Signal Conditioning
Signal conditioning circuitss are used to
process the output signal from sensors of a
measurement system to be suitable for the
next stage of operation.
The signal may be:
Too small and have to be amplified.
Containing interference which has to be
removed.
Nonlinear and require linearization.
Analog and have to be made digital.
Digital and have to be made analog.
Change in resistance and have to be
converted into current change.
Voltage change and have to be
converted into a suitable size of current
change.
All these processes are termed as signal
conditioning
So, one can say that the function of the
signal conditioning circuitss include the
following items
Signal amplification using Op Amp.
Filtering using Op Amp.
Interfacing with P using ADC.
Protection using Zener & photo isolation.
Linearization using Current -
voltage
change circuits.
Resistance change circuitss using
Wheatstone bridge.
Error compensation.
The following are some of the processes
that can occur in conditioning a signal :
1. Protection : to prevent damage to next
element due to high current or voltage,
this can be done using current limiting
elements (Fuses) or voltage limiting
circuitsS.
2. Getting the signal into the right type of
signal: this can mean making the
signal into D.C current or voltage using
bridges, or making the signal in digital
or analogue form using ADC or DAC.
3. Getting the level of the signal right
this can mean amplifying or
attenuating the signal level using Op
Amp.
4. Eliminating or reducing noise : where
filters are mainly used to eliminate
noise from signals.
5. Signal manipulation : which makes the
signal as a linear function of some
variable.
Operational Amplifiers
The operational amplifiers are the basic
element of many signal conditioning modules.
Generally the Op Amp has the following
properties :
Gain: being ofthe order greater than
100000, ideally = infinite
Input impedance: ideally infinite
output impedance: ideally zero; practical
values 20 100 Q.