Introduction

This is an introduction to some of the physical principles that underly sensors in instrument
systems. It is not intended to be definitive, or very detailed, but to give the reader an idea of
what is readily achievable with the various systems. I'd welcome corrections and suggestions
for improvements.
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Resistance
Electrical resistance is the easiest electrical property to measure precisely over a wide range
at moderate cost. A simple digital multimeter costing a few tens of dollars can measure
resistances in the range 10 ohm to 10 megohm with a precision of about 1% using a two-wire
technique (circuit 1).
Circuit 1. Two-wire resistance measurement, RX = (V/I) RL1 RL2.
The precision of the two-wire method is limited by uncertainties in the values of the lead
resistances RL1 and RL2.
Circuits 2 & 3. Three-wire resistance measurement methods.
Providing the leads are well-matched, three-wire techniques can be used. Circuit 2 employs
two matched current sources, I1 and I2, to eliminate the effects of lead resistance providing
RL1 = RL2. Circuit 3 is an AC-bridge that is in-balance when RX = RY providing
RL1 = RL3. If a lock-in amplifier is used as a null-detector, determination of RX with an
extremely low excitation current is possible.
Circuit 4. Four-wire 'Kelvin' resistance measurement, RX = V/I.
The 4-Wire 'Kelvin' method (circuit 4) is used in difficult cases when lead resistances vary,
RX is very small, or when very high accuracy is required. The method is immune to the
influence of lead resistance and is limited by the quality of the constant current source and
voltage measurement. Thermoelectric voltages can be eliminated by averaging two
measurements with the polarity of the excitation current reversed.
See also:

AC Resistance Bridge.

Direct Current & Low Frequency Masurements (National Physical Laboratory)

Application Note 43 - Bridge Circuits (Linear Technology, 1990)

Resistive Temperature Detectors

Resistance Temperature Detectors (RTD) exploit the fact that the electrical resistivity of
metals and alloys varies in a reproducible way with temperature. Platinum, with a
temperature coefficient of about 0.0039 K1, is the most popular material used in this

application. An RTD consists of a coil of wire, or a thin-film, with four-wire electrical

connections supported in a way that is a compromise between robustness and thermal timeconstant. RTDs have excellent accuracy (e.g. 0.025 K at room temperature) over a wide
temperature range. At cryogenic temperatures the resistance of metals becomes constant, and
it is usual to use a sample of doped-semiconductor as the sensing element. When using RTDs,
it is always important to check that the measured resistance is independent of excitation
current in order to avoid errors caused by self-heating.
See also:

Measuring Temperature with RTDs - A Tutorial (National Instruments)

Germanium Resistance Thermometers for use at cryogenic temperatures

Strain Gauges
At constant temperature, the resistance R of a metal or semiconductor element of
area A, length l, resistivity , is