Sensors Magazine articles from February 2001

Sensors Magazine archives from February 2001

What's On Your Mind?
February 1, 2001... Every magazine editor wants to get into the minds of his or her readers. I was inspired to take this approach when I recently ran across a page I'd torn from a 1994 issue of the Utne Reader. Will you indulge me, please? Check off all the topics...

Analog Devices, Inc.(contract with Siemens AG)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Analog Devices, Inc. (Norwood, MA), announces Siemens AG's decision to use ADI SoftFone's DSP-based Groupe Special Mobile (GSM) baseband processor and Othello direct-conversion RF chipset in Siemens's next-generation GSM handset phones and...

Siemens Westinghouse Technical Services.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Siemens Westinghouse Technical Services (Santa Clara, CA) has licensed the technology portfolio of [ei.sup.3] Corp. to create an online service center that brings the engineering expertise of Siemens to customer plants instantly through...

Yokogawa Electric Corp. of Tokyo.(contract with Dow Chemical Co.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Yokogawa Electric Corp. of Tokyo (Tokyo, Japan) announced a global purchasing agreement to supply high-performance pressure transmitters to Dow Chemical Co.

Edmund Optics Inc.(purchases Plummer Precision Optics Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... To expand its optical manufacturing and coating capabilities, optical-component manufacturer Edmund Optics Inc. (Barrington, NJ) has acquired the assets of Plummer Precision Optics Inc. (Pennsburg, PA). Now a wholly owned division of Edmund...

Industrial Automation Open Networking Alliance.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... A Joint industrial Ethernet development agreement has been signed by three groups that will cooperate in disseminating their research. The Industrial Automation Open Networking Alliance (IAONA), the Open DeviceNet Vendor Association (ODVA), and...

MEMSCAP.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... MEMSCAP (Oakland, CA) has expanded its optical MEMS product portfolio in an exclusive three-year licensing agreement for critical MEMS technology with key intellectual property from Fujita Lab, a MEMS research facility affiliated with the...

Microchip Technology Inc.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Microchip Technology Inc. (Chandler, AZ) has created a Digital Signal Controller Division to design, develop, and launch a 16-bit dsPIC family of digital signal controllers. The products will combine control advantages of a microcontroller with...

Automotive electronics.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Automotive electronics will seek to emulate the mobile office, forcing online services to vie with road-driving safety in unforeseen ways, according to a study from Roland Berger Strategy Consultants (Detroit, MI). Claiming that telematics (a...

WEB PICKS.(Directory)
February 1, 2001... My thanks to Bill Radin for telling me about this next site. Sensorjobs.com is a job posting and search site specifically for the sensor industry. The site's relatively new so not all of its features are up and running yet, but there's enough...

Sandia VCSEL Generates UV light.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... The first UV solid-state microcavity laser has been demonstrated in prototype by scientists at the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories working with colleagues at Brown University. VCSELS (vertical-cavity surface-emitting...

Scatterometer Analyzes Diesel Particulates.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Everyone who's sat at a traffic light, gasping and wheezing behind a diesel-powered vehicle, will concur that the exhaust fumes are nasty. It has now been reported that airborne particles in diesel exhaust with diameters [less than]2.5 m are...

Smart Surgical Probe Will ID Breast Tissue Anomalies in Real Time.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... When a routine physical or mammogram reveals a suspicious mass in a woman's breast tissue, the two-month wait for core biopsy results can be even more harrowing than the initial discovery. But researchers from NASA, Lawrence Livermore, and a...

Using Acoustic Microimaging to Locate Flaws and Other Anomalies.
February 1, 2001... The homogeneous character of advanced ceramics requires an inspection technique based on a special property of ultrasonic pulses-Rayleigh waves. Detecting very fine defects on or near the surface of advanced materials can be difficult, but...

Building a Tiny Accelerometer to Detect Very Small Signals.
February 1, 2001... A new manufacturing process that permits integration of sensor and signal conditioning electronics on a single IC die can help accelerometers detect even smaller signals. Surface micromachining permits the moving acceleration sensor...

Imaging Sensors That Capture Your Attention.
February 1, 2001... Ready to revolutionize the market, CMOS technology enables you to add imaging capabilities to products you never thought possible. The mainstay of image capture for the last 25 years has been the CCD (charge coupled device) image sensor,...

Monitoring, Analyzing, and Improving the Indoor Scene with Environmental Data Loggers.
February 1, 2001... Data loggers are excellent tools for gathering information about the performance of various building systems. Here are two case studies in which analyses of light bulb use and ambient [CO.sub.2] levels led to verifiable energy- and cost-saving...

Hydrophobic Microporous Membranes.
February 1, 2001... Some types of sensors require a flow-through of air or some other gas for their operation, but must at the same time be shielded against the intrusion of particles and liquids. Here, in tabular form, is most of what you need to know about...

Steps Toward Standardization.
February 1, 2001... End users who develop PC-based data acquisition and control (DAC) are stuck in a modern-day Babel. These folks' goals aren't anywhere near as lofty as those of the tower builders, however. Heck, they on]y want to build DAC software that...

Boost Your Sampling Rate with Time-Interleaved Data Converters.
February 1, 2001... Time-interleaving high-speed A/D converters can dramatically multiply the sampling speed of a data acquisition system, but it becomes a tricky and complex chore at high sampling speeds. For high-speed applications, time interleaving...

Synchronizing Computer-Based Measurement Systems.
February 1, 2001... Computer-based measurement systems can address specific application requirements. With synchronization, you can create systems that perform functions that are impossible with individual measurement components. In a synchronized...

What now?
February 1, 2001... It's been about five years since the wireless sensors were demonstrated in the laboratory. Today, the question is no longer if, but when. I first saw wireless sensors at Sensors Expo in 1998. The vendors were not very visible, and you...

Eliminating False Triggering with the DCDD Pressure Switch.
February 1, 2001... A unique pressure switch based on a double-contact, double-diaphragm configuration virtually eliminates false actuations due to shock or vibration. Keeping costs low without compromising the design of a pressure switch is often a difficult...

Accurate Speed Sensing on Harley-Davidson Racing Bikes.
February 1, 2001... An inductive sensor enhances the performance of the digital speedometer on the VR 1000 Harley-Davidson racing bike. Harley-Davidson's subcontractor for Superbike racing and engine development, Gemini Technology Systems of Mukwonago, WI, was...

Enhancing Overpressure Tolerance with Bellows.
February 1, 2001... How do you revamp your pressure transducer to withstand peaks of 35 X the rated range, at no added cost? Try an electrodeposited nickel bellows. By the nature of their work, pressure transducers often end up in tight and awkward locations....

New, Integrated Interface ASICs for Capacitive Measurement Technology.
February 1, 2001... Introducing the CAN 404 and CAV 414 analog ASICs, designed to measure small swings in capacitance across a wide range of values. Pressure, together with temperature, is one of the most often measured physical quantities in process control...

Miniature Pressure Sensors.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... With a diameter [less than]0.5 in. and a weight of 25 g. the P510 Series from Futek, Irvine, CA, is offered in capacities of 150-10,000 psi with [+ or -]0.1% of rated output nonrepeatability and cycling life of 10 M cycles. Output is 2 mVN...

High-Pressure Sensor Family.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Honeywell Sensing and Control, Freeport, IL, has added a 250 psi range to its 26PC line of pressure sensors. The silicon-based temperature-compensated sensors have high reliability and accuracy; and provide a stable linear output over the...

Cube-Shaped Triaxial Accelerometer.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... The voltage-mode 8795A50 from Kistler Instrument Corp., Amherst, NY, measures simultaneous acceleration signals in 3 orthogonal axes with a [+ or -] 50 g measuring range, 100 mV/g sensitivity, and 1 Hz to 4 kHz frequency response. Offered in 3...

Embeddable Proximity Sensor.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Able to sense all types of metals at a single sensing range, the Q80 from Turck Inc., Minneapolis, MN, has a 50mm sensing range even when fully embedded in steel. The sensor features inherent weld-field immunity, 2 sets of operating status...

Filling Level Limit Switch.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Fafnir GmbH, Hamburg, Germany, offers the Cool One for monitoring liquid limits in tanks, containers, channels, and pipes; the threshold point includes a sealed PTC resistor that is cooled when immersed in liquid and heats up us air or gas....

Absolute Linear Encoder.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... An alternative to optical linear encoders, the Linear Electric Encoder from Netzer Precision Motion Sensors Ltd., Misgav, Israel, uses a stationary scale with electrically excited coarse-mode and fine-mode, printed patterns; the read head...

Surface-Mount MEMS Devices.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... MEMSIC, Andover, MA, is offering its MX1010 series of single-axis accelerometers/sensors in a surface-mount LCC-8 package; the sensor circuit itself includes continuous self-test as well as ratiometric and absolute output. The MX1010C and...

Digital Telemetry System.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... For end-of-shaft applications, Accumetrics Associates, Inc., Schenectady, NY, offers the AT 1000 to handle up to 500 channels of temperature, strain, or other data at bandwidths up to 10,000 Hz and shaft speeds of 6000 rpm or higher. The unit...

Capacitance Micrometer.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Designed by Fogale Nanotech, France, to measure sheet metal thickness, the ESC provides continuous thickness measurements of any material with a resistivity [less than]1000 [omega] cm; accuracy is [+ or -]1 [micro]m to [+ or -]10 [micro]m...

Water Quality Data Logger.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Apprise Technologies Inc., Duluth, MN, offers the R.U.S.S, Dynamic Profiler designed to monitor water quality in lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, ponds, and other bodies of water, The units variable buoyancy lets you automatically position a...

Flue Gas Analyzer.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... A handheld analyzer for combustion analysis, boiler, tuning, and complementary auxiliary testing, the Eurotron UniGas 2000 from TTI, Inc., Williston, VT, uses 2 electrochemical sensors to measure [O.sub.2] and CO concentrations, measures flue...

High Output Load Cell.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... A pancake style tension/compression sensor and pull plate, the Model 49 from Sensotec, Inc., Columbus, OH, provides a 4 mV/V output with accuracy to 0.02% over ranges from 250--200,000 lb. The fully welded SS load cell has F.S. deflection of...

System Hardware Monitor.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Designed for server platforms, the ADM1026 PC systems monitor device from Analog Devices, Inc., Norwood, MA, includes 19 analog and 8 fan-speed measurement channels, 13 general-purpose I/O pins, remote and onchip temperature sensing, onchip...

OEM Camera.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... The ZE-55171 board color CCD camera from Panasonic Industrial/Medical Group, Secaucus, NJ, is a 26 by 22 mm, unit with 480 lines of horizontal resolution that is intended for high-volume OEM applications. Features include a 1/4 in. CCD with 768...

3D Scanners.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Used for 3D measurement, inspection, and modeling, the LPM series of laser profile scanners from Riegl USA, Orlando, FL, are 3D data collection systems that use various of the company's LD90-VSH series laser distance meters. Resolution is 1 mm,...

ON/OFF Data Loggers.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Onset Computer Corp., Pocasset, MA, offers the 4 members of the HOBO H6 family of ON/OFF data loggers for untended monitoring of motors, lights, and doors. There are 2 models for motor ON/OFF (one model has an AC field sensor and the other has...

Low Light-Level CCDs.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2001... Hamamatsu Corp., Bridgewater, NJ, offers the $7963 family of low light-level, back-thinned FFT-CCD sensors, The sensors incorporate a 3-stage Peltier cooler and a CCD chip into a single hermetically sealed package. Max. QE is 90% at 650 nm and...