Marked read on 2025.10.06.
This book took much longer for me to read than anticipated, in part due to the amount and type of content in it, and partly because of other time constraints constantly getting in the way. Regardless, I’m very glad I read it because of the foundational knowledge in it on the various types of sensor circuits and sensors it covers.
Especially the sensor specific headings were heavy to read through. Not only are they numerous, but each section goes over the physical principles, manufacturing process, material science, calibration, transfer function, and common circuit design notes for the sensor type. As such the book functions as an excellent quick reference for the types of sensors it covers, even if a single read through isn’t enough to remember all the content (certainly wasn’t for me).
Below is a brief list of more general topics relating to sensors the book covers:
- Data Acquuisition (important, quite basic)
- Units of measurement (basic physics, maths)
- Sensor classifications
- Transfer Functions (important, quite basic)
- linear, polynomial approx., spline interpol., piecewise approx.
- Sensor Characteristics (instrumental)
- Elements: mechanical, thermal, electrical
- span, accuracy, resolution
- non-linearity, hysteresis
- repeatability, dead-band
- reliability, MTTF, accelerated life testing
- Physical principles of sensing (important, quite basic)
- electric charge, fields, potential
- capacitance, magnetism
- lenz law, eddy currents
That’s the prelude to the actual content (the sensor types) in the book. It’s naturally very important to understand the listed points, but it’s also quite likely that someone reading this book may already be familiar with a lot or most of these points from school or other literature.
Other general standouts mostly by book topic for me were:
- Signal conditioners
- Sensor connections (ratiometric, differential, wheatstone, null-balanced)
- Excitation circuits
- Analog-to-Digital converters
- Circuit noise and shielding
- Energy harvesting (far-field, near-field, light)
- Spectrometers (mass, ion mobility)
The last topic of the book broadly covers “Materials”. It delves more into chemistry and material composition, discussing unique properties of plastics, metals, ceramics, and various types of glasses, and how the properties are relevant to sensor tech. The section also outlines MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems) topics like photolithography, silicon micromachining, wafer bonding, and LIGA. This is a good general heading to read through as well.
And lastly a little about the sensor-type specific headings which comprise most of the book. They all follow broadly the same structure when introducing a new sensor type: First the relevant physical phenomena are outlined in words, followed by an introduction to the relevant formulas. This often includes a brief discussion of the relevant SI units and what they depict in concrete terms. This is followed by the main sensor section and includes diagrams of the sensors themselves and of the sensors in an applicable environment to better illustrate how they are used.
Solid read, would recommend.