Basic design of the signal chain in sensor-based measurement systems

Sensor signals do not suit direct electronic communication and need further processing before being digitized. Therefore, the requirements of the digitizer add to those needed to fulfill the basic specifications for the measurement system, namely measurement range, resolution and accuracy, and general constraints such as power consumption and cost. This tutorial describes how to use the quotient between the measurement range and the resolution, termed dynamic range, as a guiding parameter to find out the signal processing functions required in the signal chain, and determines the basic parameters of each function for low-frequency signals.Peer ReviewedPreprin