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Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Electronic Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 23903

Special Issue Editors

Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: sensor interfaces; electronics for sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics, University of L’Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
Interests: Capacitive sensors; Electronics for sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economics, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy
Interests: portable sensors; electronics for sensors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Following the success of the previous Special Issue “Electronics for Sensors”, we are pleased to announce the next in the series, entitled “Electronics for Sensors II”.

Sensors are devices that are largely applied in daily life and in commercial applications. Sensor systems are sensors completed by suitable electronic interfaces that help to improve the overall performance. As a consequence, particular attention must be paid to designing electronics for sensors, and we must also consider the drawbacks related to technology scaling and different technology integrations.

The aim of this Special Issue is to find new possible solutions that regard electronics for sensors, both analog and digital, at different frequencies. Contributors are invited to present and highlight the advances and the latest novel and emergent results on this topic, showing best practices, implementations, and applications.

The Guest Editors invite you to submit an original research contribution showing the electronics circuits employed in sensors. Additionally, application-oriented and review papers are encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe Ferri
Dr. Gianluca Barile
Dr. Alfiero Leoni
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sensors is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 217 KiB  
Editorial
Editorial for the Special Issue on Electronics for Sensors II
by Giuseppe Ferri, Gianluca Barile and Alfiero Leoni
Sensors 2023, 23(3), 1640; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23031640 - 02 Feb 2023
Viewed by 973
Abstract
Sensor signals are physical, chemical, or biological quantities that evolve over time [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)

Research

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21 pages, 13088 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Zero Current Method to Reduce Measurement Error in Low Value Resistive Sensor Array for Wearable Electronics
by Huanqian Zhang, Jee Chin Teoh, Jianfeng Wu, Longteng Yu and Chwee Teck Lim
Sensors 2023, 23(3), 1406; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23031406 - 26 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1921
Abstract
One advantage of a resistive sensor array (RSA) with shared rows (M) and shared columns (N) is the reduced number of wires from M × N + 1 to M + N which can greatly lessen the complexity and [...] Read more.
One advantage of a resistive sensor array (RSA) with shared rows (M) and shared columns (N) is the reduced number of wires from M × N + 1 to M + N which can greatly lessen the complexity and burden on wearable electronic systems. However, the drawback is the crosstalk current effect between adjacent elements, which will lead to high measurement error. Although several solutions have been reported, they mainly focus on RSAs with high resistance (≥100 Ω). There is a lack of research that addresses RSAs with resistor values below 100 Ω. Here, we introduce a new circuit design named the dynamic zero current method (DZCM) to further decrease the measurement error. From the low value RSA test with ideal resistors, the DZCM exhibits lower error than the zero potential method (ZPM). In the case of the error variation ratio of amplifier offset voltage, the DZCM has a 4%/mV (row) to 7%/mV (column) ratio, while the ZPM has an almost 25%/mV (row) to 45%/mV (column) ratio and it increases with array size. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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10 pages, 3878 KiB  
Article
Battery-Free and Real-Time Wireless Sensor System on Marine Propulsion Shaft Using a Wireless Power Transfer Module
by Young Chul Lee and Van Ai Hoang
Sensors 2023, 23(2), 558; https://doi.org/10.3390/s23020558 - 04 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1836
Abstract
In this paper, we present a wireless sensor system (WSS) that integrated an inductive wireless power transfer (I-WPT) module for battery-free real-time monitoring of the status of rotating shaft in ships. Firstly, an optimized I-WPT module for seamless power supply was implemented using [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present a wireless sensor system (WSS) that integrated an inductive wireless power transfer (I-WPT) module for battery-free real-time monitoring of the status of rotating shaft in ships. Firstly, an optimized I-WPT module for seamless power supply was implemented using multiple Tx and Rx coils, and its power capability of 1.75 W with an efficiency of 75% was achieved. Secondly, as a result of the high-power transfer performance of the implemented I-WPT module, an entire WSS that integrated four sensors was designed on the rotary shaft. Finally, the designed WSS was installed on a small-scale test bench system with a shaft diameter of 200 mm; it was demonstrated that the status of a propulsion shaft could be monitored in real time without a battery. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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14 pages, 2872 KiB  
Article
An Energy-Efficient BJT-Based Temperature Sensor with ±0.8 °C (3σ) Inaccuracy from −50 to 150 °C
by Chuyun Qin, Zhenyan Huang, Yuyan Liu, Jiping Li, Ling Lin, Nianxiong Tan and Xiaopeng Yu
Sensors 2022, 22(23), 9381; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22239381 - 01 Dec 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3011
Abstract
This article presents an energy-efficient BJT-based temperature sensor. The output of sensing front-ends is modulated by employing an incremental Δ-Σ ADC as a readout interface. The cascoded floating-inverter-based dynamic amplifier (FIA) is used as the integrator instead of the conventional operational [...] Read more.
This article presents an energy-efficient BJT-based temperature sensor. The output of sensing front-ends is modulated by employing an incremental Δ-Σ ADC as a readout interface. The cascoded floating-inverter-based dynamic amplifier (FIA) is used as the integrator instead of the conventional operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) to achieve a low power consumption. To enhance the accuracy, chopping and dynamic element matching (DEM) are applied to eliminate the component mismatch error while β-compensation resistor and optimized bias current are used to minimize the effect of β variation. Fabricated in a standard 180-nm CMOS process, this sensor has an active area of 0.13 mm2. While dissipating only 45.7 μW in total, the sensor achieves an inaccuracy of ±0.8 °C (3σ) from −50 °C to 150 °C after one-point calibration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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24 pages, 9120 KiB  
Article
A 2 MS/s Full Bandwidth Hall System with Low Offset Enabled by Randomized Spinning
by Robbe Riem, Johan Raman and Pieter Rombouts
Sensors 2022, 22(16), 6069; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22166069 - 14 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2079
Abstract
In this paper, a Hall plate readout with a randomized four-phase spinning-current scheme is proposed. The goal is to remove the maximum number of offset components, including the offset associated with spike demodulation. The outcome is that only the smallest possible offset remains, [...] Read more.
In this paper, a Hall plate readout with a randomized four-phase spinning-current scheme is proposed. The goal is to remove the maximum number of offset components, including the offset associated with spike demodulation. The outcome is that only the smallest possible offset remains, corresponding to the residual offset of the Hall plate which cannot be distinguished from the Hall signal. An additional innovation is to operate various offset-reduction loops in spread-spectrum mode, allowing the removal of error components without notching out any in-band signals. The resulting approach delivers a very large notch-free bandwidth while simultaneously reducing the Hall plate residual offset, making it an enabler for high-bandwidth Hall-based current sensors. To demonstrate the proposed techniques, we have realized a mixed-mode experimental circuit, where the analog part is implemented in a custom integrated circuit, and the digital control system in an FPGA is connected to the analog chip. Measurement results feature a Hall readout system with a notch-free bandwidth up to 820 kHz and a 47 μTrms noise floor. The input-referred Hall plate offset, based on statistical measurements on 10 samples from a single wafer, is reduced from 130±22 μT to only 23±22 μT. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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25 pages, 3496 KiB  
Article
MsWH: A Multi-Sensory Hardware Platform for Capturing and Analyzing Physiological Emotional Signals
by David Asiain, Jesús Ponce de León and José Ramón Beltrán
Sensors 2022, 22(15), 5775; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22155775 - 02 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2699
Abstract
This paper presents a new physiological signal acquisition multi-sensory platform for emotion detection: Multi-sensor Wearable Headband (MsWH). The system is capable of recording and analyzing five different physiological signals: skin temperature, blood oxygen saturation, heart rate (and its variation), movement/position of the user [...] Read more.
This paper presents a new physiological signal acquisition multi-sensory platform for emotion detection: Multi-sensor Wearable Headband (MsWH). The system is capable of recording and analyzing five different physiological signals: skin temperature, blood oxygen saturation, heart rate (and its variation), movement/position of the user (more specifically of his/her head) and electrodermal activity/bioimpedance. The measurement system is complemented by a porthole camera positioned in such a way that the viewing area remains constant. Thus, the user’s face will remain centered regardless of its position and movement, increasing the accuracy of facial expression recognition algorithms. This work specifies the technical characteristics of the developed device, paying special attention to both the hardware used (sensors, conditioning, microprocessors, connections) and the software, which is optimized for accurate and massive data acquisition. Although the information can be partially processed inside the device itself, the system is capable of sending information via Wi-Fi, with a very high data transfer rate, in case external processing is required. The most important features of the developed platform have been compared with those of a proven wearable device, namely the Empatica E4 wristband, in those measurements in which this is possible. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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15 pages, 4878 KiB  
Article
Accurate Signal Conditioning for Pulsed-Current Synchronous Measurements
by Sara Pettinato, Marco Girolami, Maria Cristina Rossi and Stefano Salvatori
Sensors 2022, 22(14), 5360; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22145360 - 18 Jul 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1592
Abstract
This paper describes a compact electronic system employing a synchronous demodulation measurement method for the acquisition of pulsed-current signals. The fabricated prototype shows superior performance in terms of signal-to-noise ratio in comparison to conventional instrumentation performing free-running measurements, especially when extremely narrow pulses [...] Read more.
This paper describes a compact electronic system employing a synchronous demodulation measurement method for the acquisition of pulsed-current signals. The fabricated prototype shows superior performance in terms of signal-to-noise ratio in comparison to conventional instrumentation performing free-running measurements, especially when extremely narrow pulses are concerned. It shows a reading error around 0.1% independently of the signal duty cycle (D) in the investigated D = 10−4–10−3 range. Conversely, high-precision electrometers display reading errors as high as 30% for a D = 10−4, which reduces to less than 1% only for D > 3 × 10−3. Field tests demonstrate that the developed front-end/readout electronics is particularly effective when coupled to dosimeters irradiated with the X-rays sourced by a medical linear accelerator. Therefore, it may surely be exploited for the real-time monitoring of the dosimeter output current, as required in modern radiotherapy techniques employing ultra-narrow pulses of high-energy photons or nuclear particles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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22 pages, 5664 KiB  
Article
Data Compression in the NEXT-100 Data Acquisition System
by Raúl Esteve Bosch, Jorge Rodríguez Ponce, Ander Simón Estévez, José María Benlloch Rodríguez, Vicente Herrero Bosch and José Francisco Toledo Alarcón
Sensors 2022, 22(14), 5197; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22145197 - 12 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1616
Abstract
NEXT collaboration detectors are based on energy measured by an array of photomultipliers (PMT) and topological event filtering based on an array of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The readout of the PMT sensors for low-frequency noise effects and detector safety issues requires a grounded [...] Read more.
NEXT collaboration detectors are based on energy measured by an array of photomultipliers (PMT) and topological event filtering based on an array of silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). The readout of the PMT sensors for low-frequency noise effects and detector safety issues requires a grounded cathode connection that makes the readout AC-couple with variations in the signal baseline. Strict detector requirements of energy resolution better than 1% FWHM require a precise baseline reconstruction that is performed offline for data analysis and detector performance characterization. Baseline variations make it inefficient to apply traditional lossy data compression techniques, such as zero-suppression, that help to minimize data throughput and, therefore, the dead time of the system. However, for the readout of the SiPM sensors with less demanding requirements in terms of accuracy, a traditional zero-suppression is currently applied with a configuration that allows for a compression ratio of around 71%. The third stage in the NEXT detectors program, the NEXT-100 detector, is a 100 kg detector that instruments approximately five times more PMT sensors and twice the number of SiPM sensors than its predecessor, the NEXT-White detector, putting more pressure in the DAQ throughput, expected to be over 900 MB/s with the current configuration, which will worsen the dead time of the acquisition data system. This paper describes the data compression techniques applied to the sensor data in the NEXT-100 detector, which reduces data throughput and minimizes dead time while maintaining the event rate to the level of its predecessor, around 50 Hz. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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24 pages, 3996 KiB  
Article
FPGA-Based Processor for Continual Capacitive-Coupling Impedance Spectroscopy and Circuit Parameter Estimation
by Akihiko Tsukahara, Tomiharu Yamaguchi, Yuho Tanaka and Akinori Ueno
Sensors 2022, 22(12), 4406; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22124406 - 10 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2148
Abstract
In principle, the recently proposed capacitive-coupling impedance spectroscopy (CIS) has the capability to acquire frequency spectra of complex electrical impedance sequentially on a millisecond timescale. Even when the measured object with time-varying unknown resistance Rx is capacitively coupled with the measurement electrodes [...] Read more.
In principle, the recently proposed capacitive-coupling impedance spectroscopy (CIS) has the capability to acquire frequency spectra of complex electrical impedance sequentially on a millisecond timescale. Even when the measured object with time-varying unknown resistance Rx is capacitively coupled with the measurement electrodes with time-varying unknown capacitance Cx, CIS can be measured. As a proof of concept, this study aimed to develop a prototype that implemented the novel algorithm of CIS and circuit parameter estimation to verify whether the frequency spectra and circuit parameters could be obtained in milliseconds and whether time-varying impedance could be measured. This study proposes a dedicated processor that was implemented as field-programmable gate arrays to perform CIS, estimate Rx and Cx, and their digital-to-analog conversions at a certain time, and to repeat them continually. The proposed processor executed the entire sequence in the order of milliseconds. Combined with a front-end nonsinusoidal oscillator and interfacing circuits, the processor estimated the fixed Rx and fixed Cx with reasonable accuracy. Additionally, the combined system with the processor succeeded in detecting a quick optical response in the resistance of the cadmium sulfide (CdS) photocell connected in series with a capacitor, and in reading out their resistance and capacitance independently as voltages in real-time. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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12 pages, 4924 KiB  
Article
Can Electrochemical Sensors Be Used for Identification and Phylogenetic Studies in Lamiaceae?
by Da Wang, Dongling Li, Li Fu, Yuhong Zheng, Yonghua Gu, Fei Chen and Shichao Zhao
Sensors 2021, 21(24), 8216; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21248216 - 08 Dec 2021
Cited by 34 | Viewed by 2260
Abstract
Electrochemical sensors have shown potential in recent years for plant species identification and phylogenetic studies. These works have been used to investigate the affinities of different species in many genera. However, the ability of electrochemical sensors to study relationships between different genera within [...] Read more.
Electrochemical sensors have shown potential in recent years for plant species identification and phylogenetic studies. These works have been used to investigate the affinities of different species in many genera. However, the ability of electrochemical sensors to study relationships between different genera within a family has not been investigated. In this work, we selected 31 species in the Labiatae and 5 exotaxa as subjects to investigate the feasibility of electrochemical sensors at the genus level. The results show that electrochemical sensors are still very effective for the identification of these plants. Different pattern recognition techniques can make the identification more efficient. Also, the fingerprint profiles collected by the sensors can be used for phylogenetic studies of Labiatae. The phylogram divides all the species into five clusters, where the exotaxa are in one cluster. Species in the Labiatae are mainly distributed in four other clusters. Importantly, the different genera of species all showed close affinities, representing that electrochemical fingerprinting can well distinguish the affinities between the different genera. The results of this work demonstrate the great potential of electrochemical sensors in the study of plant phylogeny. Its application is not limited to the study at the species level, but can be extended to the genus level. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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Review

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17 pages, 3346 KiB  
Review
A Review on VCII Applications in Signal Conditioning for Sensors and Bioelectrical Signals: New Opportunities
by Leila Safari, Gianluca Barile, Vincenzo Stornelli and Giuseppe Ferri
Sensors 2022, 22(9), 3578; https://doi.org/10.3390/s22093578 - 08 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2416
Abstract
This study reviews second-generation voltage conveyor (VCII)-based read-out circuits for sensors and bioelectrical signal conditioning from existing literature. VCII is the dual circuit of a second-generation current conveyor (CCII), which provides the possibility of processing signals in the current domain while providing output [...] Read more.
This study reviews second-generation voltage conveyor (VCII)-based read-out circuits for sensors and bioelectrical signal conditioning from existing literature. VCII is the dual circuit of a second-generation current conveyor (CCII), which provides the possibility of processing signals in the current domain while providing output signals in the voltage form. The scope of this paper is to discuss the benefits and opportunities of new VCII-based read-out circuits over traditional ones and bioelectrical signals. The achieved main benefits compared to conventional circuits are the simpler read-out circuits, producing an output signal in a voltage form that can be directly used, improved accuracy, possibility of gain adjustment using a single grounded resistor, and the possibility of connecting several SiPM sensors to the readout circuit. The circuits studied in this paper include VCII- based read-out circuits suitable for all types of sensors configured in the current-mode Wheatstone bridge (CMWB) topology, the VCII-based read-out circuits solutions reported for silicon photomultiplier, spiral-shaped ultrasonic PVDF and differential capacitive sensors, and, finally, a simple readout circuitry for sensing bioelectrical signals. There are still not many VCII-based readout circuits, and we hope that the outcome of this study will enhance this area of research and inspire new ideas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electronics for Sensors, Volume 2)
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