Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/33066
Title: A Compact 16 Channel Embedded System with High Dynamic Range Readout and Heater Management for Semiconducting Metal Oxide Gas Sensors
Authors: HAMMER, Christof 
Warmer, Johannes
Maurer, Stephan
Kaul, Peter
THOELEN, Ronald 
Jung, Norbert
Issue Date: 2020
Publisher: MDPI
Source: Electronics, 9 (11) (Art N° 1855)
Abstract: The simultaneous operation of multiple different semiconducting metal oxide (MOX) gas sensors is demanding for the readout circuitry. The challenge results from the strongly varying signal intensities of the various sensor types to the target gas. While some sensors change their resistance only slightly, other types can react with a resistive change over a range of several decades. Therefore, a suitable readout circuit has to be able to capture all these resistive variations, requiring it to have a very large dynamic range. This work presents a compact embedded system that provides a full, high range input interface (readout and heater management) for MOX sensor operation. The system is modular and consists of a central mainboard that holds up to eight sensor-modules, each capable of supporting up to two MOX sensors, therefore supporting a total maximum of 16 different sensors. Its wide input range is archived using the resistance-to-time measurement method. The system is solely built with commercial off-the-shelf components and tested over a range spanning from 100 Omega to 5 G Omega (9.7 decades) with an average measurement error of 0.27% and a maximum error of 2.11%. The heater management uses a well-tested power-circuit and supports multiple modes of operation, hence enabling the system to be used in highly automated measurement applications. The experimental part of this work presents the results of an exemplary screening of 16 sensors, which was performed to evaluate the system's performance.
Notes: Hammer, C (corresponding author), German Aerosp Ctr, Inst Protect Terr Infrastruct, Rathaus Allee 12, D-53757 St Augustin, Germany.
christof.hammer@dlr.de; johannes.warmer@h-brs.de;
stephan.maurer@h-brs.de; peter.kaul@h-brs.de;
ronald.thoelen@uhasselt.be; norbert.jung@h-brs.de
Other: Hammer, C (corresponding author), German Aerosp Ctr, Inst Protect Terr Infrastruct, Rathaus Allee 12, D-53757 St Augustin, Germany. christof.hammer@dlr.de; johannes.warmer@h-brs.de; stephan.maurer@h-brs.de; peter.kaul@h-brs.de; ronald.thoelen@uhasselt.be; norbert.jung@h-brs.de
Keywords: high dynamic range resistance readout;semiconducting metal oxide gas sensor array;automated sensor-screening;high diagnostic coverage and reliability
Document URI: http://hdl.handle.net/1942/33066
e-ISSN: 2079-9292
DOI: 10.3390/electronics9111855
ISI #: WOS:000592932300001
Rights: 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Category: A1
Type: Journal Contribution
Validations: ecoom 2021
Appears in Collections:Research publications

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat 
electronics-09-01855.pdfPublished version9.54 MBAdobe PDFView/Open
Show full item record

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.