02126 - Electronic Measurements

Learning outcomes

The student will be able to identify and evaluate the effects of non-idealities in electronic measurement circuits and instruments, with the aim of consciously work with them. The student will also learn the basis of modern metrology, which will help him in understanding and share experimental measurement results with the research and industrial communities.
Specifically, the student will get the following skills:
- knowledge of the basic behavior of modern instrumentation, with particular insight on sampling-instruments;
- ability to estimate the uncertainty of a measurement and evaluate it;
- knowledge of the standard regulations on the expression of uncertainty and measurement results;
- ability to design and perform a complex measurement task;
- ability to design and program remote measurement systems.

Course contents

1 - Metrology foundations

• basic foundations (measurement units, metrological traceability, calibration ... )
• the measurement process
• uncertainty as defined in GUM-JCGM
• the law of propagation of uncertainty
• traceability chain

2- A/D and D/A conversion

• general theory (quantization, codes, non-linearity, ENOB)
• non-idealities in A/D converters
• ADC architectures (flash, counter ADC, integration ADC, SAR)
• DAC architectures

3- Metrological characterization of electronic components

• static characterization
• dynamic characterization

4- Foundations of electronic measurements

• voltage and current measurements
• burden voltage
• range, resolution, and sensitivity
• 2 and 4 wire measurements
• passive and active probes

5- Digital instruments

• - DMM digial multi-meter
• - DSO digital storage oscilloscope
• - analog spectrum anlyzer
• - digital spectrum analysis

6- Lab experiences

• design of measurement processes
• realization of real measurements
• usage of basic instrumentations
• design and programming of automatic measurement
• systems
• exercises on the evaluation of uncertainty

Lab experiences will be done along all the course period so as to given a practial overview of the theoretical notions studied.

Lab exercises will be carried on on-site at the LELE lab. To get access to the lab, all the students are required to attend the online courses on safaty issues in working enviroments (modules 1 and 2) [https://elearning-sicurezza.unibo.it/].

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

The course is strongly interdisciplinary so the teacher suggests the use of classnotes for a global comprehension of the topics with all the intra-topic relationships. 

Details on specific topics can be found in the following books (with a deep level of description):

1- Metrology foundations:

"Evaluation of measurement data - Guide to the expression of uncertainty in measurement", Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology (JCGM/WG1), 2008. Free available online.

2- A/D & D/A conversions:

Chapter 2 and chapter 3 of "The Data Conversion Handbook", Analog Devices, 2004. Free available online.

All the other topics can be found in the following books:

R. B. Northrop, "Introduction to Instrumentation and Measurements", Taylor & Francis, 2005.

A. Ferrero, D. Petri, P. Carbone, M. Catelani, "Modern measurements: Fundamental and applications". IEEE Press, Wiley, 2019. 

 

 

 

 

New readings in english will be soon available. 

Teaching methods

Front lessons and exercises in laboratory. 

Assessment methods

Oral examination made of 3 questions: 2 questions on macro-arguments and 1 question on a specific detail. For each question, the student will have time to think about the response, prepare demonstrations and sketch diagrams. When the student will be ready, an open discussion on the argument with the teacher will follow.
Each question could be on a theoretical argument, on a practical consideration or could be a simple exercise.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Crescentini