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Different circuits and sensors

1.0 Background: Internally heated transistor - 'Tranemometer'

Zeb Vance once suggested to me a link to an anemometer design, see reference below. Here is my
somewhat modified version of that circuit: The temperature sensing elements are the base-emitter
junctions of two probe transistors Q1, Q2. The base-emitter junction voltage is typically 0.7 Volts with a
temperature coefficient near -2 mV per deg C. The lower transistor Q2 has its collector wired to its base.
This one acts as a passive diode, only there to sense ambient temperature. These transistors form the
left side of a bridge, the right side is resistors R1, R2, and the trimmer R3. Amplifier A1 senses the
balance of the bridge. If the voltage over the Q1 junction is too high, then A1 will drive the Q1 base up.
More current will pass through both transistors but Q2 is fully conducting and does not change its
temperature appreciably with change in current. Having a high collector voltage, Q1 will be heated while
Q2 remains essentially at ambient temperature. That heating lowers the Q1 base-emitter voltage until
balance is restored. The heater and the temperature detection are inherent in the transistor itself. So A1
keeps Q1 a certain number of degrees hotter than Q2. How many depends on the trimmer setting, with
this circuit typically around 5 degrees centigrade. Resistor R4 senses how much current is flowing
through Q1-Q2. The (small) voltage developed over R4 by this current is amplified by A2 into the output
pin 7. A2 has an offset input but otherwise simply translates the additional current needed to maintain
the temperature difference between the two B-E junctions. The more current, the more heat is being
removed from hot Q2. Actually A2 is not simple at all. If R9 and R10 are trimmers, you can go nuts trying
to adjust them. The reason is that “input offset” in the front. As the bias changes, the gain is affected.

The original article mentions a problem with this circuit. The sensor transistors may latch up in a current
rush mode, with the top Q1 fully on and current limited essentially only by the small sensing resistor R4.
Then Q1 can no more hold its temperature and the bridge balancing fails. This mode is easily evoked by
a minimal disturbance, e.g. like putting a scope probe in contact with the circuit. The remedy is the
threshold feedback from A2 via two diodes (a transistor in the original article). If the output at A2 goes
too high, essentially over some half the supply, then the feedback diodes open and A1 is quenched such
that probe current is cut off again. While this safety device is in operation, the output of the circuit is in
error (output no longer goes up with airspeed). Without it, however, it goes up and stays up until you
turn off the circuit. The capacitor C1 is not commented in the original article, but apparently slows
operations to be in the tens of milliseconds range, preventing oscillation. Still this is much faster than
the thermal time constants in Q1-Q2.Power is supplied from a single 9V battery. The power-on indicator
LED is used to offset the nominal ground and form a negative supply for the op-amps. Otherwise their
inputs come too close to the negative supply, such that they do not operate.

It is hard to understand the talk about linearity in the original

article until you realize it is stated for a rather small range, up
to 250 ft/min, 1.27 m/s. I find from my calibrations in the 1 to
10 m/s range that the device is close to logarithmic, as seen
here in the calibration for a probe with TO-18 case transistors.
Its output voltage increases about equally much for each
doubling of the air speed. And this is also the kind of behavior
one would like to have, this largely obviates need for a range
switch.There is some freedom in dimensioning, on one hand
the current sensing R4, on the other the divider R11-R9, these
together define the probe 'rest' (still air) current. Additionally
the A2 gain controlling R10 implies a limit on max. air speed
when the feedback diodes open to cut out Q1 heating.

When switched on, the meter goes beyond full scale since Q1-Q2 are initially the same temperature.
Then output creeps down as Q1 heats, takes time. For the balance trimmer R3 I use a multiturn pot, this
is a very sensitive one to set. I prefer to zero the meter output at about 0.25 m/s air speed. Rather than
in still air which is somewhat indeterminate because of whatever thermal convection then goes past Q1,
also taking maximal time to reach equilibrium. To get readings at low air speed like 1 m/s is a matter of
tens of seconds.There remain problems with this circuit. This is the reason I have gone through all the
following variant schemes. The worst objection is the setting of the balancing R3 trimmer that is
extremely sensitive - when you touch it the reading moves very far out before returning to near where it
was, and this takes a lot of time. Also I blame this for poor stability in calibration, several times it has
differed as much as a factor of two in air speed, taking the instrument out from store. It can be
questioned also on more theoretical grounds. The 'cold' transistor Q2 is also heated to a variable
degree because it conducts the governed current. This current times the 0.7 volt Q2 voltage is no
negligible power. Also the Q1 base-emitter voltage depends not only on temperature but also on the
controlling base current injected by A1 via R5. This gives a spurious extra voltage right at the most
sensitive spot where bridge balance is sensed, actually causing a positive feedback that may harm
stability.

1.1. Internally heated transistor - alternate layout

After many frustrations with the above circuit I tried the following alternate layout in a circuit
that maybe is easier to understand. The base potentials of the cold reference Q2 and the hot Q1
are directly compared by the differential amplifier. Q2 is fed with a largely constant current
determined by R1. The amplifier gain is basically R6/R5 resulting from its negative feedback.
The problematic thing is that the servo action to maintain a temperature difference also
implements a positive feedback via R4 and the base-emitter resistance inherent in Q1. This latter
depends rather unpredictably on the Q1 properties. The original #1 circuit has the same problem,
but with the present circuit it is easier to see this is the case. If the positive feedback is too large,
then the circuit will go unstable or latch up, but this can be cured by increasing R4 or decreasing
R6. This positive feedback is probably the reason for the statement that the original circuit could
be approximate linear. In my opinion that feedback rather implies a discouragement from using

this type of circuit, however clever is the idea of internal controlled heating of a transistor.
The Q1 heating current is converted into a proportional voltage by R2. This also raises the
potential of the amplifier inputs enough that no special trick is necessary to hold down the
amplifier negative supply rail. Further the diagram suggests a convenient arrangement of zero
and calibration trimmer potentiometers, should you want to display results directly with a
milliampere meter.The four calibration curves pertain to different implementations of the
transistor probes, all run in identically the same circuit except for the bias resistor R3. Two use
classical style TO18 metal cased transistors (type BC107B), the other two use miniature surface
mount SOT23 (type BC847B). The big difference between the red (copper) and black (iron)
traces is a change in thermal conductivity in the connecting wires used. Not until late stages in
my experimentation I realized the extreme importance of this feature. Theory and experiments on
this sub topic of probe design follow below.The optional R3 controls the Q1 base current at rest
and thereby indirectly governs its temperature elevation. Alas, it seems you have to adjust this to
match whatever current amplification factor that device happens to have. A goal may be to set
output voltage U at still air to come in the 1-2 V range.

1.2 Externally
heated diode
bridge
This circuit remains with the principle of diode forward voltage temperature dependence, but
now the hot diode is externally heated by a resistor. This diode was clamped to the heater with a
tiny strip of brass sheet and also sealed to it with a drop of cyanoacrylate glue. The photo shows
the probe tip cold and heated diodes. They are mounted on a flexible multiple conductor strip,
retrieved from a head arm of a junked hard disk drive. The glass encapsulated 1N4448 diodes
seem to have a fairly low thermal resistance, the data sheet says 0.24 K/mW including 10 mm
leads.
The small voltage developed over R3 purports to govern the forward drop difference, and hence
the temperature difference between the diodes. The gain of the balance sensing amplifier is by
necessity moderated by the R5/R4 feedback network, together with a big slowing down capacitor
C1. There is a delay of heat transfer from the heater to the heated diode. If the servo loop gain is
too high, this will make the circuit oscillate between fully on and off. The R6 heater resistor
consumes more power than the bare amplifier can deliver, so an intermediate emitter follower
transistor is added. The rather low input voltage bias to the amplifier from the sensing diodes
necessitate D3 to increase the margin of amplifier negative supply.
The calibration appears to be better reproducible and have a larger air speed range than circuit
#1. Also, the characteristic of voltage U vs. air speed is attractive. But response is very slow, and
possibly somewhat oscillating.