Materials, Circuits and Devices: Sensors, Actuators, and their Interfaces (PDF)

As sensors and actuators are normally not (and have not been) treated in academic curricula as a subject in its own right; many students and current professionals often find themselves limited in their knowledge and dealing with topics and issues based on material they may have never encountered. Until now.This book brings sensors, actuators and interfaces out of obscurity and integrates them for multiple disciplines including electrical, mechanical, chemical, and biomedical engineering. Real world cases, worked examples, and problem sets with selected answers provide both fundamental understanding and how industry develops sensor systems. Students and professionals from any of these disciplines will easily learn the foundational concepts and then be able to apply them to cross-discipline requirements.The idea is simple. A sensor system in general is made of three components:Inputs (sensors)Outputs (actuators)Processor (the unit to which the inputs and outputs are connected and performs all, or the most, tasks needed to interface them)Sensors, Actuators, and their Interfaces focuses on the broad area of detection, outlining and simplifying the understanding of theory behind sensing and actuation. It is an invaluable textbook for undergraduate and graduate level courses, as well as a reference for professionals who were never afforded the opportunity to take an introductory course.