Abstract Booklet of First International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems, Semiconductors, Sensors and Actuators (MSM’98),

6-8 April, 1998, Santa Clara, California, USA, T4.2.6.

MODELING OF SMART INTEGRATED SENSORS OF

ROTATING PARAMETERS FOR AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATION
Nikolay V. Kirianaki, Nestor O. Shpak, Sergey Y. Yurish

Institute of Computer Technologies,

290013, Lviv, UKRAINE, Bandera str.12.
Tel./fax: +38 0322 27 16 41;
e-mail: syurish@polynet.lviv.ua

Designing modern smart sensors and actuators one must take into account not only sensing
device itself, but also the corresponding Analog-to-Digital (A/D) conversion. Application of smart
sensors combined with microcontroller provides a high performance low-cost A/D conversion. The
information can then be simply sent to other complex system elements using a standard bus-interface
(for example, CAN-bus for automotive electronics).
The advances of modern microelectronics have made possible the integration of sensing
capability and processing intelligence into the same chip. One key point for advanced system design
and verification is to simulate the sensor and A/D converter together in order to get reliable and
accurate results as well as a short time-to-market for the product.
The output signal of such sensors is the frequency of square-wave impulses. A low-cost
frequency-to-code conversion is realised by the novel so-called program-simulated methods of
conversion. It is based on the proposed Method Depending on the Count. In this way the frequency-
to-code conversion is realised on the virtual level inside the functional-logical architecture of the
embedded microcontroller. It permits to achieve the minimum possible hardware. The quantization
error does not depend on the being conversed frequency and measurement time is non-redundant.
The modeling was carried out with the aim to determinate the metrological limit of smart sensor
performances. The main analytical equations were determined from the following reason. The number
of impulses of the measurand frequency fx counted by the first microcontroller's counter is n, and the
number of impulses of the reference frequency fo, counted by the other counter is N = Ng + DN, in
one's turn the Ng = 1/dg, where dg is the beforehand given (by the operator or host computer)
quantization error. The measurement time equals to an integer number of periods of fx: tx = n / f x. This
interval can be calculated as: tx = (Ng + DN)/fo. The DN can be changed from 0 to DNmax. In one's turn
the DNmax = fo / fx. The maximal quantization error is dmax = 1/(N + DNmax).
As initial data for modeling were chosen: the range of speeds of rotation 4 ¸ 50000 rpm
(1 ¸ 12500 Hz); the given quantization error should not exceed dq = 0.0005; the reference frequency fo
= 133333.33 Hz. The results of modeling are adduced in Figure 1 a-c, where in the figure 1a is shown
the dependence dq = f(fx, fo); in the figure 1b is shown allocated by dotted line the increased fragment
of previous dependence; and at last, the figure 1c shows the dependence tx = f(fx, dq).
The interpretation of results of modeling has allowed to make the following conclusions:
· the quantization error does not depend on the being conversed frequency and does not exceed the
beforehand given error in the all frequency range;
· the quantization error rather faintly depends on the reference frequency fo. Hence the time
performances of modern microcontrollers satisfy to the requirements of smart sensor design on
their bases;
· the time of conversion is non-redundant and determined basically only by the given quantization
error.
The used modeling technique can be simply implemented into the CAD tools for modeling and
simulation of the integrated sensors with frequency output.
These and others aspects of modeling for modern smart sensors are considered in this Paper.
Abstract Booklet of First International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems, Semiconductors, Sensors and Actuators (MSM’98),
6-8 April, 1998, Santa Clara, California, USA, T4.2.6.

Figure 1. Results of Modeling