The aim of this course is to give to the students all the instruments required to design a "smart sensor". The three main parts of such device, the sensor itself, the front-end analog electronic interface and the digital logic part are analyzed with great detail. These topics will be studied with a specific focus on practical aspects rather than theoretical ones. The goal is to teach to the students how to become a good system level designer, as requested by the profile of a Mechatronic Engineer, with a focus on mixed signal design of electronic circuits. A system level designer must have a wide knowledge of all the different parts of a system and he/she must be able to connect them together to create a working device. To reach this goal the course will combine a description of the different parts of a "smart sensor" focused toward practical implementations, exercises done during classes and a laboratory activity based on the development of a physical device. The laboratory activity will be structured in such a way that this result can be achieved both working from home or in a laboraory of the Politecnico.

- Knowledge of the main sensor types. - Knowledge of sensor connections to signal conditioning circuits. - Knowledge of operational amplifier circuits for sensors signal conditioning. - Knowledge of Analog-to-Digital Converters for sensor acquisition. - Knowledge of noise types in sensor systems. - Knowledge of serial communication interfaces. - Knowledge of microcontrollers. - Knowledge of memories for embedded systems. - Understanding of the physical principles of the main sensor types. - Understanding of how to model the transfer function of a sensor and how to calibrate the sensor. - Understanding of how to design a sensor to minimize noise. - Understanding of how to design power supply sources in sensor systems. - Ability to identify the optimal solution when designing a sensor. - Ability to design electronic circuits considering mixed signal constraints. - Ability to choose the best interface for the sensor connection to the external world.

- Basic knowledge of RLC (resistive, inductive, capacitive) circuits. - Operational amplifiers. - Basics knowledge of analog-to-digital conversion and digital-to-analog conversion. - Filters. - Basic knowledge of PCB technology. - Basic knowledge of digital circuits. - Basic knowledge of C language.

- INTRODUCTION - Concepts of sensor, transducer and smart sensor (sensor module) - Sensor transfer functions - Sensor calibration - PART 1 - SENSOR ELEMENTS - Sensor characteristics - Dynamic models of sensor elements - Physical principles of sensing - Examples of sensors and their equivalent electric circuit - PART 2 - SIGNAL CONDITIONING (ANALOG ELECTRONICS) - Operational amplifier circuits for sensing - Sensor ratiometric and differentical connections - Bridges and bridge operational amplifiers - Excitation circuits - Multiplexers - Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) - Voltage-to-frequency (V/F), Pulse Width Modulator and Resistance-tp-frequency converters - Successive approximation (SAR) and sigma delta ADC - Resolution extension and ADC interfaces - Analog data transmission (2 and 4 point connections) - Noise - Types of noise - Shielding tecniques - Grounding techniques - Power supply - Batteries and supercapacitors - Principles of energy harvesting - Power Supply Noise Reduction and Filtering - Hardware design techniques - Resistor and Thermocouple Errors in High Accuracy Systems - Preventing RFI Rectification - Dealing With High Speed Logic - Isolation Techniques - Overvoltage Protection - Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) - Practical examples of sensor connections for specific types of sensors - PART 3 - DIGITAL ELECTRONICS - Serial busses - UART, I2C, SPI - Microcontrollers - Memories - EDRAM, FLASH, ROM, MRAM - Long range commnunication and sensors networks

The course is strucured with theoretical lessons and laboratory activities. The theoretical lessons will focus on the description of the different parts of a "smart sensor", and on the practical aspects of the design process. Design examples and exercises will be also carried on during this part. For the a.a. 2020/2021 the theoreticall classes will be held EXCLUSIVELY online. The laboratory activities instead will be focused on the hardware implementation of a "smart sensor". The laboratories will be divided in a series of task useful to familiarize with the electronic board and another part where the students are free to work for their project. The project is task that will be assigned to the students at the beginning of the course where they will have to design a specific type of "smart sensor". The project can be done individually or in groups of two students. For the a.a. 2020/2021 the laboratory part can be carried online, onsite or partially online and onsite. The electronic board used is available in the laboratories of the Politecnico to work onsite. To work online the board can be purchased by the students (it's very cheap) or can be eventually borrowed from the laboratories.

The main book used in this course is Jacob Fraden, "Handbook of Modern Sensors. Physics, Designs and Applications" - Fifth Edition, Springer Additional material will be uploaded on the Portale della Didattica by the teacher. All theoretical classes will be videorecorded.

Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Elaborato progettuale individuale; Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

The evaluation of the course is composed by two parts, the exam itself and the evaluation of the project. For the a.a. 2020/2021 the exam will be ONLY oral using BBB or, in case of problems, other videoconference softwares. During the oral exam the knowledge of the main parts of a sensor will be evaluated. Furthermore the design ability of the students will be tested with simple exercises (students can use a calculator but no books or written documents). The students can use graphic tablets for handwriting, or they can write on a sheet of paper manually and then show the results on the webcam. The evaluation of the project is based on a report that must be submitted by the students, containing both the description of the project and the code written by them. The results of the project will also be discussed with an oral examination, the students must be able to explain and demonstrate in real-time their designed sensor. The discussion of the project can be done during the main oral exam. The final mark of the exam will keep into account both the theoretical part (2/3 of the mark) and the project (1/3 of the mark).

Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Elaborato progettuale individuale; Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;

The exam will follow the same pattern but eventually the oral exam can be done in person, without the need of using any videoconference software.