Title :
A smart bipolar thermal flow sensor with frequency output
Author :
Verhoeven, H.J. ; Riedijk, F.R. ; Huijsing, J.H.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Delft Univ. of Technol., Netherlands
Abstract :
A smart two-dimensional flow sensor with frequency output is presented. The sensor measures flow-induced on-chip temperature differences to determine both direction and intensity of the flow. The temperature differences are on-chip converted to two TTL (transistor transistor logic) compatible frequency-modulated output voltages in the range of 5 to 15 kHz, from which both flow intensity and direction can be calculated. An etched groove provides a thermal isolation between the measurement and the signal processing part of the chip. The small dimensions of the sensor (6*6 mm/sup 2/) and the fact that a standard IC process is used to make this sensor suitable for both industrial and consumer products. A digital output signal can be obtained by using a minimum of external components.<>
Keywords :
electric sensing devices; flow measurement; flowmeters; signal processing equipment; transistor-transistor logic; 5 to 15 kHz; TTL; digital output signal; direction; error reduction; etched groove; frequency output; frequency-modulated output voltages; intensity; on-chip temperature differences; signal conditioning electronics; smart bipolar thermal flow sensor; thermal isolation; two-dimensional flow sensor; Etching; Fluid flow measurement; Frequency conversion; Intelligent sensors; Logic; Temperature distribution; Temperature measurement; Temperature sensors; Thermal sensors; Voltage;
Conference_Titel :
Solid-State Sensors and Actuators, 1991. Digest of Technical Papers, TRANSDUCERS '91., 1991 International Conference on
Conference_Location :
San Francisco, CA, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-87942-585-7
DOI :
10.1109/SENSOR.1991.148877
