Chapter 4: Output (Data) Presentations / Elements

Introduction:

The transmitted data may be used by the system, finally for monitoring, controlling or analyzing
purposes. Thus the person handling the measuring instrument get the information in the proper
form according to the purpose for which it is intended. This function is done by the data (output)
presentation element.

 If the output is to be monitored, then visual display devices are used as output
presentation elements.
 If the output signal is to be recorded for analysis purpose, then magnetic tapes, recorders,
high speed cameras are used as data presentation elements.
 For control and investigation purpose, the microprocessors, computers and
microcontrollers may be used as output presentation elements.
The data (output) presentation stage may be called terminating stage of an instrument.

For example:

Consider a simple analogue meter used to measure current or voltage as shown in Fig. 4.1 below.
The moving coil is primary sensing element. The magnets and coil together act as data
conditioning stage to convert an electrical current in the coil to a mechanical force. This force is
transmitted to the pointer through mechanical linkage which acts as data transmission element.
The pointer and scale act as output presentation element.

Current Moving Magnets & Force Mechanical Pointer

other linkages and Scale Observer
coil
components
Primary sensing Data conditioning Data transmission Data presentation

Fig.4.1. Analogue meter for measurement of current

Generally output display devices are categorized as Indicating and Recording instruments

Indicating (Visual display) Recording

Instruments Instruments
Pointer and scale Graphical
Alphanumeric Magnetic
Graphical Semiconductor
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4.1. Indicating Instruments:

4.1.1. Analogue Pointer and Scale

In case of measuring instruments the effect of unknown quantity is converted into a mechanical
force which is transmitted to the pointer which moves over a calibrated scale. The moving
system of such instrument is monitored on a pivoted spindle. For the satisfactory operation of
any indicating instruments, following systems must be presented on an instrument.

1. Deflecting system which is producing deflecting torque TD

2. Controlling system which is producing controlling torque TC
3. Damping system which is producing damping torque

Let us see the various ways in which these torques are obtained in an indicating instrument.

1. Deflecting System:

In most of the deflecting instruments the mechanical force which is proportional to the quantity
to be measured is generated. This force or torque deflects (moves) the pointer. The system which
produces such a deflecting torque is called deflecting system and the force is denoted as
deflection torque (TD). The deflecting torque overcomes:

 The inertia of the moving system

 The controlling torque provided by controlling system
 The damping torque provided by damping system

The deflection system uses one of the following effects produced by current or voltage to
produce deflection torque.

Magnetic effect: When a current carrying conductor is placed in uniform magnetic field, it
experiences a force which causes to move it. This effect is mostly used in many measuring
instruments like moving iron, attraction and repulsion type, permanent magnet moving coil and
so on.

Thermal effect: The current to be measured is passed through a small element which heats it to
cause a rise in temperature which is converted to an e.m.f by a thermocouple attached to the
heating element.

Electrostatic effect: When two plates are charged, there is a force exerted between them, which
cause to move one of the plates. This effect is used in electrostatic instruments such as
voltmeters and cathode ray tubes.
 3

2. Controlling System:

This system should provide a force so that current or any other electrical quantity will produce a
deflection of the pointer, proportional to its magnitude. The output functions of his system are:
a) It produces a force equal and opposite to the deflecting force in order to make the
deflection of the pointer at a definite magnitude.

If this system is absent then the pointer will swing beyond its final steady position for
the given magnitude and deflection will become indefinite.

b) It brings the moving system back to zero position when the force which causes
the movement of the moving system is removed. The pointer will never come
back to its zero position in the absence of controlling system. Controlling torque
is generally provided by springs. Sometimes gravity control is also used.

Gravity control: This type of control consists of a small weight (Balance weight) attached
to the moving system whose position adjusted. This weight produces a controlling torque
due to gravity and also called control weight. The Fig.4.2 shows the gravity control
system.

Fig.4.2 Gravity control system

At the zero position of the pointer, the controlling torque is zero. If the system deflects, the
weight position also changes. When the system deflects through an angle θ , the control
weight acts at a distance of ℓ from the center, thus, the component K sin θ of this weight
tries to restore the pointer back to the zero position.
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This is nothing but the controlling torque (TC). Tc = K sin θ x ℓ . Where K is gravity constant
Since generally, all meters are current sensing meters, where deflecting torque is d
T = KI .
In equilibrium position, Td = Tc . Thus, from the above Tc and Td questions, the deflection
is proportional to the current i.e the quantity to be measured( I ∝ sin θ ) .
Note that as the deflection is the function of sin θ , the scale for the instrument using
gravity control is not uniform.

Spring control: Two hair (wool) springs are attached to the moving system which exerts
controlling torque. To employ spring control to an instrument, the following requirements
are essential. The spring should:

 be non-magnetic
 be free from mechanical stress
 have a small resistance, sufficient cross-sectional area
 have low resistance temperature coefficient

The arrangement of the springs is shown in Fig.4.3 below.

0936231020

[Link] Control System

The inner end of the spring is attached to the spindle while the outer end is attached to a
lever or arm which is actuated by a set of screw mounted at the front of the instrument. So
the zero setting can be easily done.
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The controlling torque provided by the instrument is directly proportional to the angular
deflection of the pointer ( C
T α θ)
and this controlling torque provided by spiral spring is
given by:
Ebt 3
TC = θ = kSθ
12 L Where: E = Young's Modulus of spring material in N/m2
t = thickness of the spring material in meters
b = depth of the pivot in meters
L = length of control weight from the lever in meters
Ks = spring constant = Ebt3/12L

Since the deflection torque is proportional to the current to be measured (T d α I ) and at

T =T ,
equilibrium d c the scale of the instrument using spring control system is uniform.
When the current is removed, due to spring force the pointer comes back to its initial
position. The spring control is very popular and used in almost all indicating instruments.

3. Damping System:

The deflecting torque provides some deflection and controlling torque acts in the opposite
directions to that of deflecting torque. So before coming to rest, pointer always oscillates
due to inertia, about the equilibrium position. Unless a pointer rests, final reading can not be
obtained. So to bring the pointer to rest within short time, damping system is required. The
system should provide a damping torque only when the moving system is in motion.
Damping torque is proportional to velocity of the moving system but it does not depend on
operating current. It must not affect controlling torque or increase the friction.
The following methods are used to produce damping torque.

a) Air friction damping b) Fluid friction damping c) Eddy current damping

Basically for deflection of the moving system, different types of instrument movement are
used.
Moving coil (PMMC) Thermocouple
Moving coil (Dynamo meter) Electrostatic
Moving Iron Induction
Thermal hot wire Rectifier

PMMC = Permanent Magnet Moving Coil

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Moving Coil (D`Arsonval) Meter Movement:

The structure of a dc moving-coil (PMMC) meter is shown in Fig.4.3 below. A small

rectangular pivoted coil is wrapped around an iron cylinder and placed between the poles of a
permanent magnet. Because of the shape of the poles of the permanent magnet, the induction
magnetic field in the air gap is radial and constant.

Fig.4.4. D`Arsonval meter movement

A moving-coil meter is a very commonly used form of analogue voltmeter because of its
sensitivity, accuracy and linear scale, although it only responds to d.c. signals.

As shown schematically in Fig4.3 above, it consists of a rectangular coil wound round a soft iron
core that is suspended in the field of a permanent magnet. The signal being measured is applied
to the coil and this produces a radial magnetic field. Interaction between this induced field and
the field produced by the permanent magnet causes a torque, which results in rotation of the coil.

The amount of rotation of the coil is measured by attaching a pointer to it that moves past a
graduated scale.

Now let see the mathematical relationship of the deflecting torque with the current.
The torque produced is given by the equation as follows.

T = B * H *W * N * I
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Where: B = Magnetic flux density, H = Height, W= Width, N = turns ratio & I = current.

From the formula above it is seen that by keeping constant all quantities except the current, then it can
be written as

T= K*I, where the torque becomes the function of the current.

The controlling force is produced by the tension of the spring which is attached with the pointer.

The damping torque is produced by the eddy currents. Eddy current damping is based on the principle
that when ever a sheet of conducting metal but non magnetic like copper/ aluminium moves in a
magnetic field so as to cut through lines of force, eddy currents are set up on the sheet. Due to these
eddy currents, a force opposing the motion of the sheet is experienced between them and the magnetic
field. Hence if the strength of the magnetic field is constant, the damping force is proportional to the
velocity of the moving system and is zero when the moving system is at rest.

The D`Arsonval meter movement is used as an ammeter. Since the meter movement is a coil of very
fine wire with little mass, it has a high resistance and as a result, little torque (a small current) will
deflect it. If the meter movement is measuring heavier current, it must be larger, with greater mass and
smaller resistance. A meter measuring microamperes will most probably be used in a circuit with a
resistance of 100KΩ or larger. A meter measuring milli-amperes will most likely be use in a circuit with
a resistance of 1000Ω. In both cases the relative resistance is small with respect to the circuit resistance.
So the coil of the meter can be represented as below for measurement of current.

The two most important parameters of the moving coil are

 Its internal resistance (Rm) and

 Current handling capacity (Im). Im +
Rm
Basic meter

Fig.4.5. PMMC equivalent circuit

Although the meter resistance is an integral part of the meter movement, the meter movement can be
thought of as having two separate parts; the ideal meter with zero resistance, and the meter resistance.

The PMMC instrument is essentially a low-level dc ammeter. However, with the use of parallel
connected resistors, it can be employed to measure a wide range of direct current level. The instrument
may also be made to function as a dc voltmeter by connecting appropriate value resistors in series with
the coil. AC ammeters and voltmeters can be constructed by using rectifier circuits with a PMMC
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instruments. Ohmmeters can be made from precision resistors, PMMC instruments, and batteries. Multi
range meters are available that combine ammeter, voltmeter and ohmmeter functions in one instrument.

Basic Dc Ammeter:
It is the basic PMMC equivalent circuit connected with a parallel (shunt) resistor.

Rm = Internal resistance of coil

Rsh = Shunt resistance
Im = Full scale deflection current
Ish = Shunt current
I = Ish + Im = total circuit current

Fig.4.6. Basic d.c Ammeter equivalent circuit

V sh
R sh = .
The shunt resistor can be calculated as: I sh As the two resistances, Rsh and Rm are in parallel, the
voltage drop across them is the same.

So, Vsh = Vm and thus, IshRsh = ImRm

I m Rm
R sh =
Thus, I sh . But I = I-I .
sh m
I m Rm Rm I
R sh = R sh = m=
Therefore, ( I − I m) or ( m − 1 ) Where Im

The m is called multiplying power of the shunt and defined as the ratio of total current to the current
through the coil. It can also be expressed as:

I R
m= = 1+ m
Im Rsh

The shunt resistance may consist of a constant temperature resistance wire within the case of the meter
or it may be external shunt having low resistance.
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Key Point: Thus to increase the range of ammeter 'm' times, the shunt resistance required is 1/ (m -1) times
the basic meter resistance. This is nothing but extension of ranges of an ammeter.

Example 4.1: A 2 mA meter with an internal resistance of 100 Ω is to be converted to 0-150

mA ammeter. Calculate the value of the shunt resistance required in two ways.

Solution: Given values are,

Rm = 100 Ω, Im = 2 mA and I = 150 mA

I m Rm Rm
R sh = R sh =
( I − I m) ( m − 1 ) Class work

2 x10−3 Ax 100 Ω
Rsh = ( 150 x10 A − 2 x 10 A )
−3 −3

200 x 10−3 A Ω
R sh =
148 x 10−3 A

R sh = 1.351Ω R sh = 1.351Ω

a) Multirange Ammeters
The range of the basic d.c ammeter can be extended by using a number of shunts and a selector
switch. Such a meter is is called multirange ammeter, Fig. 4.7.

[Link] ammeter
 10

R1, R2, R3 and R4 are four shunts. When connected in parallel with the basic meter, the can give
four different ranges I1, I2, I3 and I4. The selector switch (S) is multiposition switch, having low
contact resistance and high current carrying capacity.
The make before break type switch is used for the range changing. If the ordinary switch is used,
while range changing the switch remains open and full current passes the meter.
The meter may get damaged due to such high current. So the make before break switch is used.
The design of such switch is so that it makes contact with the next terminal before completely
breaking the contact with the previous terminal.

The multirange ammeters are used for the range up to 50 A. While using multirange ammeters,
the highest range should be sued first (nearest to the basic meter) and the current range should be
decreased until good upscale reading is obtained. All the shunts are very precise resistances and
hence cost of such multirange ammeters is high.

The mathematical analysis of basic d.c ammeter is usually applicable to such multirange
ammeter. Thus,
R Rm Rm
R1 = m R2 = Rn =
m1 −1 , m2 −1 and mn −1
Rm Rm Rm
R sh1 = R sh2 = R shn =
or
I1− Im , I 2− I m and In− Im

Where; m1, m2 and--- mn are the shunt multiplying powers for the currents I1, I2 and ----In

Example 4.2: Design and draw a multirange d.c milliammeter with a basic meter having a resistance
of 75 Ω and a full scale deflection for the current of 2mA if the required ranges are:
0 -10mA, 0 – 50mA and 0 – 100mA

Solution: The firs range is 0 – 10 mA and hence I1 = 10 mA while Im = 2 mA and Rm = 75 Ω

I m Rm 2 mA x 75Ω 150mA Ω
R sh1 = = = 18.75Ω
So, I 1 − I m = 10 mA −2mA 8mA

Complete the rest design task please!

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b) The Ayrton (Universal) Shunt

We have seen that in multistage ammeter, a make before break switch is must. The Ayrton shunt
or the universal shunt eliminates the possibility of having a meter without a single shunt. The
meter with the Ayrton shunt is shown in Fig.4.8. below.
The selector switch (S), decides on the
appropriate shunt required to change the
range of the meter. When the position of the
switch is at '1', then the resistance R1 is in
parallel with the series combination of R 2,
R3 and Rm. Hence current through the shunt
is more than the current through the meter,
thus protecting the basic meter. When the
switch is in the position '2', then the series
resistance of R1 and R2 is in parallel with the
series combination of R3 and Rm. The
current through the meter is more than
through the shunt. In the position '3', the
resistance R1, R2 and R3 are in series and
acts as the shunt. In this position, the
maximum current flows through the meter.
This increases the sensitivity of the meter.
Fig.4.8. Ammeter with Ayrton shunt

The voltage drop across the two parallel branches is always equal.

Thus IshRsh = ImRm . But;

In position '1', R1 is in parallel with R2 +R3 + Rm

I 1 ( R1 ) = I m [ R2 + R 3 + R m ]
So, where I1 is the first range required. ------- (1)

In position '2', R1 + R2 is in parallel with R3 + Rm

I 2 ( R1 + R2 ) = I m ( R 3 + Rm )
Thus, where I2 is the second range required. ------- (2)

In position '3', R1 + R2 + R3 is in parallel with Rm

I 3 ( R1 + R2 + R3 ) = I m R m
Therefore, where I3 is the third range required. ------- (3)

Note that! The current range I3 is the minimum while I1 is the maximum range possible.
Solving the equations (1), (2) and (3), the required Ayrton shunt can be designed.
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Example 4.3: Design and draw an Ayrton shunt to provide an ammeter with current ranges
1A, 5A and 10A. A basic meter resistance is 50Ω and its fullscale deflection
current is 1mA.

Solution: Refer to fig.4.8

In position '1', R1 is shunt with R2 +R3 + Rm

I 1 ( R1 ) = I m [ R2 + R 3 + R m ]
Thus, where I1= 10A, Im =1mA and Rm = 50Ω,

Then, 10A R1 = 1x10-3A (R2 +R3 + Rm)

R1 = 10 -4 ((R2 +R3 + 50Ω) ----------------------------- (a)

In position '2', R1 + R2 is shunt with R3 + Rm

I 2 ( R1 + R2 ) = I m ( R3 + Rm )
Therefore, where I2 = 5A,

5A (R1 + R2) = 1x10-3A (R3 + 50Ω)

Thus, R1 + R2 = 2x10- 4 (R3 + 50Ω) ----------------- (b)

In position '3', R1 + R2 + R3 is shunt with Rm

I 3 ( R1 + R2 + R3 ) = I m R m
So, where I3= 1A,
1A (R1 + R2 + R3) = 1x10-3A x 50Ω

R1 + R2 + R3 = 0.05Ω ------------------------------------------- (c)

From equation (c), R1 + R2 = 0.05 Ω - R3

Substituting in equation (b) we get,

0.05 Ω - R3 = 2x10- 4 (R3 + 50Ω)

0.05 Ω - R3 = 2x10- 4 R3 + 0.01Ω

0.05 Ω - 0.01Ω = R3 (1 +2x10- 4)

0 . 04 Ω
= 0 . 0399 Ω
Thus, R3 = 1. 0002 .
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So, R1 + R2 = 0.05 Ω – 0.0399 Ω = 0.01Ω

Then R2 = 0.01Ω - R1
Substituting R2 in equation (a),

R1 = 10 - 4 (0.01Ω - R1 + 0.0399Ω + 50Ω)

R1 = 10 - 6 Ω – 10 - 4 R1 + 3.99 – 6 Ω + 5- 3 Ω

1.0001 R1 = 5.00499 - 3 Ω

R1 = 0.005 Ω

And R2 = 0.01 Ω - 0.005 Ω = 0.005 Ω

From the above result, the shunt resistances of the designed Ayrton shunt are:

R1 = 0.005 Ω
R2 = 0.005 Ω and
R3 = 0.0399Ω

Now draw the designed Ayrton shunt ammeter by leveling all determined and given values
appropriately.
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Basic Dc Voltmeter:

The basic d.c. voltmeter is nothing but a PMMC D'Arsnvol meter. The resistance is required to
be connected in series with the basic meter to use it as a voltmeter. This series resistance is called
a multiplier.

The main function of the multiplier

is to limit the current through the
basic meter so that the meter current
does not exceed the full scale
deflection value. The voltmeter
measures the voltage across the two
points of a circuit or a voltage across
a circuit component. The basic d.c
voltmeter is shown in Fig. 4.9.

Fig.4.9. Basic d.c Voltmeter

The voltmeter must be connected across the two points or a component, to measure the potential
difference, with the proper polarity.

The multiplier resistance can be calculated as:

From Fig.4.8,
V = I m Rs + I m Rm where: Rm = Internal resistance of the meter

I m RS = V − I m Rm RS = Series multiplier resistance

Im = Full scale deflection current
V
RS = − Rm
Thus, Im V = Full range voltage to be measured

Note! The multiplying factor for multiplier is the ratio of full range voltage to be measured (V)
and the voltage drop across the basic meter (v)
V
m=
v
I m ( Rm + R S ) RS
m= =1+
Let,
v = I m Rm andV = I m ( R m + R S ) . Thus, I m Rm Rm

Hence the multiplier resistance can also be expressed as, R S = ( m − 1 ) Rm

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Key Point: Thus to increase the range of voltmeter 'm' times, the series resistance required is
(m -1) times the basic meter resistance. This is nothing but extension of ranges of a
voltmeter.

Example 4.4: A moving coil instrument gives a full scale deflection with a current of 40 µA,
while the internal resistance of the meter is 500Ω. It is to be used as a voltmeter
to measure a range of 0 – 10V. Calculate the multiplier resistance needed.

Solution: Given values are: Rm = 500Ω, Im = 40 µA and V = 10V

VS 10 V
RS = − Rm = − 500 Ω = 249 . 5 K Ω
Im 40 x 10−6 A
Thus

a) Multirange Voltmeter:

The range of the d.c. voltmeter can be extended by using a number of multipliers and a selector
switch. Such a meter is called multirange voltmeter and shown in Fig.4.10.

Fig.4.10. Multirange Voltmeter

Resistors R1, R2, R3 and R4 are the four series multipliers. When connected in series with the
meter, they can give four different voltage ranges as V 1, V2 V3 and V4. The selector switch S is
multiposition switch by which the required multiplier can be chosen in the circuit.

The mathematical analysis of basic d.c. voltmeter is equally applied for such multirange meter.
 16

VS
RS = − Rm
Thus from Im ,
V1 V2
R1 = − Rm , R2 = − Rm
Im Im and so on.

b) Universal Multiplier

The more practical arrangement of universal multiplier resistances is shown in Fig 4.11.

Fig.4.11. Universal Voltmeter

In this arrangement, the multipliers are connected in a series string. The connections are brought
out from the junction of the resistances. The selector switch is used to pick the required voltage
range.

When the switch S is at position V1, R1 + R2 + R3 + R4 acts as a multiplier resistances, while

when the switch S is at position V 4 then the resistance R4 only acts as multiplier resistance. The
V4 the lowest range while V1 is the maximum voltage range. The multiplier resistances can be
calculated as:

In position V4, the multiplier is R4 only. The total resistance of the circuit is say RT,

V4
RT = R = RT − Rm
Im Thus, 4 ---------------------------- (1)

In position V3, the multiplier is R3 + R4.

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V3
RT =
Thus, Im

So,
R3 + R 4 = RT − Rm

R3 = R T − ( Rm + R 4 )
--------------------------------------------- (2)

In position V2, the multiplier is R2 + R3 + R4.

V2
RT =
Thus, Im

So,
R2 +R3 + R4 = RT − Rm

R2 = R T − ( Rm + R3 + R 4 )
---------------------------------- (3)

In position V1, the multiplier is R1 + R2 + R3 + R4.

V1
RT =
Thus, Im

So,
R1 +R2 +R 3 + R 4 = R T − Rm

R1 = R T − ( Rm + R2 + R3 + R4 )
----------------------------------- (4)

Using the equations (1), (2), (3), and (4) multipliers can be designed. The advantage of this
arrangement is that the multipliers except R4 have standard resistance values and can be obtained
commercially in precision tolerance. The first resistance R 4 only is the resistance having special
value and must be manufactured specially to meet the circuit requirements.

Sensitivity of a Voltmeter

In a multirange voltmeter, the ratio of the total resistance R T to the voltage range remains the
same. This ratio is nothing but the reciprocal of the full scale deflection current of the meter
(1/Im). This value is called sensitivity of the voltmeter.

Thus the sensitivity of a voltmeter is defined as:

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1 1
S= S= Ω/V or K Ω/V
Full scale deflection current Or Im

Key Point: The sensitivity range is specified on the meter dial and it indicates the resistance of
the meter for a one volt range

The sensitivity is useful in calculating the resistance of a multiplier in d.c. voltmeter. Consider
the practical multirange voltmeter circuit in Fig.4.10.

Then the multiplier resistances can be obtained as:

R1 = SV 1 − ( Rm + R2 + R3 + R 4 )

R2 = SV 2 − ( Rm + R 3 + R 4 )

R3 = SV 3 − ( Rm + R 4 )

R 4 = SV 4 −Rm

Where: S = Sensitivity rating in Ω/V

Rm = Internal resistance of basic meter or coil
V1, V2, V3 and V4 are the required voltage ranges

Key Point: This method is called the sensitivity method of calculating the multiplier (series
string) resistances.

Example 4.5: Calculate the value of the multiplier resistance on the 500 V range of a d.c.
voltmeter, that uses 50µAmeter movement with an internal resistance of 200 Ω.

Solution: The sensitivity of the meter is:

1 1
S= = = 20000Ω/V = 20 K Ω/V
I m 50 x 10 −6 A

Now R S = SV − Rm = ( 20000 Ω/V x 500 V ) − 200Ω

R S = 1000000 Ω −200 Ω

R S = 999800Ω = 9.998 M Ω
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Note! The more the value of S in Ω/V is, the more the sensitivity of the meter.

AC Voltmeters and Ammeters

Ac electromechanical meter movements come in two basic arrangements:

 those based on Dc movement designs
 those engineered specifically for Ac use
Permanent- magnet moving coil (PMMC) meter movements will not work correctly to
alternating current, because the direction needle movement will change with each half-cycle of
the AC (Fig.4.12a).
Permanent-magnet meter movements, like permanent-magnet motors, are devices whose motion
depends on the polarity of the applied voltage (or, you can think of it in terms of the direction of
the current).

(a) (b)

Fig.4.12. AC Voltmeter and Ammeter

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(a) Passing AC through the D' Arsonval, meter movement causes useless flutter of the needle
(b) Passing AC through the Rectifier, AC meter movement will drive it in one direction

In order to use a DC-style meter movement such as the D' Arsonval design, the alternating
current must be rectified into DC. Arranged in a bridge will serve to steer Ac through the meter
movement in a constant direction throughout all portions of the AC cycle (Fig.4.12b).

Another strategy for a practical AC meter movement is to redesign the movement without the
natural polarity sensitivity of the DC type. This means avoiding the use of permanent magnet.
Probably the simplest design is to use a non magnetized iron vane to move the needle against
spring tension, the vane being attracted toward a stationary coil of wire energized by the AC
quantity to be measured as in Fig.4.13.
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4.1.2. Alphanumeric (Digital) Instruments

Introduction

An analogue system contains devices that manipulate the physical quantities represented in
analogue form. In analogue system the quantities can vary continuously over a range of values.
A digital system is a combination of devices designed for manipulating physical quantities or
information represented in digital form. i.e., they can take only discrete values (that is binary).
Thus, digital instruments are Analog–to-Digital converters (ADC). Digital techniques achieve
much greater levels of accuracy in signal processing than equivalent analogue methods. However
the time it takes to process a signal digitally is longer than that required carrying out the sane
operations by analogue techniques, and the equipment required is more expensive.

Digital instruments can provide high input impedance, high accuracy, and resolution, and a high
speed of measurement. They provide an indication to the observer which is free from ambiguity
and requires no interpolation. Additionally they can store information, can be designed easily,
programmable and less affected by noise. Their limitations are that the real quantities or physical
quantities are analogue in nature. So there is a need to convert these variables to digital, for
manipulating the signal’s using digital circuits. Many devices and most instrumentation
transducers have an output signals in analogue form, while digital systems like microprocessors,
process binary coded data. So signals have to be in a digital format.

Summarized Comparison of Digital and Analog Instruments

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Digital Meter Analog Meter

Leaves no doubt about the measured quantity Wrong scale might be used or might be read incorrectly
Superior resolution and accuracy (± 0.6%) Inferior resolution and accuracy (± 2%)
Indicates a negative quantity when the terminal Pointer attempts to deflect to the left of zero when the
polarity is reversed (dc case) terminal polarity is reversed (dc case)
Not usually damaged by rough treatments Can be irreparably (permanently) damaged when dropped
from bench (hand) levels
Switch automatically to an appropriate range or Suffer damage if the measured quantity is exceeds the
indicate overload when the measured quantity is selected full scale range
excessive

Main Units of Digital Instruments

 Logic Gates: perform logic functions detect the presence or absence of pulses process
digital signals.

 Flip – Flops: can stay in two different stable states. They can store binary information,
count pulses, control the operation of digital circuits, synchronize digital circuit
operations and produce required wave shapes.

 Clock: a series of pulses used as a timing device. The Clock is used to synchronize two
or more circuits that operate together or in parallel. Many operations may be combined
and synchronized by a clock timing system.

 Counter: is a sequential digital circuit that counts and stores the number of input pulses
it receives.

 Register: temporarily stores binary information, acting as a link between main digital
system and input output channels. Data can be manipulated within a registers to increase
functionality through selective utilization of Flip-Flops and steering circuits.

 Analogue – to - Digital Converter (ADC): is required at the interface between analogue

transducer and the digital system, and DAC is often required at a later stage to convert
the signals back into analogue form. To take the advantages of digital techniques while
dealing with analogue inputs and outputs, the following steps are necessary.

 Conversion of analogue to digital.

 Processing digital signals.
 Again converting to analogue.

The process of ADC consists of sampling the analogue signals at regular intervals of time. Each
sample of the analogue voltage is then converted into an equivalent digital value. This
conversion takes a certain finite time, during which the analogue signal can be changing in value.
The next sample of the analogue signal cannot be taken until the conversion of the last sample to
digital form is completed. The representation within the a digital system of a continuous
analogue signals is therefore a sequence of samples whose pattern only approximately follow the
 23

change of the original signal. This pattern of sample taken is successive, an equal interval of time
is known as a discrete signal.

 Sample and Hold Circuit: is normally an essential element at the interface between an
analogue sensor or transducer and an ADC. It holds the input signal at a constant level
while the analogue to digital conversion process is taking place. This prevents the
conversion errors that would probably result if variations in the measured signal were
allowed to pass through to the converter. The operational amplifier circuit shown in
Fig.4.14. below provides this sample and hold function.
The input signal is applied to the circuit for very short time duration with the switch S 1 closed
and S2 open, after which S1 is opened and the signal level is then held until, the next sample is
required, the circuit is reset by closing S2.(Fig.4.14).

-
Vo o ut put
V1 a naloogu e
inp ut + +
SW1 U1
C1 1 .0 u
S W2

o pe ra t i o na l a mp. c o nne c t e d
a s sa mpl e & hol d c i rc ui t s

[Link] and Hold circuit

 Digital Display: unit is a device which indicates the value of the measured quantity as a
number. It is the digital display device which indicates the value in decimal digits. The
number of digits corresponds to the significant figure needed to represent the value.
Digital display units are used as the output devices for digital measuring instruments.

The input to the digital display is either a code on one or more input lines, indicating the
particular number to display, or the excitation of one of the inputs lines designating the
number to be displayed. There are a wide variety of digital readouts available such as a:
o Projection Display: projects the desired digit on a small screen by means of an
optical system and an appropriate mask. Each digit appears at the same plane.

o Light-Emitting-Diode (LED) Display: devices give out different lights to

indicate the level of measured quantity.

o Seven Segment Display: devices form the digits to be displayed by illuminating

the selected segments from a group. As all the available segments are in the same
plane, all digits will be displayed in the same plane.

o Liquid Crystal Display (LCD): are usually arranged in the same seven-segment
numerical format as the LED display. They use much less energy than LED
displays.
 24

o A Gaseous Glow Display: tubes have a set of electrodes, each shaped in the form
of a digit. The selected electrode is surrounded by a gaseous discharge, or glow,
when the digit is selected.

o A Dot-matrix Display: or grid of illuminated dots may be used to form the digit
to be displayed.

Digital Multimeters

A Digital multimeter is basically a digital voltmeter that can be configured to express for the
measurement of voltage, current (dc or ac) and resistance through voltage. All quantities other
than dc voltages are first converted into an equivalent dc voltage by having additional processing
circuits, after which they can be measured by the basic DVM. The ADC is the central element of
a DVM. The ADC is therefore, as a limit input range operating usually a unipolar dc signal.

Fig.4.15. Block diagram of a digital multimeter

 25

For measurement of dc voltage, the dc input stages provide high input impedance together with
attenuation amplification, and polarity sensing of the signal to ensure that the voltage applied to
the ADC is of the correct polarity.

For measurement of AC voltage the input voltage is converted into a DC voltage by means of
rectifier. A compensated attenuator is employed. Many manufactures provide the same
attenuator for both DC and AC measurements. True RMS measurement can be obtained by the
use of thermal converters.

For measurement of resistance a constant current technique is used, depending on the range,
supplied from a battery or a constant current source is passed through the resistance under
measurement and the voltage developed across it is measured. The resistance value is displayed
in ohms.

For measurement of current, the unknown current is passed through a precision resistor in
many commercial digital multi meters and the voltage developed across the precision resistor is
measured. Current is derived by measuring the voltage drop across a known resistance and
scaling the digital read out accordingly. The current value is displayed in units of current.

For measurement of current, a current to voltage converter may also be used, as illustrated by the
Fig.4.16.

Fig.4.16. A current to voltage converter circuit

The current under measurement is applied to summing junction of the input of the op-amp. The
current in the feedback resistor IR is equal o the input current I IN because of very high input
 26

impedance of the op-amp. The current IR causes a voltage drop across one of the resistors, which
is proportional to the input current IIN. Different resistors are employed for different ranges.

4.1.3. Graphical Display Instruments

A graphical representation of the AC wave shape is displayed by the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT)
especially if the electron beam is swept side-to-side across the screen of the tube while the
measured Ac voltage drives the beam up and down (scanning). A CRT with its practically
weightless electron beam "movement" displays the Peak (or Peak-to-Peak if you wish) of an Ac
waveform rather than Average or Effective (RMS) values. Still, a similar problem for all arise:
how do we determine the average and RMS values of a displayed waveform? Conversion factors
between Peak and RMS only hold so long as the waveform falls neatly into a known category of
shape (Sine, Square and Triangle are the only examples with Peak / RMS / Average conversion
factors given here!).

Fig.4.17. RMS, Average, and Peak-to-Peak values for Sine, Square and Triangle waves

The Oscilloscope displays a picture of the shape of an input signal on a light emitting Phosphor
screen. It changes the electrical signal to a visual light energy. The CRO Oscilloscope is an X-Y
plotter. The X-axis correspondences to a signal placed on the Horizontal control of the cathode
ray tube and the Y-axis correspondence to a signal placed on the vertical control of the CRT. A
signal placed on the horizontal plate causes the electron beam to deflect in the horizontal
 27

direction. A signal placed on the vertical plates causes the electron beam to deflect in the vertical
direction. The CRT generates the electron beam, accelerates the beam to a high velocity,
deflects the beam to create the image, and contain a phosphor screen when the electron beam
eventually becomes visible. For accomplishing these tasks various electrical signals and voltages
are required, which are provided by the power supply circuits of the oscilloscopes.
● Low voltage supply is required for the heater of the electron gun for
generation of electron beam
● High voltage of the order of few thousands volts, is required for CRT to
accelerate the beam.
● Normal voltages supply say a few hundreds volts, is required for other
control circuits of the oscilloscopes.

Consider the block diagram of an oscilloscope shown in Fig.4.18. on page 29.

It consists of different kind of sections. Now let’s analyze these sections.

☻CRT: The heart of an oscilloscope is the CRT. It generates the electron beam, accelerates the
beam to a high velocity, deflects the beam to create the image, and contain a phosphor
screen when the electron beam eventually becomes visible.

☻P.S.U: For electronic equipment to operate they need electrical power and different types of
signals to accomplish different tasks, which are provided by the power, supply circuits of
the oscilloscope.

☻Deflection system: The electron beam moves up or down, left or right depending on the
applied electrical voltage.

☻Vertical section: The vertical deflection plates are fitted between the gun and the screen to
deflect the beam in vertical direction according to the signal applied to the
deflection plates.
☻Horizontal section: The horizontal deflection plates are fitted between the gun and the screen
to deflect the beam in horizontal direction according to the signal applied
to the deflection plates.
☻Time base circuit: To obtain a display that shows the form of the input signal applied to the
vertical input, a voltage which makes the horizontal positions of the beam
proportional to time must be applied.
☻Trigger circuits: In a triggered sweep model, the horizontal sweep is turned off with the CRT
beam remaining at the left hand side of the CRT screen, until a vertical
signal is encountered.
☻Delayed sweep: It has a feature of allowing seeing of a small feature, or section, of a larger
waveform.

For the display of signals as a function of time the horizontal system provides a saw tooth
voltage to the X plates of the oscilloscopes together with the blanking waveform necessary to
suppress the fly back. The sweep speed required is determined by the wave form being observed.
In time measurement the sweep can be either continuous, providing repetitive display, or single
 28

shot, ion which the horizontal system is triggered to provide a single sweep. To provide a stable
display in the repetitive mode the display is synchronized either internally from the vertical or
externally using the signal triggering or initiating the signal being measured. Most oscilloscopes
provide facilities for driving the X-plates from an external source to enable, for example. As
lissajous figure to be displayed.

For comparison purposes, simultaneous viewing of multiple inputs is often required. These can
be provided by the use of dual-trace or dual beam methods.

In the dual-trace method the beam is switched between the two inputs signals. Alternate sweeps
of the display can be used for one of the two signals, or, in a single sweep, the display can be
chopped between the two signals.

Dual beam oscilloscopes use two independent electron beams and vertical deflection systems.
These can be provided with either a common horizontal system or two independent horizontal
systems to enable the two signals to be displayed at different sweep speeds.

Delayed sweep enables the sweep to be initiated some time after the trigger. This delayed sweep
facility can be used in conjunction with the time base to provide expansion of one part of the
waveform.

The trigger system allows the user to specify a position on one or more of the input signals in the
case of external triggering where the sweep is to initiate. Typical facilities provided by trigger
level of controls are auto (which trigger at the mean level of the waveform) and trigger level and
direction control, i.e. triggering occurs at a particular signal level for positive going signals.

The signals to be observed as a function of time are applied to the vertical plates of the
oscilloscopes. The input stages of the vertical system matches the voltages levels of these signals
to the drive requirement of the deflection plates of the oscilloscopes .The coupling of the input
stage can be either DC or AC.

The important specification for the vertical system includes bandwidth and sensitivity. The
bandwidth is generally specified as the highest frequency which can be displayed with less than
3 db loss in amplitude compared with its value at low frequencies. The rise time T r, of an
oscilloscope to a step input is related to its bandwidth, B, by Tr = 0.35/B. In order to measure
the rise time of a waveform with an accuracy of better than 2% it is necessary that the rise time
of the oscilloscope should be less than 0.2 of that of the waveform. Analogue oscilloscopes are
available having bandwidth of up to 1 GHZ.

The deflection system of an oscilloscope, gives a measure of the smallest signal the oscilloscope
can measure accurately. There is a tradeoff between bandwidth and sensitivity since the boniest
level generated either by the amplifier itself or by pickup by the amplifier is greater in wideband
measurements. High sensitivity oscilloscopes may provide bandwidth limiting controls to
improve the display of low level signals at moderate frequencies.

Troubleshooting Questions
 29

1. If there is no signal on the vertical input of the oscilloscope, what kind of waveform is
displayed on the face of the oscilloscope?
2. If the sweep signal is absent, what kind of waveform is displayed on the face of the
oscilloscope?
3. With no signal applied to the vertical & horizontal input connectors a stationary dot will
be present on the face of the CRT. What kind of effect does it have if it remains on the
face of the CRT? What can be done to remove the dot from the face of the screen?
 30

Fig.4.18. Block Diagram of Basic Oscilloscope

 31

4.2 Recording Instruments:

4.2.1 Graphical Recorders:
[Link] Chart recorders:
These provide a continuous record, on paper, of the time variation of measured variables.
Fig 4.2.1(a) and (b) show schematic and block diagrams of an analogue chart recorder. This is a
closed-loop system using position feedback. The input voltage VIN is opposed by the feedback
voltage VF to give an error voltage:

This error voltage is amplified by an amplifier of gain K A, and the amplifier output voltage V A is
input to a d.c. motor which drives the pen. The angular rotation θ of the motor is converted into
the vertical displacement y of the pen by a pulley system. The pen writes on a chart which is
driven at a constant speed along the x-direction, i.e. the x position of the pen is proportional to
time. The motor angular position θ is sensed by a displacement sensor, often a potentiometer, to
provide the feedback voltage VF, thus closing the loop. An increase in input voltage V IN will
cause error “e” to increase in the short term, causing V A, θ and y to increase. This causes a
corresponding increase in VF which reduces “e”; the system settles out with the pen at a new
position y such that VF is as close as possible to VIN.
Using a similar analysis to that, the overall sensitivity of the closed-loop system is given by:

If the amplifier gain is large, so that KA KM >> 1, then y/VIN ≈ KP/KD. This means that the overall
sensitivity is largely independent of KA and KM so that, for example, any changes in KM due to
non-linearity have negligible effect.

A typical analogue chart recorder has a displacement span y of 100 mm and an input range of 0
to 10 V or 4 to 20 mA d.c. The pen positioning accuracy is ±0.2%, the input impedance 250 kΩ
and the response time less than 2.0 s for 100% step change.

Fig4.2.1(c) shows a block diagram of an open-loop digital chart recorder. Here the input voltage
VIN is amplified if necessary and the resulting voltage VA input to an analogue-to-digital converter
(ADC). The parallel digital output signal from the ADC is input to a digital stepper motor which
moves the pen in the vertical y-direction. A typical recorder has a recording width (span of y) of
100 mm and an input range of 0 to 10 V d.c. The ADC has a resolution of 14 1/2 bits; the final
motor output displacement has 105 steps, giving a pen positioning resolution of 0.1 mV. Input
resistance is 100 kΩ, electrical measurement error within 0.4% and pen positioning error within
0.35%.
 32

Fig 4.2.1 Chart recorders (a) Schematic of analogue recorder (b) Block diagram of analogue
recorder (c) Block diagram of digital recorder (d) Chart record of measured variables.
 33

Several measured variables can be recorded using multi-channel recorders. There are two main
types. In continuous or line recorders there is a separate motor and pen for each variable and the
measured values are recorded as a continuous trace. Normally up to four pens are possible and in
order for each pen to travel the full chart width and cross each other they must be offset from
each other horizontally. Since horizontal displacement x is proportional to time, this can be done
by creating a small time shift between the traces. In the multi-point type there is a single motor
and pen which is switched sequentially between the input signals. The first variable is switched
in and a dot printed on the chart, then the second and a dot printed, and so on for all the
variables, returning to the first to repeat the process. The trace for each variable is therefore a
series of dots in a given colour. Fig4.2.1 (d) is a continuous chart record of several variables.
[Link] Paperless Recorders:
The time variation of measured variables can be recorded without paper using a combination of
LCD colour display and digital archive memory. Fig4.2.2 (a) shows a block diagram of a typical
paperless recorder. The input measurement signals are input to a multiplexer and the selected
signal is converted into parallel digital form by an analogue-to-digital converter for input to a
microprocessor. The microprocessor generates the row and column address signals required for
pixel matrix multiplexing in graphic displays. Colour TFT liquid crystal displays are used. Input
data is stored initially in random access memory (RAM) and then transferred to archive memory;
past data can then be retrieved from archive memory and displayed on the screen. A typical
recorder of this type will accept up to 12 analogue input signals, d.c. voltage or current, and has a
144 mm X 144 mm TFT LCD screen. The archive memory is either a 1.4 Mbyte floppy disk or a
300 Mbyte memory card. With the disk and four input variables, each sampled at one-minute
intervals, approximately 110 days of record is obtained. Fig4.2.2 (b) shows continuous time and
bar-graph recordings for two measured variables.

Fig 4.2.2 Paperless recorders (a) System block diagram (b) Typical recording.
 34

[Link] Laser Printers:

Fig4.2.3 (a) shows the basic layout of a laser printer. The printer receives input data in parallel
digital form: for characters this could be in ASCII format; for graphics it will be in vector
format, where geometrical shapes are encoded into numerical values. The operation of the printer
is controlled by a computer acting as a print controller. The controller converts this incoming
data into bitmap image pages, each page corresponding to an array of black/white or coloured
dots.
The photoreceptor drum is an array of photoconductive elements or pixels which correspond to
the above bitmap image page. Initially all of the elements are given a positive charge; this is
done by passing an electric current through the corona wire. The drum rotates and the controller
directs a laser beam to move across the entire photoreceptor array in a raster pattern. The laser
beam is moved by a rotating polygonal mirror and is switched on and off at high speed as it
strikes each pixel. If light hits an element, its resistance falls sharply, causing the charge to fall to
a negative value. If no light is incident, the pixel retains its positive charge.
The result is that the drum is an array of positively and negatively charged pixels, i.e. an
electrostatic image of the bitmap page.
The drum is then coated with positively charged black powder toner. The toner clings to the
negatively charged elements on the drum but not to the positively charged elements, thus
creating a toner version of the bitmap. The sheet of paper is given a negative charge by the
transfer corona wire; this charge is greater than the negative charge of the electrostatic image
so that the paper can pull the toner powder away. The drum rolls over the sheet of paper and the
paper picks up the toner to create an exact image on paper. The paper is then discharged so that it
can be separated from the drum and finally passes to the fuser. This is a pair of heated rollers
which melt any loose toner particles so that they fuse with the paper fibres. The printing process
is now complete. The electrostatic image on the drum surface is then erased by passing it under
the discharge lamp.
Laser printers can create tables of measurement data by printing numbers, letters and special
characters on paper. Fig4.2.3 (b) shows an extract from a 14-column table of measured values of
temperatures in a reactor. The table has 14 characters on each line which specify the channel
number, the measured value and the units of measurement. By printing > or <, the table indicates
that the temperature is either greater than a specified upper limit (say 200 °C) or less than a
specified lower limit (say 100 °C).
The input data to the printer is in parallel ASCII digital form from a computer. Fig4.2.3 (b) gives
the 14 binary ASCII input code words corresponding to each of the 14 characters on the first line
of the table.
 35

Fig.4.2.3. Laser Printers: (a) Schematic diagram (b) Typical table of data.

4.2.2 Magnetic Recorders:

The heart of recording technology is for the process of information storage and retrieval. In
addition to its obvious importance in different branches of science and engineering, it has
become indispensable to our daily life. When we make a bank transaction, reserve an airplane
ticket, use a credit card, watch a movie from a video tape, or listen to music from a CD, we are
using the technology of recording. The general requirements for recording are information
integrity, fast access, and low cost.
Typical recording equipment consists of a read/write head, a medium, a coding/decoding system,
a data access system, and some auxiliary mechanical and electronic components. The head and
medium are for data storage and retrieval purposes, and the coding/decoding system is for data
error correction.
The data access system changes the relative position between the head and the medium, usually
with a servo mechanism for data track following and a spinning mechanism for on-track moves.
 36

[Link] Magnetic Recording

At present, magnetic recording technology dominates the recording industry. It is used in the
forms of hard disk, floppy disk, removable disk, and tape with either digital or analog mode. In
its simplest form, it consists of a magnetic head and a magnetic medium, as shown in Fig. below.
The head is made of a piece of magnetic material in a ring shape (core), with a small gap facing
the medium and a coil away from the medium. The head records (writes) and reproduces (reads)
information, while the medium stores the information. The recording process is based on the
phenomenon that electric current (i) generate a magnetic flux f as described by Ampere’s law.
The flux f leaks out of the head core at the gap, and magnetizes the magnetic medium which
moves from left to right with a velocity V under the head gap. Depending on the direction of the
electric current i, the medium is magnetized with magnetization M pointing either left or right.
This pattern of magnetization is retained in the memory of the medium even after the head
moves away.
Two types of head may be used for reproducing. One, termed the inductive head, senses
magnetic flux change rate, and the other, named the magneto resistive (MR) head, senses the
magnetic flux. When an inductive head is used, the reproducing process is just the reverse of the
recording process. The flux coming out of the magnetized medium surface is picked up by the
head core. Because the medium magnetization under the head gap changes its magnitude and
direction as the medium moves, an electric voltage is generated in the coil. This process is
governed by Faraday’s law. Figure below schematically shows the digital recording/reproducing
process. First, all user data are encoded into a binary format — a serial of 1s and 0s. Then a write
current i is sent to the coil. This current changes its direction whenever a 1 is being written.
Correspondingly, a change of magnetization, termed a transition, is recorded in the medium for
each 1 in the encoded data. During the reproducing process, the electric voltage induced in the
head coil reaches a peak whenever there is a transition in the medium. A pulse detector generates
a pulse for each transition. These pulses are decoded to yield the user data.
The minimum distance between two transitions in the medium is the flux change length B, and
the distance between two adjacent signal tracks is the track pitch W, which is wider than the
signal track width w. The flux change length can be directly converted into bit length with the
proper code information.
 37

4.2.4 Magnetic recording principle and / Reproducing Process

The reciprocal of the bit length is called linear density, and the reciprocal of the track pitch is
termed track density. The information storage areal density in the medium is the product of the
linear density and the track density. This areal density roughly determines how much information
a user can store in a unit surface area of storage medium, and is a figure of merit for a recording
technique. Much effort has been expended to increase the areal density. For example, it has been
increased 50 times during the last decade in hard disk drives, and is expected to continue
increasing 60% per year in the foreseeable future. At present, state-of-the-art hard disk products
feature areal densities of more than 7 Mbits/mm2 (B < 0.1 mm and W < 1.5 mm). This gives a
total storage capacity of up to 6 Gbytes for a disk of 95 mm diameter.

[Link] Magnetic Media

Magnetic media are used to store information in a magnetic recording system. In order to
increase the areal density, we need to reduce flux change length B and track width w. Since B is
limited by the term Mrd/Hc, where d is the magnetic layer thickness, we can reduce B by either
decreasing Mrd or increasing Hc. However, the amplitude of the magnetic signal available for
reproducing head is proportional to the term Mrdw. If we reduce track width w to increase areal
density, we must increase Mrd to avoid signal deterioration. In addition, if the magnetic layer is
so thin that it causes thickness nonuniformity, more noise will appear in the reproducing process.
Therefore, the major requirements for magnetic layer are high Hc, high Mr, and ease of making a
uniform thin layer. Additional requirements include good magnetic and mechanical stability.
There are two groups of magnetic media. The first group is called particulate media because the
magnetic materials are in the form of particles. This group includes iron oxide (g-Fe2O3), cobalt-
modified iron oxide (g-Fe2O3+Co), chromium dioxide (CrO2), metal particles, and barium
ferrite (BaFe12O19).

Magnetic media can be classified into three general forms of applications. Tape is the oldest
form and remains an important medium today. It is central to most audio, video, and
 38

instrumentation recording, although it is also used in the computer industry for archival storage.
Tape is economical and can hold a large capacity, but suffers slow access time. Hard disk is
primarily used as the storage inside a computer, providing fast data access for the user, but
having poor transportability. Flexible disk is designed for easy data transportation, but is limited
in capacity. Besides these three general forms of applications, a hybrid of flexible and hard disk
is being gradually accepted. It is a removable rigid disk capable of holding up to several
gigabytes of digital data. In addition, magnetic stripes are getting wide use in different forms of
cards.
The magnetic layer alone cannot be used as a medium. It needs additional components to
improve its chemical and mechanical durability. In the case of tape application, iron particles
with typical size of 0.5 mm long and 0.1 mm wide are dispersed in a polymeric binder, together
with solvents, lubricants, and other fillers to improve magnetic and mechanical stability. This
dispersed material is then coated on an abiaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate substrate.
An optional back coat may also be applied to the other side of the substrate. The cross section of
a hard disk is more complex. A high-purity aluminum–magnesium (5 wt%) substrate is diamond
turned to a fine surface finish, and then electrolessly plated with a nonmagnetic nickel–
phosphorus (10 at%) undercoat. This layer is used to increase the hardness, reduce the defects,
and improve the finish of the Al–Mg alloy, and is polished to a super surface finish. Next, an
underlayer of chromium is sputtered to control the properties of the magnetic film, followed by
sputtering the magnetic film. Finally, a layer of hydrogenated or nitrogenated carbon is
overcoated on the magnetic film, and an ultrathin layer of perfluorinated hydrocarbon liquid
lubricant is applied on top. The carbon and lubricant layers are used to improve the corrosion and
mechanical resistance of the disk. For a 95-mm disk the finished product should have a surface
flatness better than 10 mm and a tightly control surface roughness. In some applications, an
arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of less than 0.5 nm is required.

[Link] Magnetic Heads

Magnetic heads have three functions: recording, reproducing, and erasing. Usually for stationary
head applications such as tape drives, multiple heads are used to perform these functions. For
moving head applications such as disk drives, a single head is employed because of the
requirements of simple connections and small head mass for fast data access. Most of these
heads are the inductive type, where the fundamental design is an inductive coil and a magnetic
core. The general requirements for the core materials are high relative permeability m, high
saturation flux density Bs, low coercivity Hc, high electric resistivity r, and low magnetostriction
 39

coefficient [Link] heads used laminated molybdebum Permalloy (Ni-Fe-Mo, 79-17-4 wt%).

These heads are inexpensive to make, and have low Hc and high m and Bs. The primary
drawbacks are frequency limitation, gap dimension inaccuracy, and mechanical softness.
Frequency limitation is caused by the difficulty of making the lamination layer thinner than 25
mm. Eddy current loss, which is proportional to layer thickness and square root of frequency,
reduces the effective permeability. As a result, laminated heads are seldom used for applications
exceeding 10 MHz. Gap dimension inaccuracy is associated with the head fabrication process,
and makes it unsuitable for high areal density applications. Lack of mechanical hardness reduces
its usable life.
One way to reduce eddy current loss is to increase core material electric resistivity. Two types of
ferrite material have high resistivity (four to nine orders higher than Permalloy) and reasonable
magnetic properties: Ni–Zn and Mn–Zn. These materials are also very hard, elongating head life
during head/medium contacts. The major deficiency of ferrite materials is their low Bs values. In
order to record in high Hc media, high flux density B is needed in the head core. When the flux
density in the core material reaches its saturation Bs, it will not increase despite the increase of
recording current or coil turns. This saturation starts from the corners of the gap due to its
geometry. To remedy this deficiency, a layer of metallic alloy material with much higher Bs is
deposited on the gap faces. This type of head is called the metal-in-gap (MIG) head. Sendust
(Fe–Si–Al, 85–9.6–5.4 wt%) is one of the materials used for the deposition. MIG heads are
capable of recording up to 100 MHz frequency and 180 kA/m medium coercivity.
Thin-film heads capitalize on semiconductor-like processing technology to reduce the
customized fabrication steps for individual heads. The core, coil, gap, and insulator layers are all
fabricated by electroplating, sputtering, or evaporation.
 40

Due to the nature of the semiconductor process, the fabrication is accurate for small dimensions.
Small gap dimensions are suitable for high linear and track density, and small core dimensions
allow the use of high Bs Permalloy material (Ni–Fe, 80–20 wt%) as core with low inductance for
high data rate applications. Thin-film heads are used for high medium Hc, high areal density
applications. The high cost of the semiconductor-like process is offset by high throughput: a 150´
150 mm wafer can produce 16,000 nanoslider heads. One disadvantage is the limited-band
recording capability because the small pole length limits low-frequency response and introduces
undershoots. A second disadvantage the Barkhausen noise, which is caused by the relatively
small number of magnetic domains in the core. At present, thin-film heads are used up to
frequencies of 80 MHz and medium coercivity of 200 kA/m. MIG thin-film heads are also being
used for high-coercivity applications.
An inductive head is often used for both recording and reproducing. The optimal performance
cannot be achieved because recording and reproducing have contradictory requirements for head
design. To solve this problem, the MR Head has been developed. The MR Head is for
reproducing only, and an inductive head is used for recording. As schematically shown in Fig.
96.16, an MR head has a magnetoresistive element (MRE) and two electric leads. The MRE is a
Permalloy stripe (Ni–Fe, 80–20 wt%), with thickness t, width w, and height h. An electric
current, with density J, passes through the MRE through the leads. The electric resistivity of the
MRE is a function of the angle q between J and MRE magnetization M:

4.2.3 Semiconductor Recorders:

[Link] Light-emitting diode (LED) displays:

When a semiconductor diode is forward biased, as shown in Fig 4 .2.5(a), a current i F flows,
which depends exponentially on the forward voltage VF:

where IS is the reverse saturation current, q the electron or hole charge, k

Boltzmann’s constant and θ K the absolute temperature. Taking natural logarithms we have:

i.e. there is an approximately linear relation between logeiF and VF as shown in Fig4.2.5 (b).

Light-emitting diodes have the special property that when forward biased they emit
electromagnetic radiation over a certain band of wavelengths. Two commonly used LED
materials are gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP), which emits red light, and gallium phosphide
(GaP), which emits green or yellow light. In both cases the luminous intensity I V of the diode
light source increases with current iF; for GaAsP diodes the relationship is approximately linear
(Fig4.2.5 (c)). The light emitted by a GaAsP (red) diode is distributed over a narrow band of
wavelengths centred on 0.655 μm. Fig4.2.5 (d) shows the relationship between relative luminous
intensity and wavelength λ. Similarly the light emitted by a GaP (green) diode is distributed over
a narrow band of wavelengths centred on 0.560 μm. The human eye is far more sensitive to
green light than red, so a green LED of low radiant power may appear as bright as a red LED of
 41

much higher radiant power. The response of LEDs to step changes in iF is extremely fast; turn-on
and turn-off times of 10 ns are typical.
When switched ‘on’, a typical GaAsP diode requires a forward current iF of around 20 mA
corresponding to a luminous intensity Iν of 4.0 mcd (millicandela), and a forward voltage VF of
2.2 V. When used as a display pixel the diode should be switched ‘on’ by a logic signal in the ‘l’
state, and switched ‘off’ when the signal is in the ‘0’ state. Fig4.2.5 (e) shows a simple circuit for
achieving this, using a series resistor R of 140 Ω. For a ‘1’ input, VS ≈ 5 V, iF = (5 − 2.2)/140 =
20 mA and the diode is ‘on’. For a ‘0’ input, VS ≈ 0 V, iF is negligible and the diode is ‘off ’.
Alternatively a 20 mA constant current source may be switched in and out by the logic signal.

A seven-segment LED display device consists of eight individuals LEDs, one for each segment
and one for the decimal point. There are two possible methods of interconnection, common
anode or common cathode (Fig4.2.5 (f)). Using the above data, the power consumption of an
individual pixel is 2.2 x 20 x 10−3 W, i.e. 44 mW; the total power consumption of the seven-
segment display is therefore around 320 mW. This high power consumption means that LEDs
are only suitable for character displays and are unsuitable for graphics displays.

Fig 4.2.5 LED characteristics and circuits: (a) Forward biased LED (b) Current/ voltage (GaAsP)
(c) Luminous intensity/ current (GaAsP) (d) Relative intensity wavelength (GaAsP)
(e) Series resistor (f) Interconnection methods.
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[Link] Liquid crystal displays (LCDs):

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) do not emit light but use light incident on them from external
sources. Consequently LCDs use significantly less power (microwatts) than LEDs (milliwatts).
Liquid crystals flow under shear forces as in normal liquids but have some of the properties of
solids. In nematic liquid crystals individual molecules have a rod-like shape. As the orientation
of the molecules changes so there is a corresponding rotation of the plane of polarisation of the
incident light. An applied electric field can alter both the orientation of the molecules and the
plane of polarisation of the light, thus creating light and dark areas.

Fig 4.2.6(a) and (b) show the construction of a reflective monochrome display using field effect
or twisted nematic (TN) liquid crystal material. The LC material is in contact with a pair of
conducting electrodes which are transparent to light; a voltage is applied across these to create an
electric field. There are glass plates above and below the electrodes. An x polarising filter is
situated above the upper glass plate; this transmits only x polarised light. Similarly a y polarising
filter below the lower glass plate transmits only y polarised light.
Fig 4.2.6(a) shows the situation when the applied voltage V = 0. The molecules near the top of
the LC are lined up along the x-direction. Moving downwards through the liquid, their
orientation gradually hanges so that the molecules at the bottom are lined up along the y-
direction. The light entering the liquid is x polarised; as it moves downwards the direction of
polarisation rotates so that the light is y polarised on leaving the liquid. The light is therefore able
to pass through the y polarising filter and is reflected back to the observer, the surface appearing
pale grey or green.
Fig 4.2.6(b) shows the situation when the applied voltage V is non-zero. In this case the
molecules remain aligned along the x direction throughout the liquid crystal: this means that the
light remains x polarised as it moves downwards. The light cannot therefore pass through the
lower y polarising filter and is absorbed; the surface appears black to an observer.
Fig 4.2.6(c) shows a seven-segment LCD which can display the numerals 0 to 9 and nine upper
case letters. Typically the display has an operating voltage of 10 V and a total current of 10 μA.
The response time of the device, to turn on or turn off signals, is typically 50 ms. The display is
therefore driven by a pulse signal of r.m.s. voltage 10 V and frequency 60 Hz, i.e. a period of 17
ms. This enables the display to be continuously refreshed, giving a contrast ratio of 20:1 with no
flicker. Pulsed operation reduces power consumption and avoids electrode deterioration due to
electrolytic effects.
In order to display numerals, upper and lower case letters and other symbols LCD monochrome
character displays are used; here each character is displayed using the 7 X 5 dot matrix format.
Fig 4.2.6(d) shows a display for 16 characters on a single line, i.e. 16 X 1 format; formats range
typically from 8 X 2 to 40 X 4.
In order to display graphical information monochrome graphics displays are used. These
consist of a matrix of pixels (Fig 4.2.6(e)); the pixel matrix multiplexing technique used. Display
formats vary typically from 122 X 32 to 320 X 240. A 128 X 64 graphics display has a view area
of 62.5 mm X 43.5 mm with viewing angles θ between −15° and +45° and φ between −35° and
+35° respectively. The contrast ratio is typically 10, and response times for rise and fall are
typically 250 ms and 300 ms respectively; the LCD supply voltage V is typically 13.0 V.
 43

Fig 4.2.6(f) shows a typical system for an LCD character display. It consists of a microcontroller,
segment/pixel driver and LCD panel. The input parallel digital signal will be in ASCII form; the
microcontroller will, for each character, convert the input ASCII code into 7 X 5 dot matrix code
and send this to the segment driver.
The basic liquid crystal element shown in Fig 4.2.6(a) can be used to produce colour displays by
the addition of a matrix of red, green and blue filter elements between the upper electrode and
the x polarising filter. However, in order to produce large area displays with sufficient brightness
and contrast ratio to be read clearly at low ambient lighting levels, further developments have
been made:

Fig 4.2.6 Liquid crystal displays (a) Principle: V=0 (b) Principle: V≠ 0 (c) Seven-segment
display (d) Character display (e) Graphics display (f) Character display system.

(a) The addition of ‘backlighting’, a light source at the bottom underneath the y polarising filter.
The observer now receives light both reflected back through the display from external sources
and transmitted through the display from the backlight source.
 44

(b) The development of super-twisted nematic (STN) liquid crystals where the angle of twist,
i.e. angle of rotation of the plane of polarisation of light, is greater than 90°.
(c) A more recent development is thin film transistor (TFT) technology. Here there is a thin
film of semiconductor providing a matrix of transistors, so that there is a drive transistor
associated with each individual LC pixel. This gives more effective pixel multiplexing, with all
pixels in a given row or column having the same voltage. Fig 4.2.7(a) shows the construction of
a typical TFT display.
A typical compact STN colour display has a screen size of 8.2 inches, pixel format 640 X 480,
brightness 70 cd/m2 and contrast ratio 50:1. A comparable TFT display has screen size 8.4
inches, pixel format 800 X 600, brightness 130 cd/m2 and contrast ratio 250:1. A larger area
TFT display for industrial use has a screen size of 15 inches, pixel format 1024 X 768, brightness
250 cd/m2 and contrast ratio 400:1.
Fig 4.2.7(b) shows a bargraph or strip indicator display of measured values. Large LCD
displays have several advantages over comparable CRT displays; these include lower operating
voltage, lower power consumption and flat screens/panels.
 45

Fig 4.2.7 Colour liquid crystal displays: (a) Construction of TFT display (b) Strip indicator
display.