Yearly Archives: 2012

Many datasheets serve both as technical specificationsand promotional collateral. As such, “specsmanship” often makes comparing two sensor components on paper complicated. This article focuses on a few key parameters that system designers should consider. Measurement Range Measurement range refers to the span of measurement values the sensor can record between the lowest and highest possible values. Dynamic range of a sensor refers to the span between the largest and smallest values two consecutive samples can take. Some sensors have dynamic ranges that cover their whole measurement range; for others, dynamic range is a subset of the total measurement range (see figure). In the latter cases, the bias can be charged either through register settings or be adjusted automatically by an … Continue reading →

Many system designers have faced the challenge to optimize sensor components selection based on use cases they plan to support. This article examines the key classes of use cases and discusses their demands on the resolution, bandwidth and dynamic range of various sensors. The resolution of a sensor refers to the finest measurement it can discern. This depends on two factors: the number of quantization levels available to a digital measurement and the noise experienced by the sensor.  For example, a 12-bit sensor can cover a 72dB range while a 16-bit sensor covers a 96dB range. But if background noise for a sensor is higher than -72dB, a 16-bit sample would not capture any more useful information than a 12-bit … Continue reading →