor to detect displacement. In addition, changes in
capacitance arising from variations in dielectric constant caused by
absorbed gases can also be detected. This mechanism then forms the
basis of gas detectors, including detectors for humidity and explosive or
poisonous gases.
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objectives can be achieved using the same approach: applying an ac
voltage of a known frequency to the bridge circuit.
Now assume that the value of the sensing capacitor has been chosen
so that
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and the modulation of the capacitance value caused by the physical
variable, , is only a small fraction of its average value so that
, then
The final stage of the analysis is to assume that the physical stimulus
has a single dominant frequency so that
where m is the frequency of the physical effect itself, and that the
bias voltage has the form
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With recent and continuing improvements in ADC performance it may be
feasible to digitise this output signal before extracting the required
information in a digital processor. However, in order to obtain a reasonable
impedance in the bridge circuit it may be necessary to operate at
frequencies of more than 100KHz. This could preclude the use of the
cheaper successive approximation ADCs. Even in situations in which it
may be possible to directly digitise the ac signal, it might therefore be
cheaper to process the signal to reduce its frequency without losing
relevant information. The sampling rate of the ADC will then be determined
by the rate of change of the physical variable, , rather than the higher
frequency of the applied ac stimulus, . An instrumentation system
that employs an ac bridge may therefore require a technique to
remove the effects of the a.c. signal that has been applied to a bridge
circuit.
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Figure 55: Block diagram of a lock-in amplifier.
To analyse the system assume that the reference signal r(t) is a square
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The low-pass filter which follows the switch is then designed so that
and since
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situations the bridge circuit is biased with an a.c. signal in order to control
the impedance of the elements within the bridge. The lock-in amplifier is
then used to reduce the frequency at which the output signal has to be
sampled without losing any information about the physical process being
monitored. However, lock-in amplifiers can also be used in other
systems in order to avoid strong sources of interference or noise.
Now assume that the value of the sensitive resistor has been chosen so
that
and the modulation of the resistance value caused by the physical variable,
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being measured. It can then be very difficult to obtain a filter with a
sharp enough cut-off to reject a strong source of interference and in
the worst-case situation the interfering signal may occur within the
interesting frequency range. Analogue filtering is then impossible and
there is a risk that the interfering signal could sometimes be large
enough to cause saturation of the input signal to the ADC.
In this situation the output signal from the bridge circuit is:
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Figure 57: A schematic diagram of the component parts required to shift
the intermediate signal frequency in order to avoid noise and or
interference. Once all the analogue amplification and filtering has been
performed in a frequency range chosen by the designer a lock-in amplifier
can be used to reduce the output frequency (Note that the two points
labelled A are connected together as are the points labelled B)
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any interference that even a relatively simple band-pass filter can
amplify the signal at frequencies around whilst rejecting
interference. Once the signal has been amplified without amplifying any
interference its frequency can be reduced using a switching multiplier and
low-pass filter prior to digitisation without fear of degradation.
To understand how this can occur consider a difference between the phase
of two signals consider the situation in which the transducer modulates the
phase of a signal with a known frequency. In this situation the input signal
can be expressed as
Once again assume that the reference signal r(t) is a square wave of
frequency and amplitude , equivalent to a Fourier series of:
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The output of the switching multiplier is then given by the product r(t)s(t).
Thus:
(assuming that the d.c. gain of the LPF is 1) Hence using this circuit it is
possible to detect any phase difference between the reference signal
and input signal. The circuit is therefore often referred to as a phase
sensitive detector.
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Mini summary
Alternating current (a.c.) biasing signals can be used with bridge circuits of
resistors in order to shift the frequency of the output signal to a pre-
determined frequency range. Filter circuits can then be designed in the
analogue signal processing stage which can amplify the signal but reject
interference whose frequency would otherwise be too close to the signal
frequency of interest.
The key component of the lock-in amplifier is a circuit that can also be used
to detect the phase between two signals of the same frequency. It is
therefore often known as a phase sensitive detector.
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