Linearizing Dual-Slope Digital Converter Suitable for a Thermistor

To measure temperature using a thermistor as the sensing element, linearization to compensate for the inverse exponential nature of the resistance-temperature characteristic of the thermistor is required. A linearizing dual-slope digital converter (LDSDC) that accepts a thermistor sensor as input and provides a digital output that is directly proportional to the temperature being sensed is presented here. A logarithmic amplifier at the input of the LDSDC compensates for the exponential characteristics. The conversion logic of the underlying dual-slope converter is suitably modified to implement the required inversion and offset correction and thus obtain linearization over a wide range of input temperature. The efficacy of the proposed LDSDC is established through simulation studies and its practicality demonstrated with experimental results obtained on a prototype unit built and tested. Analysis of the proffered method to identify possible sources of errors is also presented.