Input/output devices are the interface between the controller and the controlled system.

Input devices convert physical quantities to electrical signals, while o utput devices allow the controller to act on the system. The electronic brains in control systems depend on a network of input/output dev ices. These devices tie the controller to the outside world by supplying it with physical data and allowing it to act on the controlled system. Smart sensors an d smart power ICs do more than just provide access, they also share processing a nd decision-making tasks as well. Input devices include transducers, sensors, and switches. Sensors and transducer s convert physical data such as speed, position, temperature, acceleration, and pressure into electrical signals that are recognized by the controller. Switches allow operators to supply information that supplements or overrides input data. Output devices include power semiconductors and ICs, relays, and circuit breaker s. By providing control over electrical power subsystems that drive motors and s olenoids, they allow the controller to initiate, halt, or modify action in the c ontrolled system. Sensors and Transducers

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Position and velocity sensors are common in industrial and automotive applicatio ns. Position sensors span a broad spectrum, and virtually all closed-loop motion -control systems use one. Velocity sensors or tachometers also are widely used. Other sensors measure pressure, temperature, and acceleration. Factory automation, in particular, requires linear and rotational position trans ducers. These demands and a need for digital interfacing are being met by synchr os, resolvers, optical shaft encoders, linear-variable differential transformers (LVDTs), and potentiometers. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------WIKEPEDIA........Info about "TRANSDUCERS" A transducer is a device that converts one form of energy to another. Energy typ es include (but are not limited to) electrical, mechanical, electromagnetic (inc luding light), chemical, acoustic or thermal energy. While the term transducer c ommonly implies the use of a sensor/detector, any device which converts energy c an be considered a transducer. Transducers are widely used in measuring instrume nts. [edit] ApplicationsElectromagnetic: Antenna converts electromagnetic waves into electric current and vice versa Cathode ray tube (CRT) converts electrical signals into visual form Fluorescent lamp, light bulb converts electrical power into visible light Magnetic cartridge converts motion into electrical form Photodetector or photoresistor or light dependent resistor (LDR) converts change s in light levels into resistance changes Tape head converts changing magnetic fields into electrical form Hall effect sensor converts a magnetic field level into electrical form only Electrochemical: pH probes Electro-galvanic fuel cell Hydrogen sensor

Electromechanical (electromechanical output devices are generically called actua tors): Electroactive polymers Galvanometer Microelectromechanical systems Rotary motor, linear motor Vibration powered generator Potentiometer when used for measuring position Load cell converts force to mV/V electrical signal using strain gauge Accelerometer Strain gauge String potentiometer Air flow sensor Tactile sensor Electroacoustic: Loudspeaker, earphone converts electrical signals into sound (amplified signal m agnetic field motion air pressure) Microphone converts sound into an electrical signal (air pressure motion of cond uctor/coil magnetic field signal) Pickup (music technology) converts motion of metal strings into an electrical si gnal (magnetism electricity (signal)) Tactile transducer converts electrical signal into vibration ( signal vibration) Piezoelectric crystal converts solid-state electrical modulations into an electr ical signal (vibration electrical current signal) Geophone converts a ground movement (displacement) into voltage (vibrations moti on of conductor/coil magnetic field signal) Gramophone pickup (air pressure motion magnetic field signal) Hydrophone converts changes in water pressure into an electrical form Sonar transponder (water pressure motion of conductor/coil magnetic field signal ) Photoelectric: Laser diode, light-emitting diode converts electrical power into forms of light Photodiode, photoresistor, phototransistor, photomultiplier tube converts changi ng light levels into electrical form Electrostatic: Electrometer Thermoelectric: Resistance temperature detector (RTD) Thermocouple Peltier cooler Thermistor (includes PTC resistor and NTC resistor) Radioacoustic: GeigerMller tube used for measuring radioactivity Receiver (radio) ANTENNA : Antenna (radio)From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search Whip antenna on car Diagram of the electric fields (blue) and magnetic fields (red) radiated by a di pole antenna (black rods) during transmission. Large parabolic antenna for communicating with spacecraft Rooftop television antennas in Israel. Yagi-Uda antennas like these six are wide ly used at VHF and UHF frequencies.An antenna (or aerial) is an electrical devic e which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usual ly used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver. In transmission, a radio tra nsmitter applies an oscillating radio frequency electric current to the antenna' s terminals, and the antenna radiates the energy from the current as electromagn etic waves (radio waves). In reception, an antenna intercepts some of the power of an electromagnetic wave in order to produce a tiny voltage at its terminals,

that is applied to a receiver to be amplified. An antenna can be used for both t ransmitting and receiving. Antennas are essential components of all equipment that uses radio. They are use d in systems such as radio broadcasting, broadcast television, two-way radio, co mmunications receivers, radar, cell phones, and satellite communications, as wel l as other devices such as garage door openers, wireless microphones, bluetooth enabled devices, wireless computer networks, baby monitors, and RFID tags on mer chandise. Typically an antenna consists of an arrangement of metallic conductors ("element s"), electrically connected (often through a transmission line) to the receiver or transmitter. An oscillating current of electrons forced through the antenna b y a transmitter will create an oscillating magnetic field around the antenna ele ments, while the charge of the electrons also creates an oscillating electric fi eld along the elements. These time-varying fields radiate away from the antenna into space as a moving electromagnetic field wave. Conversely, during reception, the oscillating electric and magnetic fields of an incoming radio wave exert fo rce on the electrons in the antenna elements, causing them to move back and fort h, creating oscillating currents in the antenna. Antennas may also contain reflective or directive elements or surfaces not conne cted to the transmitter or receiver, such as parasitic elements, parabolic refle ctors or horns, which serve to direct the radio waves into a beam or other desir ed radiation pattern. Antennas can be designed to transmit or receive radio wave s in all directions equally (omnidirectional antennas), or transmit them in a be am in a particular direction, and receive from that one direction only (directio nal or high gain antennas). The first antennas were built in 1888 by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in his pioneering experiments to prove the existence of electromagnetic waves predicted by the theory of James Clerk Maxwell. Hertz placed dipole antennas at the focal point of parabolic reflectors for both transmitting and receiving. He published his work in Annalen der Physik und Chemie (vol. 36, 1889). Contents [hide] 1 Terminology 2 Overview 3 Reciprocity 4 Parameters 4.1 Resonant antennas 4.1.1 Current and voltage distribution 4.1.2 Bandwidth 4.2 Gain 4.3 Effective area or aperture 4.4 Radiation pattern 4.5 Impedance 4.6 Efficiency 4.7 Polarization 4.8 Impedance matching 5 Basic antenna models 6 Practical antennas 7 Effect of ground 8 Mutual impedance and interaction between antennas 9 Antenna gallery 9.1 Antennas and antenna arrays 9.2 Antennas and supporting structures 9.3 Diagrams as part of a system 10 See also 11 Notes

12 References 12.1 General references 12.2 "Practical antenna" references 12.3 Theory and simulations 12.4 Patents and USPTO 13 Further reading [edit] TerminologyThe words antenna (plural: antennas[1]) and aerial are used in terchangeably; but usually a rigid metallic structure is termed an antenna and a wire format is called an aerial. In the United Kingdom and other British Englis h speaking areas the term aerial is more common, even for rigid types. The noun aerial is occasionally written with a diaeresis markarialin recognition of the orig inal spelling of the adjective arial from which the noun is derived. The origin of the word antenna relative to wireless apparatus is attributed to I talian radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi. In 1895, while testing early radio appar atus in the Swiss Alps at Salvan, Switzerland in the Mont Blanc region, Marconi experimented with long wire 'aerials'. He used a 2.5 meter vertical pole, with a wire attached to the top running down to the transmitter, as a radiating and re ceiving aerial element. In Italian a tent pole is known as l'antenna centrale, a nd the pole with the wire was simply called l'antenna. Until then wireless radia ting transmitting and receiving elements were known simply as aerials or termina ls. Because of his prominence, Marconi's use of the word antenna (Italian for po le) spread among wireless researchers, and later to the general public.[2] In common usage, the word antenna may refer broadly to an entire assembly includ ing support structure, enclosure (if any), etc. in addition to the actual functi onal components. Especially at microwave frequencies, a receiving antenna may in clude not only the actual electrical antenna but an integrated preamplifier and/ or mixer. "Rabbit ears" dipole antenna for television reception Cell phone base station antennas Parabolic antenna by Himalaya Television Nepal Yagi antenna used for mobile military communications station, Dresden, Germany, 1955 Turnstile type transmitting antenna for VHF low band television broadcasting sta tion, Germany. Folded dipole antenna Large Yagi antenna used by amateur radio hobbyist A mast radiator antenna for an AM radio station, Chapel Hill, North Carolina [edit] OverviewAntennas are required by any radio receiver or transmitter to cou ple its electrical connection to the electromagnetic field. Radio waves are elec tromagnetic waves which carry signals through the air (or through space) at the speed of light with almost no transmission loss. Radio transmitters and receiver s are used to convey signals (information) in systems including broadcast (audio ) radio, television, mobile telephones, wi-fi (WLAN) data networks, trunk lines and point-to-point communications links (telephone, data networks), satellite li nks, many remote controlled devices such as garage door openers, and wireless re mote sensors, among many others. Radio waves are also used directly for measurem ents in technologies including RADAR, GPS, and radio astronomy. In each and ever y case, the transmitters and receivers involved require antennas, although these are sometimes hidden (such as the antenna inside an AM radio or inside a laptop computer equipped with wi-fi). According to their applications and technology available, antennas generally fal l in one of two categories: 1.Omnidirectional or only weakly directional antennas which receive or radiate m

ore or less in all directions. These are employed when the relative position of the other station is unknown or arbitrary. They are also used at lower frequenci es where a directional antenna would be too large, or simply to cut costs in app lications where a directional antenna isn't required. 2.Directional or beam antennas which are intended to preferentially radiate or r eceive in a particular direction or directional pattern. In common usage "omnidirectional" usually refers to all horizontal directions, t ypically with reduced performance in the direction of the sky or the ground (a t ruly isotropic radiator is not even possible). A "directional" antenna usually i s intended to maximize its coupling to the electromagnetic field in the directio n of the other station, or sometimes to cover a particular sector such as a 120 h orizontal fan pattern in the case of a panel antenna at a cell site. One example of omnidirectional antennas is the very common vertical antenna or w hip antenna consisting of a metal rod (often, but not always, a quarter of a wav elength long). A dipole antenna is similar but consists of two such conductors e xtending in opposite directions, with a total length that is often, but not alwa ys, a half of a wavelength long. Dipoles are typically oriented horizontally in which case they are weakly directional: signals are reasonably well radiated tow ard or received from all directions with the exception of the direction along th e conductor itself; this region is called the antenna blind cone or null. Half-wave dipole antennaBoth the vertical and dipole antennas are simple in cons truction and relatively inexpensive. The dipole antenna, which is the basis for most antenna designs, is a balanced component, with equal but opposite voltages and currents applied at its two terminals through a balanced transmission line ( or to a coaxial transmission line through a so-called balun). The vertical anten na, on the other hand, is a monopole antenna. It is typically connected to the i nner conductor of a coaxial transmission line (or a matching network); the shiel d of the transmission line is connected to ground. In this way, the ground (or a ny large conductive surface) plays the role of the second conductor of a dipole, thereby forming a complete circuit.[3] Since monopole antennas rely on a conduc tive ground, a so-called grounding structure may be employed to provide a better ground contact to the earth or which itself acts as a ground plane to perform t hat function regardless of (or in absence of) an actual contact with the earth. Antennas fancier than the dipole or vertical designs are usually intended to inc rease the directivity and consequently the gain of the antenna. This can be acco mplished in many different ways leading to a plethora of antenna designs. The va st majority of designs are fed with a balanced line (unlike a monopole antenna) and are based on the dipole antenna with additional components (or elements) whi ch increase its directionality. For instance, a phased array consists of two or more simple antennas which are c onnected together through an electrical network. This often involves a number of parallel dipole antennas with a certain spacing. Depending on the relative phas e introduced by the network, the same combination of dipole antennas can operate as a "broadside array" (directional normal to a line connecting the elements) o r as an "end-fire array" (directional along the line connecting the elements). A ntenna arrays may employ any basic (omnidirectional or weakly directional) anten na type, such as dipole, loop or slot antennas. These elements are often identic al. However a log-periodic dipole array consists of a number of dipole elements of d ifferent lengths in order to obtain a somewhat directional antenna having an ext remely wide bandwidth: these are frequently used for television reception in fri nge areas. The dipole antennas composing it are all considered "active elements" since they are all electrically connected together (and to the transmission lin e). On the other hand, a superficially similar dipole array, the Yagi-Uda Antenn

a (or simply "Yagi"), has only one dipole element with an electrical connection; the other so-called parasitic elements interact with the electromagnetic field in order to realize a fairly directional antenna but one which is limited to a r ather narrow bandwidth. The Yagi antenna has similar looking parasitic dipole el ements but which act differently due to their somewhat different lengths. There may be a number of so-called "directors" in front of the active element in the d irection of propagation, and usually a single (but possibly more) "reflector" on the opposite side of the active element. Greater directionality can be obtained using beam-forming techniques such as a p arabolic reflector or a horn. Since the size of a directional antenna depends on it being large compared to the wavelength, very directional antennas of this so rt are mainly feasible at UHF and microwave frequencies. On the other hand, at l ow frequencies (such as AM broadcast) where a practical antenna must be much sma ller than a wavelength, significant directionality isn't even possible. A vertic al antenna or loop antenna small compared to the wavelength is typically used, w ith the main design challenge being that of impedance matching. With a vertical antenna a loading coil at the base of the antenna may be employed to cancel the reactive component of impedance; small loop antennas are tuned with parallel cap acitors for this purpose. An antenna lead-in is the transmission line (or feed line) which connects the an tenna to a transmitter or receiver. The antenna feed may refer to all components connecting the antenna to the transmitter or receiver, such as an impedance mat ching network in addition to the transmission line. In a so-called aperture ante nna, such as a horn or parabolic dish, the "feed" may also refer to a basic ante nna inside the entire system (normally at the focus of the parabolic dish or at the throat of a horn) which could be considered the one active element in that a ntenna system. A microwave antenna may also be fed directly from a waveguide in lieu of a (conductive) transmission line. An antenna counterpoise or ground plane is a structure of conductive material wh ich improves or substitutes for the ground. It may be connected to or insulated from the natural ground. In a monopole antenna, this aids in the function of the natural ground, particularly where variations (or limitations) of the character istics of the natural ground interfere with its proper function. Such a structur e is normally connected to the return connection of an unbalanced transmission l ine such as the shield of a coaxial cable. An electromagnetic wave refractor in some aperture antennas is a component which due to its shape and position functions to selectively delay or advance portion s of the electromagnetic wavefront passing through it. The refractor alters the spatial characteristics of the wave on one side relative to the other side. It c an, for instance, bring the wave to a focus or alter the wave front in other way s, generally in order to maximize the directivity of the antenna system. This is the radio equivalent of an optical lens. An antenna coupling network is a passive network (generally a combination of ind uctive and capacitive circuit elements) used for impedance matching in between t he antenna and the transmitter or receiver. This may be used to improve the stan ding wave ratio in order to minimize losses in the transmission line (especially at higher frequencies and/or over longer distances) and to present the transmit ter or receiver with a standard resistive impedance (such as 75 ohms) that it ex pects to see for optimum operation. [edit] ReciprocityIt is a fundamental property of antennas that the electrical c haracteristics of an antenna described in the next section, such as gain, radiat ion pattern, impedance, bandwidth, resonant frequency and polarization, are the same whether the antenna is transmitting or receiving. For example, the "receivi ng pattern" (sensitivity as a function of direction) of an antenna when used for

reception is identical to the radiation pattern of the antenna when it is drive n and functions as a radiator. This is a consequence of the reciprocity theorem of electromagnetics. Therefore in discussions of antenna properties no distincti on is usually made between receiving and transmitting terminology, and the anten na can be viewed as either transmitting or receiving, whichever is more convenie nt. A necessary condition for the aforementioned reciprocity property is that the ma terials in the antenna and transmission medium are linear and reciprocal. Recipr ocal (or bilateral) means that the material has the same response to an electric current or magnetic field in one direction, as it has to the field or current i n the opposite direction. Most materials used in antennas meet these conditions, but some microwave antennas use[citation needed] high-tech components such as i solators and circulators, made of nonreciprocal materials such as ferrite or gar net. These can be used to give the antenna a different behavior on receiving tha n it has on transmitting, which can be useful in applications like radar. [edit] ParametersMain article: Antenna measurement Antennas are characterized by a number of performance measures which a user woul d be concerned with in selecting or designing an antenna for a particular applic ation. Chief among these relate to the directional characteristics (as depicted in the antenna's radiation pattern) and the resulting gain. Even in omnidirectio nal (or weakly directional) antennas, the gain can often be increased by concent rating more of its power in the horizontal directions, sacrificing power radiate d toward the sky and ground. The antenna's power gain (or simply "gain") also ta kes into account the antenna's efficiency, and is often the primary figure of me rit. Resonant antennas are expected to be used around a particular resonant frequency ; an antenna must therefore be built or ordered to match the frequency range of the intended application. A particular antenna design will present a particular feedpoint impedance. While this may affect the choice of an antenna, an antenna' s impedance can also be adapted to the desired impedance level of a system using an matching network while maintaining the other characteristics (except for a p ossible loss of efficiency). Although these parameters can be measured in principle, such measurements are di fficult and require very specialized equipment. Beyond tuning a transmitting ant enna using an SWR meter, the typical user will depend on theoretical predictions based on the antenna design and/or on claims of a vendor. An antenna transmits and receives radio waves with a particular polarization whi ch can be reoriented by tilting the axis of the antenna in many (but not all) ca ses. The physical size of an antenna is often a practical issue, particularly at lower frequencies (longer wavelengths). Highly directional antennas need to be significantly larger than the wavelength. Resonant antennas use a conductor, or a pair of conductors, each of which is about one quarter of the wavelength in le ngth. Antennas that are required to be very small compared to the wavelength sac rifice efficiency and cannot be very directional. Fortunately at higher frequenc ies (UHF, microwaves) trading off performance to obtain a smaller physical size is usually not required. [edit] Resonant antennasWhile there are broadband designs for antennas, the vast majority of antennas are based on the half-wave dipole which has a particular r esonant frequency. At its resonant frequency, the wavelength (figured by dividin g the speed of light by the resonant frequency) is slightly over twice the lengt h of the half-wave dipole (thus the name). The quarter-wave vertical antenna con sists of one arm of a half-wave dipole, with the other arm replaced by a connect ion to ground or an equivalent ground plane (or counterpoise). A Yagi-Uda array consists of a number of resonant dipole elements, only one of which is directly

connected to the transmission line. The quarter-wave elements of a dipole or ver tical antenna imitate a series-resonant electrical element, since if they are dr iven at the resonant frequency a standing wave is created with the peak current at the feed-point and the peak voltage at the far end. A common misconception is that the ability of a resonant antenna to transmit (or receive) fails at frequencies far from the resonant frequency. The reason a dip ole antenna needs to be used at the resonant frequency has to do with the impeda nce match between the antenna and the transmitter or receiver (and its transmiss ion line). For instance, a dipole using a fairly thin conductor[4] will have a p urely resistive feedpoint impedance of about 63 ohms at its design frequency. Fe eding that antenna with a current of 1 ampere will require 63 volts of RF, and t he antenna will radiate 63 watts (ignoring losses) of radio frequency power. If that antenna is driven with 1 ampere at a frequency 20% higher, it will still ra diate as efficiently but in order to do that about 200 volts would be required d ue to the change in the antenna's impedance which is now largely reactive (volta ge out of phase with the current). A typical transmitter would not find that imp edance acceptable and would deliver much less than 63 watts to it; the transmiss ion line would be operating at a high (poor) standing wave ratio. But using an a ppropriate matching network, that large reactive impedance could be converted to a resistive impedance satisfying the transmitter and accepting the available po wer of the transmitter. This principle is used to construct vertical antennas substantially shorter than the 1/4 wavelength at which the antenna is resonant. By adding an inductance in series with the vertical antenna (a so-called loading coil) the capacitative re actance of this antenna can be cancelled leaving a pure resistance which can the n be matched to the transmission line. Sometimes the resulting resonant frequenc y of such a system (antenna plus matching network) is described using the constr uct of "electrical length" and the use of a shorter antenna at a lower frequency than its resonant frequency is termed "electrical lengthening". For example, at 30 MHz (wavelength = 10 meters) a true resonant monopole would be almost 2.5 me ters (1/4 wavelength) long, and using an antenna only 1.5 meters tall would requ ire the addition of a loading coil. Then it may be said that the coil has "lengt hened" the antenna to achieve an "electrical length" of 2.5 meters, that is, 1/4 wavelength at 30 MHz where the combined system now resonates. However, the resu lting resistive impedance achieved will be quite a bit lower than the impedance of a resonant monopole, likely requiring further impedance matching. [edit] Current and voltage distributionThe antenna conductors have the lowest fe ed-point impedance at the resonant frequency where they are just under 1/4 wavel ength long; two such conductors in line fed differentially thus realizes the fam iliar "half-wave dipole". When fed with an RF current at the resonant frequency, the quarter wave element contains a standing wave with the voltage and current largely (but not exactly) in phase quadrature, as would be obtained using a quar ter wave stub of transmission line. The current reaches a minimum at the end of the element (where it has nowhere to go!) and is maximum at the feed-point. The voltage, on the other hand, is the greatest at the end of the conductor and reac hes a minimum (but not zero) at the feedpoint. Making the conductor shorter or l onger than 1/4 wavelength means that the voltage pattern reaches its minimum som ewhere beyond the feed-point, so that the feed-point has a higher voltage and th us sees a higher impedance, as we have noted. Since that voltage pattern is almo st in phase quadrature with the current, the impedance seen at the feed-point is not only much higher but mainly reactive. It can be seen that if such an element is resonant at f0 to produce such a stand ing wave pattern, then feeding that element with 3f0 (whose wavelength is 1/3 th at of f0) will lead to a standing wave pattern in which the voltage is likewise a minimum at the feed-point (and the current at a maximum there). Thus, an anten na element is also resonant when its length is 3/4 of a wavelength (3/2 waveleng

th for a complete dipole). This is true for all odd multiples of 1/4 wavelength, where the feed-point impedance is purely resistive, though larger than the resi stive impedance of the 1/4 wave element. Although such an antenna is resonant an d works perfectly well at the higher frequency, the antenna radiation pattern is also altered compared to the half-wave dipole. The use of a monopole or dipole at odd multiples of the fundamental resonant fre quency, however, does not extend to even multiples (thus a 1/2 wavelength monopo le or 1 wavelength dipole). Now the voltage standing wave is at its peak at the feed-point, while that of the current (which must be zero at the end of the cond uctor) is at a minimum (but not exactly zero). The antenna is anti-resonant at t his frequency. Although the reactance at the feedpoint can be cancelled using su ch an element length, the feed-point impedance is very high, and is highly depen dent on the diameter of the conductor (which makes only a small difference at th e actual resonant frequency). Such an antenna does not match the much lower char acteristic impedance of available transmission lines, and is generally not used. However some equipment where transmission lines are not involved which desire a high driving point impedance may take advantage of this anti-resonance. [edit] BandwidthAlthough a resonant antenna has a purely resistive feed-point im pedance at a particular frequency, many (if not most) applications require using an antenna over a range of frequencies. An antenna's bandwidth specifies the ra nge of frequencies over which its performance does not suffer due to a poor impe dance match. Also in the case of a Yagi-Uda array, the use of the antenna very f ar away from its design frequency reduces the antenna's directivity, thus reduci ng the usable bandwidth regardless of impedance matching. Except for the latter concern, the resonant frequency of a resonant antenna can always be altered by adjusting a suitable matching network. To do this efficient ly one would require remotely adjusting a matching network at the site of the an tenna, since simply adjusting a matching network at the transmitter (or receiver ) would leave the transmission line with a poor standing wave ratio. Instead, it is often desired to have an antenna whose impedance does not vary so greatly over a certain bandwidth. It turns out that the amount of reactance see n at the terminals of a resonant antenna when the frequency is shifted, say, by 5%, depends very much on the diameter of the conductor used. A long thin wire us ed as a half-wave dipole (or quarter wave monopole) will have a reactance signif icantly greater than the resistive impedance it has at resonance, leading to a p oor match and generally unacceptable performance. Making the element using a tub e of a diameter perhaps 1/50 of its length, however, results in a reactance at t his altered frequency which is not so great, and a much less serious mismatch wh ich will only modestly damage the antenna's net performance. Thus rather thick t ubes are typically used for the solid elements of such antennas, including YagiUda arrays. Rather than just using a thick tube, there are similar techniques used to the sa me effect such as replacing thin wire elements with cages to simulate a thicker element. This widens the bandwidth of the resonance. On the other hand, amateur radio antennas need to operate over several bands which are widely separated fro m each other. This can often be accomplished simply by connecting resonant eleme nts for the different bands in parallel. Most of the transmitter's power will fl ow into the resonant element while the others present a high (reactive) impedanc e and draw little current from the same voltage. A popular solution uses so-call ed traps consisting of parallel resonant circuits which are strategically placed in breaks along each antenna element. When used at one particular frequency ban d the trap presents a very high impedance (parallel resonance) effectively trunc ating the element at that length, making it a proper resonant antenna. At a lowe r frequency the trap allows the full length of the element to be employed, albei t with a shifted resonant frequency due to the inclusion of the trap's net react

ance at that lower frequency. The bandwidth characteristics of a resonant antenna element can be characterized according to its Q, just as one uses to characterize the sharpness of an L-C re sonant circuit. However it is often assumed that there is an advantage in an ant enna having a high Q. After all, Q is short for "quality factor" and a low Q typ ically signifies excessive loss (due to unwanted resistance) in a resonant L-C c ircuit. However this understanding does not apply to resonant antennas where the resistance involved is the radiation resistance, a desired quantity which remov es energy from the resonant element in order to radiate it (the purpose of an an tenna, after all!). The Q is a measure of the ratio of reactance to resistance, so with a fixed radiation resistance (an element's radiation resistance is almos t independent of its diameter) a greater reactance off-resonance corresponds to the poorer bandwidth of a very thin conductor. The Q of such a narrowband antenn a can be as high as 15. On the other hand a thick element presents less reactanc e at an off-resonant frequency, and consequently a Q as low as 5. These two ante nnas will perform equivalently at the resonant frequency, but the second antenna will perform over a bandwidth 3 times as wide as the "hi-Q" antenna consisting of a thin conductor. [edit] GainMain article: Antenna gain Gain is a parameter which measures the degree of directivity of the antenna's ra diation pattern. A high-gain antenna will preferentially radiate in a particular direction. Specifically, the antenna gain, or power gain of an antenna is defin ed as the ratio of the intensity (power per unit surface) radiated by the antenn a in the direction of its maximum output, at an arbitrary distance, divided by t he intensity radiated at the same distance by a hypothetical isotropic antenna. The gain of an antenna is a passive phenomenon - power is not added by the anten na, but simply redistributed to provide more radiated power in a certain directi on than would be transmitted by an isotropic antenna. An antenna designer must t ake into account the application for the antenna when determining the gain. High -gain antennas have the advantage of longer range and better signal quality, but must be aimed carefully in a particular direction. Low-gain antennas have short er range, but the orientation of the antenna is relatively inconsequential. For example, a dish antenna on a spacecraft is a high-gain device that must be point ed at the planet to be effective, whereas a typical Wi-Fi antenna in a laptop co mputer is low-gain, and as long as the base station is within range, the antenna can be in any orientation in space. It makes sense to improve horizontal range at the expense of reception above or below the antenna. Thus most antennas label led "omnidirectional" really have some gain.[5] In practice, the half-wave dipole is taken as a reference instead of the isotrop ic radiator. The gain is then given in dBd (decibels over dipole): NOTE: 0 dBd = 2.15 dBi. It is vital in expressing gain values that the reference point be included. Failure to do so can lead to confusion and error. [edit] Effective area or apertureMain article: Antenna effective area The effective area or effective aperture of a receiving antenna expresses the po rtion of the power of a passing electromagnetic wave which it delivers to its te rminals, expressed in terms of an equivalent area. For instance, if a radio wave passing a given location has a flux of 1 pW / m2 (1012 watts per square meter) a nd an antenna has an effective area of 12 m2, then the antenna would deliver 12 pW of RF power to the receiver (30 microvolts rms at 75 ohms). Since the receivi ng antenna is not equally sensitive to signals received from all directions, the effective area is a function of the direction to the source. Due to reciprocity (discussed above) the gain of an antenna used for transmittin g must be proportional to its effective area when used for receiving. Consider a n antenna with no loss, that is, one whose electrical efficiency is 100%. It can

be shown that its effective area averaged over all directions must be equal to 2 /4, the wavelength squared divided by 4. Gain is defined such that the average gai n over all directions for an antenna with 100% electrical efficiency is equal to 1. Therefore the effective area Aeff in terms of the gain G in a given directio n is given by: For an antenna with an efficiency of less than 100%, both the effective area and gain are reduced by that same amount. Therefore the above relationship between gain and effective area still holds. These are thus two different ways of expres sing the same quantity. Aeff is especially convenient when computing the power t hat would be received by an antenna of a specified gain, as illustrated by the a bove example. [edit] Radiation patternMain article: Radiation pattern polar plots of the horizontal cross sections of a (virtual) Yagi-Uda-antenna. Ou tline connects points with 3db field power compared to an ISO emitter.The radiat ion pattern of an antenna is a plot of the relative field strength of the radio waves emitted by the antenna at different angles. It is typically represented by a three dimensional graph, or polar plots of the horizontal and vertical cross sections. The pattern of an ideal isotropic antenna, which radiates equally in a ll directions, would look like a sphere. Many nondirectional antennas, such as m onopoles and dipoles, emit equal power in all horizontal directions, with the po wer dropping off at higher and lower angles; this is called an omnidirectional p attern and when plotted looks like a torus or donut. The radiation of many antennas shows a pattern of maxima or "lobes" at various a ngles, separated by "nulls", angles where the radiation falls to zero. This is b ecause the radio waves emitted by different parts of the antenna typically inter fere, causing maxima at angles where the radio waves arrive at distant points in phase, and zero radiation at other angles where the radio waves arrive out of p hase. In a directional antenna designed to project radio waves in a particular d irection, the lobe in that direction is designed larger than the others and is c alled the "main lobe". The other lobes usually represent unwanted radiation and are called "sidelobes". The axis through the main lobe is called the "principle axis" or "boresight axis". [edit] ImpedanceAs an electro-magnetic wave travels through the different parts of the antenna system (radio, feed line, antenna, free space) it may encounter d ifferences in impedance (E/H, V/I, etc.). At each interface, depending on the im pedance match, some fraction of the wave's energy will reflect back to the sourc e,[6] forming a standing wave in the feed line. The ratio of maximum power to mi nimum power in the wave can be measured and is called the standing wave ratio (S WR). A SWR of 1:1 is ideal. A SWR of 1.5:1 is considered to be marginally accept able in low power applications where power loss is more critical, although an SW R as high as 6:1 may still be usable with the right equipment. Minimizing impeda nce differences at each interface (impedance matching) will reduce SWR and maxim ize power transfer through each part of the antenna system. Complex impedance of an antenna is related to the electrical length of the anten na at the wavelength in use. The impedance of an antenna can be matched to the f eed line and radio by adjusting the impedance of the feed line, using the feed l ine as an impedance transformer. More commonly, the impedance is adjusted at the load (see below) with an antenna tuner, a balun, a matching transformer, matchi ng networks composed of inductors and capacitors, or matching sections such as t he gamma match. [edit] EfficiencyMain article: Antenna efficiency Efficiency of a transmitting antenna is the ratio of power actually radiated (in

all directions) to the power absorbed by the antenna terminals. The power suppl ied to the antenna terminals which is not radiated is converted into heat. This is usually through loss resistance in the antenna's conductors, but can also be due to dielectric or magnetic core losses in antennas (or antenna systems) using such components. Such loss effectively robs power from the transmitter, requiri ng a stronger transmitter in order to transmit a signal of a given strength. For instance, if a transmitter delivers 100 W into an antenna having an efficien cy of 80%, then the antenna will radiate 80 W as radio waves and produce 20 W of heat. In order to radiate 100 W of power, one would need to use a transmitter c apable of supplying 125 W to the antenna. Note that antenna efficiency is a sepa rate issue from impedance matching, which may also reduce the amount of power ra diated using a given transmitter. If an SWR meter reads 150 W of incident power and 50 W of reflected power, that means that 100 W have actually been absorbed b y the antenna (ignoring transmission line losses). How much of that power has ac tually been radiated cannot be directly determined through electrical measuremen ts at (or before) the antenna terminals, but would require (for instance) carefu l measurement of field strength. Fortunately the loss resistance of antenna cond uctors such as aluminum rods can be calculated and the efficiency of an antenna using such materials predicted. However loss resistance will generally affect the feedpoint impedance, adding to its resistive (real) component. That resistance will consist of the sum of the radiation resistance Rr and the loss resistance Rloss. If an rms current I is de livered to the terminals of an antenna, then a power of I2Rr will be radiated an d a power of I2Rloss will be lost as heat. Therefore the efficiency of an antenn a is equal to Rr / (Rr + Rloss). Of course only the total resistance Rr + Rloss can be directly measured. Amount of atmospheric noise at various elevation angles versus frequency accordi ng CCIR 322According to reciprocity, the efficiency of an antenna, when used as a receiving antenna, is identical to the efficiency as defined above. The power that an antenna will deliver to a receiver (with a proper impedance match) is re duced by the same amount. However often in a receiving application, inefficiency of an antenna may be of lesser consequence or even of no consequence, notably a t lower frequencies or when used to receive signals in "crowded" bands. That is true in cases where the received signal competes not against receiver noise, but against atmospheric noise or interference received by the antenna itself. The l oss within the antenna will affect the intended signal and the noise/interferenc e identically, leading to no reduction in signal to noise ratio (SNR). According to the graph shown illustrating the frequency dependence of atmospheric and man -made noise, one can see that using a receiving antenna with an efficiency of on ly 10% at frequencies below 10 MHz will still supply a signal to the receiver wh ich includes noise well above the thermal limit. A decent RF amplifier in the re ceiver will not significantly add to this noise level or reduce the resulting SN R. This is fortunate, since antennas at lower frequencies which are not rather larg e (a good fraction of a wavelength in size) are inevitably inefficient (due to t he small radiation resistance Rr of small antennas). Most AM broadcast radios (e xcept for car radios) take advantage of this principle by including a small loop antenna for reception which has an extremely poor efficiency. Using such an ine fficient antenna at this low frequency (5301650 kHz) thus has little effect on th e receiver's net performance, but simply requires greater amplification by the r eceiver's electronics. Contrast this tiny component to the massive and very tall towers used at AM broadcast stations for transmitting at the very same frequenc y, where every percentage point of reduced antenna efficiency entails a substant ial cost.

The definition of antenna gain or power gain already includes the effect of the antenna's efficiency. Therefore if one is trying to radiate a signal toward a re ceiver using a transmitter of a given power, one need only compare the gain of v arious antennas rather than considering the efficiency as well. This is likewise true for a receiving antenna at very high (especially microwave) frequencies, w here the point is to receive a signal which is strong compared to the receiver's noise temperature. However in the case of a directional antenna used for receiv ing signals with the intention of rejecting interference from different directio ns, one is no longer concerned with the antenna efficiency, as discussed above. In this case, rather than quoting the antenna gain, one would be more concerned with the directive gain which does not include the effect of antenna (in)efficie ncy. The directive gain of an antenna can be computed from the published gain di vided by the antenna's efficiency. [edit] PolarizationMain article: Polarization (waves) The polarization of an antenna is the orientation of the electric field (E-plane ) of the radio wave with respect to the Earth's surface and is determined by the physical structure of the antenna and by its orientation. It has nothing in com mon with antenna directionality terms: "horizontal", "vertical", and "circular". Thus, a simple straight wire antenna will have one polarization when mounted ve rtically, and a different polarization when mounted horizontally. "Electromagnet ic wave polarization filters"[citation needed] are structures which can be emplo yed to act directly on the electromagnetic wave to filter out wave energy of an undesired polarization and to pass wave energy of a desired polarization. Reflections generally affect polarization. For radio waves the most important re flector is the ionosphere - signals which reflect from it will have their polari zation changed unpredictably. For signals which are reflected by the ionosphere, polarization cannot be relied upon. For line-of-sight communications for which polarization can be relied upon, it can make a large difference in signal qualit y to have the transmitter and receiver using the same polarization; many tens of dB difference are commonly seen and this is more than enough to make the differ ence between reasonable communication and a broken link. Polarization is largely predictable from antenna construction but, especially in directional antennas, the polarization of side lobes can be quite different fro m that of the main propagation lobe. For radio antennas, polarization correspond s to the orientation of the radiating element in an antenna. A vertical omnidire ctional WiFi antenna will have vertical polarization (the most common type). An exception is a class of elongated waveguide antennas in which vertically placed antennas are horizontally polarized. Many commercial antennas are marked as to t he polarization of their emitted signals. Polarization is the sum of the E-plane orientations over time projected onto an imaginary plane perpendicular to the direction of motion of the radio wave. In t he most general case, polarization is elliptical, meaning that the polarization of the radio waves varies over time. Two special cases are linear polarization ( the ellipse collapses into a line) and circular polarization (in which the two a xes of the ellipse are equal). In linear polarization the antenna compels the el ectric field of the emitted radio wave to a particular orientation. Depending on the orientation of the antenna mounting, the usual linear cases are horizontal and vertical polarization. In circular polarization, the antenna continuously va ries the electric field of the radio wave through all possible values of its ori entation with regard to the Earth's surface. Circular polarizations, like ellipt ical ones, are classified as right-hand polarized or left-hand polarized using a "thumb in the direction of the propagation" rule. Optical researchers use the s ame rule of thumb, but pointing it in the direction of the emitter, not in the d irection of propagation, and so are opposite to radio engineers' use. In practice, regardless of confusing terminology, it is important that linearly

polarized antennas be matched, lest the received signal strength be greatly redu ced. So horizontal should be used with horizontal and vertical with vertical. In termediate matchings will lose some signal strength, but not as much as a comple te mismatch. Transmitters mounted on vehicles with large motional freedom common ly use circularly polarized antennas[citation needed] so that there will never b e a complete mismatch with signals from other sources. [edit] Impedance matchingMain article: Impedance matching Maximum power transfer requires matching the impedance of an antenna system (as seen looking into the transmission line) to the complex conjugate of the impedan ce of the receiver or transmitter. In the case of a transmitter, however, the de sired matching impedance might not correspond to the dynamic output impedance of the transmitter as analyzed as a source impedance but rather the design value ( typically 50 ohms) required for efficient and safe operation of the transmitting circuitry. The intended impedance is normally resistive but a transmitter (and some receivers) may have additional adjustments to cancel a certain amount of re actance in order to "tweak" the match. When a transmission line is used in betwe en the antenna and the transmitter (or receiver) one generally would like an ant enna system whose impedance is resistive and near the characteristic impedance o f that transmission line in order to minimize the standing wave ratio (SWR) and the increase in transmission line losses it entails, in addition to supplying a good match at the transmitter or receiver itself. Antenna tuning generally refers to cancellation of any reactance seen at the ant enna terminals, leaving only a resistive impedance which might or might not be e xactly the desired impedance (that of the transmission line). Although an antenn a may be designed to have a purely resistive feedpoint impedance (such as a dipo le 97% of a half wavelength long) this might not be exactly true at the frequenc y that it is eventually used at. In some cases the physical length of the antenn a can be "trimmed" to obtain a pure resistance. On the other hand, the addition of a series inductance or parallel capacitance can be used to cancel a residual capacitative or inductive reactance, respectively. In some cases this is done in a more extreme manner, not simply to cancel a smal l amount of residual reactance, but to resonate an antenna whose resonance frequ ency is quite different than the intended frequency of operation. For instance, a "whip antenna" can be made significantly shorter than 1/4 wavelength long, for practical reasons, and then resonated using a so-called loading coil. This phys ically large inductor at the base of the antenna has an inductive reactance whic h is the opposite of the capacitative reactance that such a vertical antenna has at the desired operating frequency. The result is a pure resistance seen at fee dpoint of the loading coil; unfortunately that resistance is somewhat lower than would be desired to match commercial coax[citation needed]. So an additional problem beyond canceling the unwanted reactance is of matching the remaining resistive impedance to the characteristic impedance of the transmi ssion line. In principle this can always be done with a transformer, however the turns ratio of a transformer is not adjustable. A general matching network with at least two adjustments can be made to correct both components of impedance. M atching networks using discrete inductors and capacitors will have losses associ ated with those components, and will have power restrictions when used for trans mitting. Avoiding these difficulties, commercial antennas are generally designed with fixed matching elements and/or feeding strategies to get an approximate ma tch to standard coax, such as 50 or 75 Ohms. Antennas based on the dipole (rathe r than vertical antennas) should include a balun in between the transmission lin e and antenna element, which may be integrated into any such matching network. Another extreme case of impedance matching occurs when using a small loop antenn a (usually, but not always, for receiving) at a relatively low frequency where i t appears almost as a pure inductor. Resonating such an inductor with a capacito

r at the frequency of operation not only cancels the reactance but greatly magni fies the very small radiation resistance of such a loop[citation needed]. This i s implemented in most AM broadcast receivers, with a small ferrite loop antenna resonated by a capacitor which is varied along with the receiver tuning in order to maintain resonance over the AM broadcast band [edit] Basic antenna models Typical US multiband TV antenna (aerial)There are many variations of antennas. B elow are a few basic models. More can be found in Category:Radio frequency anten na types. The isotropic radiator is a purely theoretical antenna that radiates equally in all directions. It is considered to be a point in space with no dimensions and n o mass. This antenna cannot physically exist, but is useful as a theoretical mod el for comparison with all other antennas. Most antennas' gains are measured wit h reference to an isotropic radiator, and are rated in dBi (decibels with respec t to an isotropic radiator). The dipole antenna is simply two wires pointed in opposite directions arranged e ither horizontally or vertically, with one end of each wire connected to the rad io and the other end hanging free in space. Since this is the simplest practical antenna, it is also used as a reference model for other antennas; gain with res pect to a dipole is labeled as dBd. Generally, the dipole is considered to be om nidirectional in the plane perpendicular to the axis of the antenna, but it has deep nulls in the directions of the axis. Variations of the dipole include the f olded dipole, the half wave antenna, the ground plane antenna, the whip, and the J-pole. The Yagi-Uda antenna is a directional variation of the dipole with parasitic ele ments added which are functionality similar to adding a reflector and lenses (di rectors) to focus a filament light bulb. The random wire antenna is simply a very long (at least one quarter wavelength[c itation needed]) wire with one end connected to the radio and the other in free space, arranged in any way most convenient for the space available. Folding will reduce effectiveness and make theoretical analysis extremely difficult. (The ad ded length helps more than the folding typically hurts.) Typically, a random wir e antenna will also require an antenna tuner, as it might have a random impedanc e that varies non-linearly with frequency. The horn antenna is used where high gain is needed, the wavelength is short (mic rowave) and space is not an issue. Horns can be narrow band or wide band, depend ing on their shape. A horn can be built for any frequency, but horns for lower f requencies are typically impractical. Horns are also frequently used as referenc e antennas. The parabolic antenna consists of an active element at the focus of a parabolic reflector to reflect the waves into a plane wave. Like the horn it is used for h igh gain, microwave applications, such as satellite dishes. The patch antenna consists mainly of a square conductor mounted over a groundpla ne. Another example of a planar antenna is the tapered slot antenna (TSA), as th e Vivaldi-antenna.

[edit] Practical antennas "Rabbit ears" set-top antennaAlthough any circuit can radiate if driven with a s ignal of high enough frequency, most practical antennas are specially designed t o radiate efficiently at a particular frequency. An example of an inefficient an tenna is the simple Hertzian dipole antenna, which radiates over wide range of f requencies and is useful[citation needed] for its small size. A more efficient v ariation of this is the half-wave dipole, which radiates with high efficiency wh en the signal wavelength is twice the electrical length of the antenna. One of the goals of antenna design is to minimize the reactance of the device so

that it appears as a resistive load. An "antenna inherent reactance" includes n ot only the distributed reactance of the active antenna but also the natural rea ctance due to its location and surroundings (as for example, the capacity relati on inherent in the position of the active antenna relative to ground). Reactance can be eliminated by operating the antenna at its resonant frequency, when its capacitive and inductive reactances are equal and opposite, resulting in a net z ero reactive current. If this is not possible, compensating inductors or capacit ors can instead be added to the antenna to cancel its reactance as far as the so urce is concerned. Once the reactance has been eliminated, what remains is a pure resistance, which is the sum of two parts: the ohmic resistance of the conductors, and the radiat ion resistance. Power absorbed by the ohmic resistance becomes waste heat, and t hat absorbed by the radiation resistance becomes radiated electromagnetic energy . The greater the ratio of radiation resistance to ohmic resistance, the more ef ficient the antenna. [edit] Effect of groundAntennas are typically used in an environment where other objects are present that may have an effect on their performance. Height above ground has a very significant effect on the radiation pattern of some antenna ty pes. At frequencies used in antennas, the ground behaves mainly as a dielectric[citat ion needed]. The conductivity of ground at these frequencies is negligible. When an electromagnetic wave arrives at the surface of an object, two waves are crea ted: one enters the dielectric and the other is reflected. If the object is a co nductor, the transmitted wave is negligible and the reflected wave has almost th e same amplitude as the incident one. When the object is a dielectric, the fract ion reflected depends (among other things) on the angle of incidence. When the a ngle of incidence is small (that is, the wave arrives almost perpendicularly) mo st of the energy traverses the surface and very little is reflected. When the an gle of incidence is near 90 (grazing incidence) almost all the wave is reflected. Most of the electromagnetic waves emitted by an antenna to the ground below the antenna at moderate (say < 60) angles of incidence enter the earth and are absorb ed (lost). But waves emitted to the ground at grazing angles, far from the anten na, are almost totally reflected. At grazing angles, the ground behaves as a mir ror. Quality of reflection depends on the nature of the surface. When the irregu larities of the surface are smaller than the wavelength, reflection is good. The wave reflected by earth can be considered as emitted by the image antenna.Th is means that the receptor "sees" the real antenna and, under the ground, the im age of the antenna reflected by the ground. If the ground has irregularities, th e image will appear fuzzy. If the receiver is placed at some height above the ground, waves reflected by gr ound will travel a little longer distance to arrive to the receiver than direct waves. The distance will be the same only if the receiver is close to ground. In the drawing at right, the angle has been drawn far bigger than in reality. T he distance between the antenna and its image is . The situation is a bit more complex because the reflection of electromagnetic wa ves depends on the polarization of the incident wave. As the refractive index of the ground (average value ) is bigger than the refractive index of the air (), the direction of the component of the electric field parallel to the ground inve rses at the reflection. This is equivalent to a phase shift of radians or 180. T he vertical component of the electric field reflects without changing direction. This sign inversion of the parallel component and the non-inversion of the perp

endicular component would also happen if the ground were a good electrical condu ctor. The vertical component of the current reflects without changing sign. The horizo ntal component reverses sign at reflection.This means that a receiving antenna " sees" the image antenna with the current in the same direction if the antenna is vertical or with the current inverted if the antenna is horizontal. For a vertical polarized emission antenna the far electric field of the electrom agnetic wave produced by the direct ray plus the reflected ray is: The sign inversion for the parallel field case just changes a cosine to a sine: In these two equations: is the electrical field radiated by the antenna if there were no ground. is the wave number. is the wave length. is the distance between antenna and its image (twice the height of the center o f the antenna). Radiation patterns of antennas and their images reflected by the ground. At left the polarization is vertical and there is always a maximum for . If the polariz ation is horizontal as at right, there is always a zero for .For emitting and re ceiving antennas situated near the ground (in a building or on a mast) far from each other, distances traveled by direct and reflected rays are nearly the same. There is no induced phase shift. If the emission is polarized vertically, the t wo fields (direct and reflected) add and there is maximum of received signal. If the emission is polarized horizontally, the two signals subtract and the receiv ed signal is minimum. This is depicted in the image at right. In the case of ver tical polarization, there is always a maximum at earth level (left pattern). For horizontal polarization, there is always a minimum at earth level. Note that in these drawings the ground is considered as a perfect mirror, even for low angle s of incidence. In these drawings, the distance between the antenna and its imag e is just a few wavelengths. For greater distances, the number of lobes increase s. Note that the situation is differentand more complexif reflections in the ionosphe re occur. This happens over very long distances (thousands of kilometers). There is not a direct ray but several reflected rays that add with different phase sh ifts. This is the reason why almost all public address radio emissions have vertical p olarization. As public users are near ground, horizontal polarized emissions wou ld be poorly received. Observe household and automobile radio receivers. They al l have vertical antennas or horizontal ferrite antennas for vertical polarized e missions. In cases where the receiving antenna must work in any position, as in mobile phones, the emitter and receivers in base stations use circular polarized electromagnetic waves. Classical (analog) television emissions are an exception. They are almost always horizontally polarized, because the presence of buildings makes it unlikely tha t a good emitter antenna image will appear[citation needed]. However, these same buildings reflect the electromagnetic waves and can create ghost images. Using horizontal polarization, reflections are attenuated because of the low reflectio n of electromagnetic waves whose magnetic field is parallel to the dielectric su rface near the Brewster's angle. Vertically polarized analog television has been

used in some rural areas. In digital terrestrial television reflections are les s obtrusive, due to the inherent robustness of digital signalling and built-in e rror correction. [edit] Mutual impedance and interaction between antennas Mutual impedance between parallel dipoles not staggered. Curves Re and Im are t he resistive and reactive parts of the impedance.Current circulating in any ante nna induces currents in all others. One can postulate a mutual impedance betwee n two antennas that has the same significance as the in ordinary coupled induct ors. The mutual impedance between two antennas is defined as: where is the current flowing in antenna 1 and is the voltage that would have t o be applied to antenna 2with antenna 1 removedto produce the current in the anten na 2 that was produced by antenna 1. From this definition, the currents and voltages applied in a set of coupled ante nnas are: where: is the voltage applied to the antenna i is the impedance of antenna i is the mutual impedance between antennas i and j Note that, as is the case for mutual inductances, This is a consequence of Lorentz reciprocity. If some of the elements are not fe d (there is a short circuit instead a feeder cable), as is the case in televisio n antennas (Yagi-Uda antennas), the corresponding are zero. Those elements are called parasitic elements. Parasitic elements are unpowered elements that either reflect or absorb and reradiate RF energy. In some geometrical settings, the mutual impedance between antennas can be zero. This is the case for crossed dipoles used in circular polarization antennas. [edit] Antenna gallery[edit] Antennas and antenna arraysA Yagi-Uda beam antenna. A multi-band rotary directional antenna for amateur radio use. Rooftop TV antenna. It is actually three Yagi antennas. The longest elements are for the low band, while the medium and short elements are for the high and UHF band. A terrestrial microwave radio antenna array. Examples of US 136-174 MHz base station antennas. Low cost LF time signal receiver, antenna (left) and receiver (right). Rotatable log-periodic array for VHF and UHF. Shortwave antennas in Delano, California. An old VHF-band Yagi-type television antenna. A T2FD broadband antenna, covering the 5-30MHz band. A US multiband "aerial" TV antenna. "Rabbit ears" antenna AM loop antenna [edit] Antennas and supporting structuresA building rooftop supporting numerous dish and sectored mobile telecommunications antennas (Doncaster, Victoria, Austr alia). A water tower in Palmerston, Northern Territory with radio broadcasting and comm unications antennas. A three-sector telephone site in Mexico City. Telephone site concealed as a palm tree. [edit] Diagrams as part of a systemAntennas may be connected through a multiplex

ing arrangement in some applications like this trunked two-way radio example. Antenna network for an emergency medical services base station. CATHODE RAY TUBE : Cathode ray tubeFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search Cutaway rendering of a color CRT: 1. Three Electron guns (for red, green, and blue phosphor dots) 2. Electron beams 3. Focusing coils 4. Deflection coils 5. Anode connection 6. Mask for separating beams for red, green, and blue part of displayed image 7. Phosphor layer with red, green, and blue zones 8. Close-up of the phosphor-coated inner side of the screen Magnified view of a shadow mask color CRT Magnified view of an aperture grille color CRTThe cathode ray tube (CRT) is a va cuum tube containing an electron gun (a source of electrons) and a fluorescent s creen used to view images. It has a means to accelerate and deflect the electron beam onto the fluorescent screen to create the images. The image may represent electrical waveforms (oscilloscope), pictures (television, computer monitor), ra dar targets and others. CRTs have also been used as memory devices, in which cas e the visible light emitted from the fluoresecent material (if any) is not inten ded to have significant meaning to a visual observer (though the visible pattern on the tube face may cryptically represent the stored data). The CRT uses an evacuated glass envelope which is large, deep (i.e. long from fr ont screen face to rear end), fairly heavy, and relatively fragile. As a matter of safety, the face is typically made of thick lead glass so as to be highly sha tter-resistant and to block most X-ray emissions, particularly if the CRT is use d in a consumer product. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Overview 3 Oscilloscope CRTs 3.1 Phosphor persistence 3.2 Microchannel plate 3.3 Graticules 4 Color CRTs 4.1 Convergence and purity in color CRTs 4.2 Degaussing 5 Vector monitors 6 CRT resolution 7 Gamma 8 Other types of CRTs 8.1 Cat's eye 8.2 Charactrons 8.3 Nimo 8.4 Williams Tube 8.5 Zeus thin CRT display 9 The future of CRT technology 9.1 Demise 9.2 Causes 9.3 Slimmer CRT 9.4 Resurgence in specialized markets 10 Health concerns 10.1 Ionizing radiation

10.2 Toxicity 10.3 Flicker 10.4 High-frequency audible noise 10.5 Implosion 11 Security concerns 12 Recycling 13 Advantages/disadvantages 14 See also 15 References 16 Selected patents 17 External links [edit] History A common CRT used in computer monitors and television setsThe experimentation of cathode rays is largely accredited to J.J. Thomson, an English physicist who, i n his three famous experiments, was able to deflect cathode rays, a fundamental function of the modern CRT. The earliest version of the CRT was invented by the German physicist Ferdinand Braun in 1897 and is also known as the Braun tube.[1] It was a cold-cathode diode, a modification of the Crookes tube with a phosphor -coated screen. In 1907, Russian scientist Boris Rosing used a CRT in the receiving end of an ex perimental video signal to form a picture. He managed to display simple geometri c shapes onto the screen, which marked the first time that CRT technology was us ed for what is now known as television.[2] The first cathode ray tube to use a hot cathode was developed by John B. Johnson (who gave his name to the term Johnson noise) and Harry Weiner Weinhart of West ern Electric, and became a commercial product in 1922.[citation needed] It was named by inventor Vladimir K. Zworykin in 1929.[3] RCA was granted a trad emark for the term (for its cathode ray tube) in 1932; it voluntarily released t he term to the public domain in 1950. [4] A 14 inch cathode ray tube showing its deflection coils and electron guns Typical 1950s United States television setThe first commercially made electronic television sets with cathode ray tubes were manufactured by Telefunken in Germa ny in 1934,[5][6] [edit] OverviewA cathode ray tube is a vacuum tube which consists of one or more electron guns, possibly internal electrostatic deflection plates, and a phospho r target.[2] In television sets and computer monitors, the entire front area of the tube is scanned repetitively and systematically in a fixed pattern called a raster. An image is produced by controlling the intensity of each of the three e lectron beams, one for each additive primary color (red, green, and blue) with a video signal as a reference.[7] In all modern CRT monitors and televisions, the beams are bent by magnetic deflection, a varying magnetic field generated by co ils and driven by electronic circuits around the neck of the tube, although elec trostatic deflection is commonly used in oscilloscopes, a type of diagnostic ins trument.[7] Electron gun[edit] Oscilloscope CRTsIn oscilloscope CRTs, electrostatic deflecti on is used, rather than the magnetic deflection commonly used with television an d other large CRTs. The beam is deflected horizontally by applying an electric f ield between a pair of plates to its left and right, and vertically by applying an electric field to plates above and below. Oscilloscopes use electrostatic rat her than magnetic deflection because the inductive reactance of the magnetic coi

ls would limit the frequency response of the instrument.[8] [edit] Phosphor persistenceVarious phosphors are available depending upon the ne eds of the measurement or display application. The brightness, color, and persis tence of the illumination depends upon the type of phosphor used on the CRT scre en. Phosphors are available with persistences ranging from less than one microse cond to several seconds.[9] For visual observation of brief transient events, a long persistence phosphor may be desirable. For events which are fast and repeti tive, or high frequency, a short-persistence phosphor is generally preferable.[1 0] [edit] Microchannel plateWhen displaying fast one-shot events the electron beam must deflect very quickly, with few electrons impinging on the screen; leading t o a faint or invisible image on the display. Oscilloscope CRTs designed for very fast signals can give a brighter display by passing the electron beam through a micro-channel plate just before it reaches the screen. Through the phenomenon o f secondary emission this plate multiplies the number of electrons reaching the phosphor screen, giving a significant improvement in writing rate (brightness), and improved sensitivity and spot size as well.[11][12] [edit] GraticulesMost oscilloscopes have a graticule as part of the visual displ ay, to facilitate measurements. The graticule may be permanently marked inside t he face of the CRT, or it may be a transparent external plate. External graticul es are typically made of glass or acrylic plastic. An internal graticule provide s an advantage in that it eliminates parallax error. Unlike an external graticul e, an internal graticule can not be changed to accommodate different types of me asurements.[13] Oscilloscopes commonly provide a means for the graticule to be s ide-illuminated, which improves its visibility when used in a darkened room or w hen shaded by a camera hood.[14] [edit] Color CRTs Spectra of constituent blue, green and red phosphors in a common CRTColor tubes use three different phosphors which emit red, green, and blue light respectively . They are packed together in stripes (as in aperture grille designs) or cluster s called "triads" (as in shadow mask CRTs).[15] Color CRTs have three electron g uns, one for each primary color, arranged either in a straight line or in an equ ilateral triangular configuration (the guns are usually constructed as a single unit). (The triangular configuration is often called "delta-gun", based on its r elation to the shape of the Greek letter delta.) A grille or mask absorbs the el ectrons that would otherwise hit the wrong phosphor.[16] A shadow mask tube uses a metal plate with tiny holes, placed so that the electron beam only illuminate s the correct phosphors on the face of the tube.[15] Another type of color CRT u ses an aperture grille to achieve the same result.[16] [edit] Convergence and purity in color CRTsDue to limitations in the dimensional precision with which CRTs can be manufactured economically, it is not practical ly possible to build color CRTs in which the geometric configuration of the elec tron gun axes and aperture positions, shadow mask apertures, etc. is precisely e nough aligned in the glass to guarantee that the beams will hit exactly the righ t spots on the phosphor screen in perfect coordination. In other words, it is no t possible by affordable methods to manufacture a CRT that is internally aligned precisely enough so that the three electron beams will only hit the colors of p hosphors they are supposed to and all three will always hit the screen at the sa me point. The shadow mask ensures that one beam will only hit spots certain colo rs of phosphors, but minute variations in physical alignment of the internal par ts among individual CRTs will cause variations in the exact alignment of the bea ms through the shadow mask, allowing some electrons from, for example, the red b eam to hit, say, blue phosphors, unless some individual compensation is made for the variance among individual tubes.

Color convergence and color purity are two aspects of this single problem. First ly, for correct color rendering it is necessary that regardless of where the bea ms are deflected on the screen, they hit the same spot (and nominally pass throu gh the same hole or slot) on the shadow mask. This is called convergence.[17] Mo re specifically, the convergence at the center of the screen (with no deflection field applied by the yoke) is called static convergence, and the convergence ov er the rest of the screen area is called dynamic convergence. The beams may conv erge at the center of the screen and yet stray from each other as they are defle cted toward the edges; such a CRT would be said to have good static convergence but poor dynamic convergence. Secondly, after convergence, it is necessary that each beam hit only the phospho rs of its designated color. If a beam hits the shadow mask at the wrong angle, i t will hit some phosphors of other colors adjacent to those of the color it is s upposed to hit, yielding a combined color that is off hue from the pure color it is supposed to produce. Like convergence, purity has static and dynamic variant s, defined analogously to their convergence counterparts. The solution to the static convergence and purity problems is a set of color ali gnment magnets installed around the neck of the CRT. These movable weak permanen t magnets are usually mounted on the back end of the deflection yoke assembly an d are set at the factory to compensate for any static purity and convergence err ors that are intrinsic to the unadjucted tube. Typically there are two or three pairs of two magnets in the form of rings made of plastic impregnated with a mag netic material, with their magnetic fields parallel to the planes of the magnets , which are perpendicular to the electron gun axes. Each pair of magnetic rings forms a single effective magnet whose field vector can be fully and freely adjus ted. By rotating a pair of magnets relative to each other, their relative field alignment can be varied, adjusting the effective field strength of the pair. (As they rotate relative to each other, each magnet's field can be considered to ha ve two opposing components at right angles, and these four components [two each for two magnets] form two pairs, one pair reinforcing each other and the other p air opposing and canceling each other. Rotating away from alignment, the magnets ' mutually reinforcing field components decrease as they are traded for increasi ng opposed, mutually cancelling components.) By rotating a pair of magnets toget her, preserving the relative angle between them, the direction of their collecti ve magnetic field can be varied. Overall, adjusting all of the convergence/purit y magnets allows a finely tuned slight electron beam deflection and/or lateral o ffset to be applied, which compensates for minor static convergence and purity e rrors intrinsic to the uncalibrated tube. Once set, these magnets are usually gl ued in place, but normally they can be freed and readjusted in the field (e.g. b y a TV repair shop) if necessary. On some CRTs, additional fixed adjustable magnets are added for dynamic converge nce and/or dynamic purity at specific points on the screen, typically near the c orners or edges. Further adjustment of dynamic convergence and purity typically cannot be done passively, but requires active compensation circuits. Dynamic color convergence and purity are one of the main reasons why until late in their history, CRTs were long-necked (deep) and had biaxially curved faces; t hese geometric design characteristics are necessary for intrinsic passive dynami c color convergence and purity. Only starting around the 1990s did sophisticated active dynamic convergence compensation circuits become available that made sho rt-necked and flat-faced CRTs workable. These active compensation circuits use t he deflection yoke to finely adjust beam deflection according to the beam target location. The same techniques (and major circuit components) also make possible the adjustment of display image rotation, skew, and other complex raster geomet ry parameters through electronics under user control. [edit] DegaussingIf the shadow mask becomes magnetized, its magnetic field defle

cts the electron beams passing through it, causing color purity distortion as th e beams bend through the mask holes and hit some phosphors of a color other than that which they are intended to strike; e.g. some electrons from the red beam m ay hit blue phosphors, giving pure red parts of the image a magenta tint. This e ffect is localized to a specific area of the screen if the magnetization of the shadow mask is localized. Therefore, it is important that the shadow mask is unm agnetized. (A magnetized aperture grille has a similar effect, and everything st ated in this subsection about shadow masks applies as well to aperture grilles.) Most color CRT displays, i.e. television sets and computer monitors, each have a built-in degaussing (demagnetizing) circuit, the primary component of which is a degaussing coil which is mounted around the perimeter of the CRT face inside t he bezel. Upon power-up of the CRT display, the degaussing circuit produces a br ief, alternating current through the degaussing coil which smoothly decays in st rength (fades out) to zero over a period of a few seconds, producing a decaying alternating magnetic field from the coil. This degaussing field is strong enough to remove shadow mask magnetization in most cases.[18] In unusual cases of stro ng magnetization where the internal degaussing field is not sufficient, the shad ow mask may be degaussed externally with a stronger portable degausser or demagn etizer. (However, note that a magnetic field that is too strong, whether alterna ting or constant, may mechanically deform [bend] the shadow mask, causing a perm anent color distortion on the display which looks very similar to a magnetizatio n effect.) The degaussing circuit is often built of a thermo-electric (not electronic) devi ce containing a small ceramic heating element and a positive thermal coefficient (PTC) resistor, connected directly to the swiched AC power line with the resist or in series with the degaussing coil. When the power is switched on, the heatin g element heats the PTC resistor, increasing its resistance to a point where deg aussing current is minimal, but not actually zero. In older CRT displays, this l ow-level current (which produces no significant degaussing field) is sustained a long with the action of the heating element as long as the display remains switc hed on. To repeat a degaussing cycle, the CRT display must be switched off and l eft off for at least several seconds to reset the degaussing circuit by allowing the PTC resistor to cool to the ambient temperature; switching the display off and immediately back on will result in a weak degaussing cycle or effectively no degaussing cycle. This simple design is effective and cheap to build, but it wastes some power con tinuously. Later models, especially Energy Star rated ones, use a relay to switc h the entire degaussing circuit on and off, so that the degaussing circuit uses energy only when it is functionally active and needed. The relay design also ena bles degaussing on user demand through the unit's front panel controls, without switching the unit off and on again. (The relay can often be heard clicking off at the end of the degaussing cycle a few seconds after the monitor is turned on, and on and off during a manually initiated degaussing cycle.) [edit] Vector monitorsMain article: Vector monitor Vector monitors were used in early computer aided design systems and in some lat e-1970s to mid-1980s arcade games such as Asteroids.[19] They draw graphics poin t-to-point, rather than scanning a raster. [edit] CRT resolutionDot pitch defines the maximum resolution of the display, as suming delta-gun CRTs. In these, as the scanned resolution approaches the dot pi tch resolution, moir appears, as the detail being displayed is finer than what th e shadow mask can render.[20] Aperture grille monitors do not suffer from vertic al moir, however, because their phosphor stripes have no vertical detail. In smal ler CRTs, these strips maintain position by themselves, but larger aperture gril le CRTs require one or two crosswise (horizontal) support strips.[21]

[edit] GammaCRTs have a pronounced triode characteristic, which results in signi ficant gamma (a nonlinear relationship in an electron gun between applied video voltage and light intensity).[22] [edit] Other types of CRTs[edit] Cat's eyeMain article: Magic eye tube In better quality tube radio sets a tuning guide consisting of a phosphor tube w as used to aid the tuning adjustment. This was also known as a "Magic Eye" or "T uning Eye". Tuning would be adjusted until the width of a radial shadow was mini mized. This was used instead of a more expensive electromechanical meter, which later came to be used on higher-end tuners when transistor sets lacked the high voltage required to drive the device.[23] The same type of device was used with tape recorders as a recording level meter. [edit] CharactronsSome displays for early computers (those that needed to displa y more text than was practical using vectors, or that required high speed for ph otographic output) used Charactron CRTs. These incorporate a perforated metal ch aracter mask (stencil), which shapes a wide electron beam to form a character on the screen. The system selects a character on the mask using one set of deflect ion circuits, but that causes the extruded beam to be aimed off-axis, so a secon d set of deflection plates has to re-aim the beam so it is headed toward the cen ter of the screen. A third set of plates places the character wherever required. The beam is unblanked (turned on) briefly to draw the character at that positio n. Graphics could be drawn by selecting the position on the mask corresponding t o the code for a space (in practice, they were simply not drawn), which had a sm all round hole in the center; this effectively disabled the character mask, and the system reverted to regular vector behavior. Charactrons had exceptionally lo ng necks, because of the need for three deflection systems.[24][25] [edit] Nimo Nimo tube BA0000-P31Nimo was the trademark of a family of small specialised CRTs manufactured by Industrial Electronics Engineers. These had 10 electron guns wh ich produced electron beams in the form of digits in a manner similar to that of the charactron. The tubes were either simple single-digit displays or more comp lex 4- or 6- digit displays produced by means of a suitable magnetic deflection system. Having little of the complexities of a standard CRT, the tube required a relatively simple driving circuit, and as the image was projected on the glass face, it provided a much wider viewing angle than competitive types (e.g., nixie tubes).[26] [edit] Williams TubeMain article: Williams tube The Williams tube or Williams-Kilburn tube was a cathode ray tube used to electr onically store binary data. It was used in computers of the 1940s as a random-ac cess digital storage device. In contrast to other CRTs in this article, the Will iams tube was not a display device, and in fact could not be viewed since a meta l plate covered its screen. [edit] Zeus thin CRT displayIn the late 1990s and early 2000s Philips Research L aboratories experimented with a type of thin CRT known as the Zeus display which contained CRT-like functionality in a flat panel display.[27][28][29][30][31][3 2] The devices were demonstrated but never marketed. [edit] The future of CRT technology[edit] DemiseAlthough a mainstay of display t echnology for decades, CRT-based computer monitors and televisions constitute a dead technology. The demand for CRT screens has dropped precipitously since 2000 , and this falloff has been accelerating in the latter half of that decade. The rapid advances and falling prices of LCD flat panel technology, first for comput er monitors and then for televisions, has been the key factor in the demise of c ompeting display technologies such as CRT, rear-projection, and plasma display.[ 33]

The end of most high-end CRT production by around 2010 [34] (including high-end Sony and Mitsubishi product lines) means an erosion of the CRT's capability.[35] [36] In Canada and the United States, the sale and production of high-end CRT TV s (30-inch screens) in these markets has all but ended by 2007; just a couple of years later, inexpensive combo CRT TVs (20-inch screens with an integrated VHS or DVD player) have disappeared from discount stores. It has been common to repl ace CRT-based televisions and monitors in as little as 56 years, although they ge nerally are capable of satisfactory performance for a much longer time. Companies are responding to this trend. Electronics retailers such as Best Buy h ave been steadily reducing store spaces for CRTs. In 2005, Sony announced that t hey would stop the production of CRT computer displays. Samsung did not introduc e any CRT models for the 2008 model year at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show a nd on February 4, 2008 Samsung removed their 30" wide screen CRTs from their Nor th American website and has not replaced them with new models.[37] The demise of CRT, however, has been happening more slowly in the developing wor ld. According to iSupply, production in units of CRTs was not surpassed by LCDs production until 4Q 2007, owing largely to CRT production at factories in China. In the United Kingdom, DSG (Dixons), the largest retailer of domestic electronic equipment, reported that CRT models made up 8090% of the volume of televisions s old at Christmas 2004 and 1520% a year later, and that they were expected to be l ess than 5% at the end of 2006. Dixons ceased selling CRT televisions in 2007.[3 8] [edit] CausesCRTs, despite recent advances, have remained relatively heavy and b ulky and take up a lot of space in comparison to other display technologies. CRT screens have much deeper cabinets compared to flat panels and rear-projection d isplays for a given screen size, and so it becomes impractical to have CRTs larg er than 40 inches (102 cm). The CRT disadvantages became especially significant in light of rapid technological advancements in LCD and plasma flat-panels which allow them to easily surpass 40 inches (102 cm) as well as being thin and wallmountable, two key features that were increasingly being demanded by consumers. By 2006, although the price points of CRTs are generally much lower than LCD and plasma flat panels, large screen CRTs (30-inches or more) are as expensive as a similar-sized LCD. [39] Monochrome CRTs are even more efficient than color CRTs. This is because up to 2 /3 of the backlight power of LCD and rear-projection displays are lost to the RG B stripe filter. Most LCDs also have poorer color rendition and can change color with viewing angle, though modern PVA and IPS LCDs have greatly attenuated thes e problems. [edit] Slimmer CRTSome CRT manufacturers, both LG Display and Samsung Display, h ave innovated CRT technology by creating a slimmer tube. Slimmer CRT has a trade name Superslim and Ultraslim. A 21 inch flat CRT has 447.2 milimeter depth. The depth of Superslim is 352 millimeters and Ultraslim is 295.7 millimeters. A comparison between 21 inch Superslim and Ultraslim CRT[edit] Resurgence in spe cialized marketsIn the first quarter of 2008, CRTs retook the #2 technology posi tion in North America from plasma, due to the decline and consolidation of plasm a display manufacturers. DisplaySearch has reported that although in the 4Q of 2 007 LCDs surpassed CRTs in worldwide sales, CRTs then outsold LCDs in the 1Q of 2008.[40][41] CRTs are useful for displaying photos with high pixels per unit area and correct color balance. LCDs, as currently the most common flatscreen technology, have g

enerally inferior color rendition (despite having greater overall brightness) du e to the fluorescent lights commonly used as a backlight.[42] CRTs are still popular in the printing and broadcasting industries as well as in the professional video, photography, and graphics fields due to their greater c olor fidelity, contrast, and better viewing from off-axis (wider viewing angle). CRTs also still find adherents in video gaming because of their higher resoluti on per initial cost, lowest possible input lag, fast response time, and multiple native resolutions.[43] [edit] Health concerns[edit] Ionizing radiationCRTs can emit a small amount of X -ray radiation as a result of the electron beam's bombardment of the shadow mask /aperture grille and phosphors. The amount of radiation escaping the front of th e monitor is widely considered unharmful. The Food and Drug Administration regul ations in 21 C.F.R. 1020.10 are used to strictly limit, for instance, television receivers to 0.5 milliroentgens per hour (mR/h) (0.13 C/(kgh) or 36 pA/kg) at a d istance of 5 cm (2 in) from any external surface; since 2007, most CRTs have emi ssions that fall well below this limit.[44] [edit] ToxicityColor and monochrome CRTs may contain toxic substances, such as c admium, in the phosphors.[45][46][47] The rear glass tube of modern CRTs may be made from leaded glass, which represent an environmental hazard if disposed of i mproperly.[48] By the time personal computers were produced, glass in the front panel (the viewable portion of the CRT) used barium rather than lead, though the rear of the CRT was still produced from leaded glass. Monochrome CRTs typically do not contain enough leaded glass to fail EPA tests. In October 2001, the United States Environmental Protection Agency created rules stating that CRTs must be brought to special recycling facilities. In November 2002, the EPA began fining companies that disposed of CRTs through landfills or incineration. Regulatory agencies, local and statewide, monitor the disposal of CRTs and other computer equipment.[49] In Europe, disposal of CRT televisions and monitors is covered by the WEEE Direc tive.[50] [edit] FlickerMain article: Flicker (screen) At low refresh rates (below 50 Hz), the periodic scanning of the display may pro duce an irritating flicker that some people perceive more easily than others, es pecially when viewed with peripheral vision. A high refresh rate (above 72 Hz). Computer displays and televisions with CRTs driven by digital electronics often use refresh rates of 100 Hz or more to largely eliminate any perception of flick er see flicker-free.[51] Non-computer CRTs or CRT for sonar or radar may have lo ng persistence phosphor and are thus flicker free. If the persistence is too lon g on a video display, moving images will be blurred. [edit] High-frequency audible noiseCRTs used for television operate with horizon tal scanning frequencies of 15,734 Hz (for NTSC systems) or 15,625 Hz (for PAL s ystems).[52] These frequencies are at the upper range of human hearing and are i naudible to many people; some people will perceive a high-pitched tone near an o perating television CRT.[53] The sound is due to magnetostriction in the magneti c core of the flyback transformer. Compare to the low-frequency noise (50 Hz or 60 Hz) of mains hum. [edit] ImplosionA high vacuum exists within all cathode ray tubes, putting the e nvelope under relatively high stress. If the outer glass envelope is damaged, th e glass will break and pieces will fly out at high speed. While modern cathode r ay tubes used in televisions and computer displays have epoxy-bonded face-plates or other measures to prevent shattering of the envelope, CRTs removed from equi pment must be handled carefully to avoid personal injury.[54]

[edit] Security concernsUnder some circumstances, the signal radiated from the e lectron guns, scanning circuitry, and associated wiring of a CRT can be captured remotely and used to reconstruct what is shown on the CRT using a process calle d Van Eck phreaking.[55] Special TEMPEST shielding can mitigate this effect. Suc h radiation of a potentially exploitable signal, however, occurs also with other display technologies and with all electronics in general.[citation needed] [edit] RecyclingAs electronic waste, CRTs are considered one of the hardest type s to recycle.[56] CRTs have relatively high concentration of lead and phosphors (not phosphorus), both of which are necessary for the display. There are several companies in the United States that charge a small fee to collect CRTs, then su bsidize their labor by selling the harvested copper, wire, and printed circuit b oards. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) includes discarde d CRT monitors in its category of "hazardous household waste"[57] but considers CRTs that have been set aside for testing to be commodities if they are not disc arded, speculatively accumulated, or left unprotected from weather and other dam age. Leaded CRT glass is sold to get remelted into other CRTs, or even broken down an d used in road construction.[58] [edit] Advantages/disadvantagesFurther information: Comparison CRT, LCD, Plasma Pros: High dynamic range (up to around 15,000:1),[59] excellent color, wide color rang e (gamut) and low black level. The color range of CRTs is unmatched by any displ ay type except OLED. Can display in almost any resolution and refresh rate No input lag Sub-millisecond response times Near zero color, saturation, contrast or brightness distortion. Excellent viewin g angle. Allows the use of light guns/pens Cons: Large size and weight, especially for bigger screens (a 20-inch (51 cm) unit wei ghs about 50 lb (23 kg)) High power consumption. On average, LCD monitors consume 50-70% less energy than CRT monitors. [60] Generates a considerable amount of heat when running Geometric distortion caused by variable beam travel distances Can suffer screen burn-in Produces noticeable flicker at low refresh rates Small color displays, less than 7 inches diagonal measurement, are relatively co stly. *The maximum practical size for CRTs is around 24 inches for computer moni tors; most direct view CRT televisions are 36 inches or smaller, with regular-pr oduction models limited to about 40 inches. FLUOROSCENT LAMP: Fluorescent lamps Top, two compact fluorescent lamps. Bottom, two linear fluorescent lamps. A matc hstick, left, is shown for scale. Typical F71T12 100 W bi-pin lamp used in tanning beds. Note the (Hg) symbol indi cating it contains mercury. In the US this symbol is now required on all fluores cent bulbs that contain mercury.[1] Inside the lamp end of a bi-pin lamp. In this lamp the filament is surrounded by an oblong metal cathode shield, which helps reduce lamp end darkening.[2]A fluo rescent lamp or fluorescent tube is a gas-discharge lamp that uses electricity t

o excite mercury vapor. The excited mercury atoms produce short-wave ultraviolet light that then causes a phosphor to fluoresce, producing visible light. A fluo rescent lamp converts electrical power into useful light more efficiently than a n incandescent lamp. Lower energy cost typically offsets the higher initial cost of the lamp. The lamp fixture is more costly because it requires a ballast to r egulate the current through the lamp. While larger fluorescent lamps have been mostly used in commercial or institutio nal buildings, the compact fluorescent lamp is now available in the same popular sizes as incandescents and is used as an energy-saving alternative in homes. The United States Environmental Protection Agency classifies fluorescent lamps a s hazardous waste, and recommends that they be segregated from general waste for recycling or safe disposal.[3] Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Physical discoveries 1.2 Early discharge lamps 1.3 Neon lamps 1.4 Commercialization of fluorescent lamps 2 Principles of operation 2.1 Construction 2.2 Electrical aspects of operation 2.3 Effect of temperature 2.4 Losses 2.5 Cold cathode lamps 2.6 Starting 2.6.1 Switchstart or preheat 2.6.2 Instant start 2.6.3 Rapid start 2.6.4 Quick-start 2.6.5 Semi-resonant start 2.6.6 Programmed start 2.6.7 Electronic ballasts 2.7 End of life 2.7.1 Emission mix 2.7.2 Ballast electronics 2.7.3 Phosphor 2.7.4 Loss of mercury 2.7.5 Burned filaments 3 Phosphors and the spectrum of emitted light 3.1 Color temperature 3.2 Color rendering index 3.3 Phosphor composition 4 Applications 5 Advantages 5.1 Luminous efficacy 5.2 Life 5.3 Lower luminance 5.4 Lower heat 6 Disadvantages 6.1 Frequent switching 6.2 Health and safety issues 6.3 Ultraviolet emission 6.4 Ballast 6.5 Power quality and radio interference 6.6 Operating temperature 6.7 Lamp shape 6.8 Flicker problems

6.9 Dimming 6.10 Disposal and recycling 7 Lamp sizes and designations 8 Other fluorescent lamps 9 Science demonstrations 10 See also 11 References 12 Further reading 13 External links [edit] History This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced mat erial may be challenged and removed. (March 2010) [edit] Physical discoveriesFluorescence of certain rocks and other substances ha d been observed for hundreds of years before its nature was understood. By the m iddle of the 19th century, experimenters had observed a radiant glow emanating f rom partially evacuated glass vessels through which an electric current passed. One of the first to explain it was the Irish scientist Sir George Stokes from th e University of Cambridge, who named the phenomenon "fluorescence" after fluorit e, a mineral many of whose samples fluoresce strongly due to impurities. The exp lanation relied on the nature of electricity and light phenomena as developed by the British scientists Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell in the 1840s.[4] Little more was done with this phenomenon until 1856 when a German glassblower n amed Heinrich Geissler created a mercury vacuum pump that evacuated a glass tube to an extent not previously possible. When an electrical current passed through a Geissler tube, a strong green glow on the walls of the tube at the cathode en d could be observed. Because it produced some beautiful light effects, the Geiss ler tube was a popular source of amusement. More important, however, was its con tribution to scientific research. One of the first scientists to experiment with a Geissler tube was Julius Plcker who systematically described in 1858 the lumin escent effects that occurred in a Geissler tube. He also made the important obse rvation that the glow in the tube shifted position when in proximity to an elect romagnetic field. Alexandre Edmond Becquerel observed in 1859 that certain subst ances gave off light when they were placed in a Geissler tube. He went on to app ly thin coatings of luminescent materials to the surfaces of these tubes. Fluore scence occurred, but the tubes were very inefficient and had a short operating l ife. Inquiries that began with the Geissler tube continued as even better vacuums wer e produced. The most famous was the evacuated tube used for scientific research by William Crookes. That tube was evacuated by the highly effective mercury vacu um pump created by Hermann Sprengel. Research conducted by Crookes and others ul timately led to the discovery of the electron in 1897 by J. J. Thomson and X-ray s in 1895 by Wilhelm Roentgen. But the Crookes tube, as it came to be known, pro duced little light because the vacuum in it was too good and thus lacked the tra ce amounts of gas that are needed for electrically stimulated luminescence. [edit] Early discharge lampsWhile Becquerel was primarily interested in conducti ng scientific research into fluorescence, Thomas Edison briefly pursued fluoresc ent lighting for its commercial potential. He invented a fluorescent lamp in 189 6 that used a coating of calcium tungstate as the fluorescing substance, excited by X-rays, but although it received a patent in 1907,[5] it was not put into pr oduction. As with a few other attempts to use Geissler tubes for illumination, i t had a short operating life, and given the success of the incandescent light, E dison had little reason to pursue an alternative means of electrical illuminatio n. Nikola Tesla made similar experiments in the 1890s, devising high frequency p owered fluorescent bulbs that gave a bright greenish light, but as with Edison's

devices, no commercial success was achieved. Although Edison lost interest in fluorescent lighting, one of his former employe es was able to create a gas-based lamp that achieved a measure of commercial suc cess. In 1895 Daniel McFarlan Moore demonstrated lamps 2 to 3 meters (6.6 to 9.8 ft) in length that used carbon dioxide or nitrogen to emit white or pink light, respectively. As with future fluorescent lamps, they were considerably more com plicated than an incandescent bulb.[6] After years of work, Moore was able to extend the operating life of the lamps by inventing an electromagnetically controlled valve that maintained a constant ga s pressure within the tube.[7] Although Moores lamp was complicated, expensive to install, and required very high voltages, it was considerably more efficient th an incandescent lamps, and it produced a more natural light than incandescent la mps. From 1904 onwards Moores lighting system was installed in a number of stores and offices.[8] Its success contributed to General Electrics motivation to impro ve the incandescent lamp, especially its filament. GEs efforts came to fruition w ith the invention of a tungsten-based filament. The extended lifespan of incande scent bulbs negated one of the key advantages of Moores lamp, but GE purchased th e relevant patents in 1912. These patents and the inventive efforts that support ed them were to be of considerable value when the firm took up fluorescent light ing more than two decades later. At about the same time that Moore was developing his lighting system, another Am erican was creating a means of illumination that also can be seen as a precursor to the modern fluorescent lamp. This was the mercury-vapor lamp, invented by Pe ter Cooper Hewitt and patented in 1901 (US 682692 ; this patent number is univer sally misquoted as US889,692). Hewitts lamp luminesced when an electric current w as passed through mercury vapor at a low pressure. Unlike Moores lamps, Hewitt's were manufactured in standardized sizes and operated at low voltages. The mercur y-vapor lamp was superior to the incandescent lamps of the time in terms of ener gy efficiency, but the blue-green light it produced limited its applications. It was, however, used for photography and some industrial processes. Mercury vapor lamps continued to be developed at a slow pace, especially in Euro pe, and by the early 1930s they received limited use for large-scale illuminatio n. Some of them employed fluorescent coatings, but these were primarily used for color correction and not for enhanced light output. Mercury vapor lamps also an ticipated the fluorescent lamp in their incorporation of a ballast to maintain a constant current. Cooper-Hewitt had not been the first to use mercury vapor for illumination, as e arlier efforts had been mounted by Way, Rapieff, Arons, and Bastian and Salisbur y. Of particular importance was the mercury vapor lamp invented by Kch in Germany . This lamp used quartz in place of glass to allow higher operating temperatures , and hence greater efficiency. Although its light output relative to electrical consumption was better than other sources of light, the light it produced was s imilar to that of the Cooper-Hewitt lamp in that it lacked the red portion of th e spectrum, making it unsuitable for ordinary lighting. [edit] Neon lampsMain article: Neon lighting The next step in gas-based lighting took advantage of the luminescent qualities of neon, an inert gas that had been discovered in 1898 by isolation from the atm osphere. Neon glowed a brilliant red when used in Geissler tubes.[9] By 1910, Ge orges Claude, a Frenchman who had developed a technology and a successful busine ss for air liquefaction, was obtaining enough neon as a byproduct to support a n eon lighting industry.[10][11] While neon lighting was used around 1930 in Franc e for general illumination, it was no more energy-efficient than conventional in candescent lighting. Neon tube lighting, which also includes the use of argon an d mercury vapor as alternate gases, came to be used primarily for eye-catching s

igns and advertisements. Neon lighting was relevant to the development of fluore scent lighting, however, as Claudes improved electrode (patented in 1915) overcam e "sputtering", a major source of electrode degradation. Sputtering occurred whe n ionized particles struck an electrode and tore off bits of metal. Although Cla udes invention required electrodes with a lot of surface area, it showed that a m ajor impediment to gas-based lighting could be overcome. The development of the neon light also was significant for the last key element of the fluorescent lamp, its fluorescent coating. In 1926 Jacques Risler receive d a French patent for the application of fluorescent coatings to neon light tube s.[8] The main use of these lamps, which can be considered the first commerciall y successful fluorescents, was for advertising, not general illumination. This, however, was not the first use of fluorescent coatings. As has been noted above, Edison used calcium tungstate for his unsuccessful lamp. Other efforts had been mounted, but all were plagued by low efficiency and various technical problems. Of particular importance was the invention in 1927 of a low-voltage metal vapor lamp by Friedrich Meyer, Hans-Joachim Spanner, and Edmund Germer, who were employ ees of a German firm in Berlin. A German patent was granted but the lamp never w ent into commercial production. [edit] Commercialization of fluorescent lampsAll the major features of fluoresce nt lighting were in place at the end of the 1920s. Decades of invention and deve lopment had provided the key components of fluorescent lamps: economically manuf actured glass tubing, inert gases for filling the tubes, electrical ballasts, lo ng-lasting electrodes, mercury vapor as a source of luminescence, effective mean s of producing a reliable electrical discharge, and fluorescent coatings that co uld be energized by ultraviolet light. At this point, intensive development was more important than basic research. In 1934, Arthur Compton, a renowned physicist and GE consultant, reported to the GE lamp department on successful experiments with fluorescent lighting at Gener al Electric Co., Ltd. in Great Britain (unrelated to General Electric in the Uni ted States). Stimulated by this report, and with all of the key elements availab le, a team led by George E. Inman built a prototype fluorescent lamp in 1934 at General Electrics Nela Park (Ohio) engineering laboratory. This was not a trivial exercise; as noted by Arthur A. Bright, "A great deal of experimentation had to be done on lamp sizes and shapes, cathode construction, gas pressures of both a rgon and mercury vapor, colors of fluorescent powders, methods of attaching them to the inside of the tube, and other details of the lamp and its auxiliaries be fore the new device was ready for the public."[8] In addition to having engineers and technicians along with facilities for R&D wo rk on fluorescent lamps, General Electric controlled what it regarded as the key patents covering fluorescent lighting, including the patents originally issued to Hewitt, Moore, and Kch. More important than these was a patent covering an ele ctrode that did not disintegrate at the gas pressures that ultimately were emplo yed in fluorescent lamps. Albert W. Hull of GEs Schenectady Research Laboratory f iled for a patent on this invention in 1927, which was issued in 1931.[12] While the Hull patent gave GE a basis for claiming legal rights over the fluores cent lamp, a few months after the lamp went into production the firm learned of a U.S. patent application that had been filed in 1927 for the aforementioned "me tal vapor lamp" invented in Germany by Meyer, Spanner, and Germer. The patent ap plication indicated that the lamp had been created as a superior means of produc ing ultraviolet light, but the application also contained a few statements refer ring to fluorescent illumination. Efforts to obtain a U.S. patent had met with n umerous delays, but were it to be granted, the patent might have caused serious difficulties for GE. At first, GE sought to block the issuance of a patent by cl aiming that priority should go to one of their employees, Leroy J. Buttolph, who according to their claim had invented a fluorescent lamp in 1919 and whose pate

nt application was still pending. GE also had filed a patent application in 1936 in Inmans name to cover the improvements wrought by his group. In 1939 GE decided that the claim of Meyer, Spanner, and Germer had some merit, and that in any eve nt a long interference procedure was not in their best interest. They therefore dropped the Buttolph claim and paid $180,000 to acquire the Meyer, et al. applic ation, which at that point was owned by a firm known as Electrons, Inc. The pate nt was duly awarded in December 1939.[13] This patent, along with the Hull paten t, put GE on what seemed to be firm legal ground, although it faced years of leg al challenges from Sylvania Electric Products, Inc., which claimed infringement on patents that it held. Even though the patent issue would not be completely resolved for many years, Ge neral Electrics strength in manufacturing and marketing the bulb gave it a pre-em inent position in the emerging fluorescent light market. Sales of "fluorescent l umiline lamps" commenced in 1938 when four different sizes of tubes were put on the market used in fixtures manufactured by three leading corporations, Lightoli er, Artcraft Fluorescent Lighting Corporation, and Globe Lighting, two based in New York City. During the following year GE and Westinghouse publicized the new lights through exhibitions at the New York Worlds Fair and the Golden Gate Intern ational Exposition in San Francisco. Fluorescent lighting systems spread rapidly during World War II as wartime manufacturing intensified lighting demand. By 19 51 more light was produced in the United States by fluorescent lamps than by inc andescent lamps. In the first years zinc orthosilicate with varying content of beryllium was used as greenish phosphor. Small additions of magnesium tungstate improved the blue part of the spectrum yielding acceptable white. After it was discovered that ber yllium was toxic, halophosphate based phosphors took over.[14] [edit] Principles of operationThe fundamental means for conversion of electrical energy into radiant energy in a fluorescent lamp relies on inelastic scattering of electrons. An incident electron collides with an atom in the gas. If the fre e electron has enough kinetic energy, it transfers energy to the atom's outer el ectron, causing that electron to temporarily jump up to a higher energy level. T he collision is 'inelastic' because a loss of kinetic energy occurs. This higher energy state is unstable, and the atom will emit an ultraviolet phot on as the atom's electron reverts to a lower, more stable, energy level. Most of the photons that are released from the mercury atoms have wavelengths in the ul traviolet (UV) region of the spectrum, predominantly at wavelengths of 253.7 and 185 nanometers (nm). These are not visible to the human eye, so they must be co nverted into visible light. This is done by making use of fluorescence. Ultravio let photons are absorbed by electrons in the atoms of the lamp's interior fluore scent coating, causing a similar energy jump, then drop, with emission of a furt her photon. The photon that is emitted from this second interaction has a lower energy than the one that caused it. The chemicals that make up the phosphor are chosen so that these emitted photons are at wavelengths visible to the human eye . The difference in energy between the absorbed ultra-violet photon and the emit ted visible light photon goes toward heating up the phosphor coating. When the light is turned on, the electric power heats up the cathode enough for it to emit electrons (thermionic emission). These electrons collide with and ion ize noble gas atoms inside the bulb surrounding the filament to form a plasma by the process of impact ionization. As a result of avalanche ionization, the cond uctivity of the ionized gas rapidly rises, allowing higher currents to flow thro ugh the lamp. The fill gas helps determine the operating electrical characteristics of the lam p, but does not give off light itself. The fill gas effectively increases the di stance that electrons travel through the tube, which allows an electron a greate

r chance of interacting with a mercury atom. Argon atoms, excited to a metastabl e state by impact of an electron, can impart this energy to a neutral mercury at om and ionize it, described as the Penning effect. This has the benefit of lower ing the breakdown and operating voltage of the lamp, compared to other possible fill gases such as krypton.[15] [edit] Construction Close-up of the cathodes of a germicidal lamp (an essentially similar design tha t uses no fluorescent phosphor, allowing the electrodes to be seen.)A fluorescen t lamp tube is filled with a gas containing low pressure mercury vapor and argon , xenon, neon, or krypton. The pressure inside the lamp is around 0.3% of atmosp heric pressure.[16] The inner surface of the bulb is coated with a fluorescent ( and often slightly phosphorescent) coating made of varying blends of metallic an d rare-earth phosphor salts. The bulb's electrodes are typically made of coiled tungsten and usually referred to as cathodes because of their prime function of emitting electrons. For this, they are coated with a mixture of barium, strontiu m and calcium oxides chosen to have a low thermionic emission temperature. The unfiltered ultraviolet glow of a germicidal lamp is produced by a low pressu re mercury vapor discharge (identical to that in a fluorescent lamp) in an uncoa ted fused quartz envelope.Fluorescent lamp tubes are typically straight and rang e in length from about 100 millimeters (3.9 in) for miniature lamps, to 2.43 met ers (8.0 ft) for high-output lamps. Some lamps have the tube bent into a circle, used for table lamps or other places where a more compact light source is desir ed. Larger U-shaped lamps are used to provide the same amount of light in a more compact area, and are used for special architectural purposes. Compact fluoresc ent lamps have several small-diameter tubes joined in a bundle of two, four, or six, or a small diameter tube coiled into a spiral, to provide a high amount of light output in little volume. Light-emitting phosphors are applied as a paint-like coating to the inside of th e tube. The organic solvents are allowed to evaporate, then the tube is heated t o nearly the melting point of glass to drive off remaining organic compounds and fuse the coating to the lamp tube. Careful control of the grain size of the sus pended phosphors is necessary; large grains, 35 micrometers or larger, lead to w eak grainy coatings, whereas too many small particles 1 or 2 micrometers or smal ler leads to poor light maintenance and efficiency. Most phosphors perform best with a particle size around 10 micrometers. The coating must be thick enough to capture all the ultraviolet light produced by the mercury arc, but not so thick that the phosphor coating absorbs too much visible light. The first phosphors we re synthetic versions of naturally occurring fluorescent minerals, with small am ounts of metals added as activators. Later other compounds were discovered, allo wing differing colors of lamps to be made.[17] [edit] Electrical aspects of operation Different ballasts for fluorescent and discharge lampsFluorescent lamps are nega tive differential resistance devices, so as more current flows through them, the electrical resistance of the fluorescent lamp drops, allowing even more current to flow. Connected directly to a constant-voltage power supply, a fluorescent l amp would rapidly self-destruct due to the uncontrolled current flow. To prevent this, fluorescent lamps must use an auxiliary device, a ballast, to regulate th e current flow through the tube. The terminal voltage across an operating lamp varies depending on the arc curren t, tube diameter, temperature, and fill gas. A fixed part of the voltage drop is due to the electrodes. A general lighting service T12 1200-millimeter (48 in) l amp operates at 430 mA, with 100 volts drop. High output lamps operate at 800 mA , and some types operate up to 1500 mA. The power level varies from 33 to 82 wat ts per meter of tube length (10 to 25 W/ft) for T12 lamps.[18]

The simplest ballast for alternating current use is an inductor placed in series , consisting of a winding on a laminated magnetic core. The inductance of this w inding limits the flow of AC current. This type is still used, for example, in 1 20 volt operated desk lamps using relatively short lamps. Ballasts are rated for the size of lamp and power frequency. Where the mains voltage is insufficient t o start long fluorescent lamps, the ballast is often a step-up autotransformer w ith substantial leakage inductance (so as to limit the current flow). Either for m of inductive ballast may also include a capacitor for power factor correction. 230 V ballast for 1820 WMany different circuits have been used to operate fluores cent lamps. The choice of circuit is based on mains voltage, tube length, initia l cost, long term cost, instant versus non-instant starting, temperature ranges and parts availability, etc. Fluorescent lamps can run directly from a DC supply of sufficient voltage to str ike an arc. The ballast must be resistive, and would consume about as much power as the lamp. When operated from DC, the starting switch is often arranged to re verse the polarity of the supply to the lamp each time it is started; otherwise, the mercury accumulates at one end of the tube. Fluorescent lamps are (almost) never operated directly from DC for those reasons. Instead, an inverter converts the DC into AC and provides the current-limiting function as described below fo r electronic ballasts. [edit] Effect of temperatureThe light output and performance of fluorescent lamp s is critically affected by the temperature of the bulb wall and its effect on t he partial pressure of mercury vapor within the lamp.[17] Each lamp contains a s mall amount of mercury, which must vaporize to support the lamp current and gene rate light. At low temperatures the mercury is in the form of dispersed liquid d roplets. As the lamp warms, more of the mercury is in vapor form. At higher temp eratures, self-absorption in the vapor reduces the yield of UV and visible light . Since mercury condenses at the coolest spot in the lamp, careful design is req uired to maintain that spot at the optimum temperature, around 40 C. By using an amalgam with some other metal, the vapor pressure is reduced and the optimum temperature range extended upward; however, the bulb wall "cold spot" t emperature must still be controlled to prevent migration of the mercury out of t he amalgam and condensing on the cold spot. Fluorescent lamps intended for highe r output will have structural features such as a deformed tube or internal heatsinks to control cold spot temperature and mercury distribution. Heavily loaded small lamps, such as compact fluorescent lamps, also include heat-sink areas in the tube to maintain mercury vapor pressure at the optimum value.[17] [edit] Losses A Sankey diagram of energy losses in a fluorescent lamp. In modern designs, the biggest loss is the quantum efficiency of converting high-energy UV photons to l ower-energy visible light photons.The efficiency of fluorescent lighting owes mu ch to the fact that low pressure mercury discharges emit about 65% of their tota l light in the 254 nm line (another 1020% of the light is emitted in the 185 nm l ine). The UV light is absorbed by the bulb's fluorescent coating, which re-radia tes the energy at longer wavelengths to emit visible light. The blend of phospho rs controls the color of the light, and along with the bulb's glass prevents the harmful UV light from escaping. Only a fraction of the electrical energy input into a lamp is converted to usefu l light. The ballast dissipates some heat; electronic ballasts may be around 90% efficient. A fixed voltage drop occurs at the electrodes, which also produces h eat. Some of the energy in the mercury vapor column is also dissipated, but abou t 85% is turned into visible and ultraviolet light.

Not all the UV energy striking the phosphor gets converted into visible light. I n a modern lamp, for every 100 incident photons of UV impacting the phosphor, on ly 86 visible light photons are emitted (a quantum efficiency of 86%). The large st single loss in modern lamps is due to the lower energy of each photon of visi ble light, compared to the energy of the UV photons that generated them (a pheno menon called Stokes shift). Incident photons have an energy of 5.5 electron volt s but produce visible light photons with energy around 2.5 electron volts, so on ly 45% of the UV energy is used; the rest is dissipated as heat. If a so-called "two-photon" phosphor could be developed, this would improve the efficiency but much research has not yet found such a system.[17] [edit] Cold cathode lampsMost fluorescent lamps use electrodes that operate by t hermionic emission, meaning they are operated at a high enough temperature for t he electrode material (usually aided by a special coating) to emit electrons int o the tube by heat. However, there are also tubes that operate in cold cathode mode, whereby electro ns are liberated into the tube only by the large potential difference (voltage) between the electrodes. This does not mean the electrodes are cold (indeed, they can be very hot), but it does mean they are operating below their thermionic em ission temperature. Because cold cathode lamps have no thermionic emission coati ng to wear out they can have much longer lives than hot cathode thermionic emiss ion tubes. This quality makes them desirable for maintenance-free long-life appl ications (such as LCD backlight displays). Sputtering of the electrode may still occur, but electrodes can be shaped (e.g. into an internal cylinder) to capture most of the sputtered material so it is not lost from the electrode. Cold cathode lamps are generally less efficient than thermionic emission lamps b ecause the cathode fall voltage is much higher. The increased fall voltage resul ts in more power dissipation at tube ends, which does not contribute to light ou tput. However, this is less significant with longer tubes. The increased power d issipation at tube ends also usually means cold cathode tubes have to be run at a lower loading than their thermionic emission equivalents. Given the higher tub e voltage required anyway, these tubes can easily be made long, and even run as series strings. They are better suited for bending into special shapes for lette ring and signage, and can also be instantly switched on or off. [edit] StartingThe mercury atoms in the fluorescent tube must be ionized before the arc can "strike" within the tube. For small lamps, it does not take much vol tage to strike the arc and starting the lamp presents no problem, but larger tub es require a substantial voltage (in the range of a thousand volts). A preheat fluorescent lamp circuit using an automatic starting switch. A: Fluore scent tube, B: Power (+220 volts), C: Starter, D: Switch (bi-metallic thermostat ), E: Capacitor, F: Filaments, G: Ballast Starting a preheat lamp. The automatic starter switch flashes orange each time i t attempts to start the lamp.[edit] Switchstart or preheatThis technique uses a combination filamentcathode at each end of the lamp in conjunction with a mechani cal or automatic switch (see circuit diagram to the right) that initially connec t the filaments in series with the ballast and thereby preheat the filaments pri or to striking the arc. Note that in North America, this is referred to as Prehe at. Elsewhere this is referred to as Switchstart.[citation needed] These systems are standard equipment in 200240 V countries (and for 100120 V lamps up to about 30 watts), and generally use a glow starter. Before the 1960s, four -pin thermal starters and manual switches were also used. Electronic starters ar e also sometimes used with these electromagnetic ballast lamp fittings.

A preheat fluorescent lamp "starter" (automatic starting switch)The automatic gl ow starter shown in the photograph to the left consists of a small gas-discharge lamp, containing neon and/or argon in parallel with a normally-open bi-metallic switch. It functions as a time-delay switch, turning the filaments of the fluor escent tube on for a few seconds to start it, then turning them off. Electronic fluorescent lamp startersWhen power is first applied to the circuit, a glow discharge will appear over the electrodes in the starter lamp. This glow discharge will heat the gas in the starter and cause the bi-metallic contact to bend towards the other contact. When the contacts touch, the two filaments of th e fluorescent lamp and the ballast will effectively be switched in series to the supply voltage. The current through the filaments causes them to heat up and em it electrons into the tube gas by thermionic emission. In the starter, the touch ing contacts have extinguished the glow discharge, causing the gas to cool down again. The bi-metallic contact also cools down and starts to move back. Within a second or two the contacts separate, and the current through the filaments is i nterrupted, leaving the full line voltage applied between the filaments at the e nds of the tube. The inductive kick from the interruption of current through the ballast provides the high voltage needed to start the lamp. The starter additio nally has a capacitor wired in parallel to its gas-discharge tube, in order to p rolong the contact life. Once the tube is struck, the impinging main discharge then keeps the cathodes ho t, permitting continued electron emission without the need for a separate curren t to heat the filaments. The starter does not close again because the voltage ac ross the lit tube is insufficient to start a glow discharge in the starter. The starter is reliable because if the tube does not strike, the glow discharge recu rs and the starter cycles again. Glow starters will often cycle a few times befo re the filaments get hot enough to start the tube, which causes an undesirable f lashing during starting (The older thermal starters behaved better in this respe ct). With automated starters such as glow starters, a failing tube will cycle endless ly, flashing as the lamp quickly goes out because the emission mix is insufficie nt to keep the lamp current high enough to keep the glow starter open. This caus es flickering, and runs the ballast at above design temperature. Some more advan ced starters time out in this situation, and do not attempt repeated starts unti l power is reset. Some older systems used a thermal over-current trip to detect repeated starting attempts. These require manual reset. The switch contacts in g low starters eventually wear out and fail, so the starter is manufactured as a s eparate unit that plugs into a socket in the lamp's housing, so it can be replac ed. Electronic starters use a more complex method to preheat the cathodes of a fluor escent lamp.[19] Electronic starters are made in the same physical case as glow starters for direct replacement. They commonly use a specially designed semicond uctor switch. They are programmed with a predefined preheat time to ensure that the cathodes are fully heated and reduce the amount of sputtered emission mix to prolong the life of the lamp; typically it is claimed that the life of a lamp f requently switched on, as in domestic use, is prolonged by a factor of 3 to 4 ti mes.[20] Start time is typically 1 to 4 seconds. Electronic starters contain a s eries of capacitors that are capable of producing a high voltage pulse of electr icity across the lamp to ensure that it strikes correctly. Electronic starters o nly attempt to start a lamp for a short time when power is initially applied and will not repeatedly attempt to restrike a lamp that is dead and cannot sustain an arc; some will automatically shut down a failed lamp.[19] This eliminates the re-striking of a lamp and the continuous flickering on and off of a failing lam

p with a glow starter. Some fast-start electronic starters can strike the fluore scent tube within 0.3 seconds.[20] [edit] Instant startAnother type of tube doesn't have filaments to start it at a ll. Instant start fluorescent tubes simply use a high enough voltage to break do wn the gas and mercury column and thereby start arc conduction. These tubes can be identified by a single pin at each end of the tube. The lamp holders have a " disconnect" socket at the low-voltage end which disconnects the ballast when the tube is removed, to prevent electric shock. Low-cost lighting fixtures with an integrated electronic ballast use instant start on preheat lamps, even if it red uces the lamp lifespan. [edit] Rapid startNewer rapid start ballast designs provide filament power windi ngs within the ballast; these rapidly and continuously warm the filaments/cathod es using low-voltage AC. No inductive voltage spike is produced for starting, so the lamps must be mounted near a grounded (earthed) reflector to allow the glow discharge to propagate through the tube and initiate the arc discharge. In some lamps a grounded "starting aid" strip is attached to the outside of the lamp gl ass. A rapid-start "iron" (magnetic) ballast continually heats the cathodes at the en ds of the lamps. This ballast runs two F40T12 lamps in series.[edit] Quick-start Quick-start ballasts use a small auto-transformer to heat the filaments when pow er is first applied. When an arc strikes, the filament heating power is reduced and the tube will start within half a second. The auto-transformer is either com bined with the ballast or may be a separate unit. Tubes need to be mounted near an earthed metal reflector in order for them to strike. Quick-start ballasts wer e more common in commercial installations because of lower maintenance as no sta rter switches need to be replaced. They are also used in domestic installations due to the virtually instant start. Quick-start ballasts are only used on 240 V circuits and are designed for use with the older, less-efficient T12 tubes, T8 r etrofits will not start when used with quick-start ballasts.[citation needed] [edit] Semi-resonant start A 65 watt semi-resonant lamp starting A circuit diagram of a semi-resonant start fluorescent lampSemi-resonant start w as invented by Thorn Lighting for use with T12 fluorescent tubes. This method us es a double wound transformer and a capacitor. With no arc current, the transfor mer and capacitor resonate at mains frequency and generate about twice mains vol tage across the tube, and a small electrode heating current.[21] This tube volta ge is too low to strike the arc with cold electrodes, but as the electrodes heat up to thermionic emission temperature, the tube striking voltage reduces below that of the ringing voltage, and the arc strikes. As the electrodes heat, the la mp slowly, over three to five seconds, reaches full brightness. As the arc curre nt increases and tube voltage drops, the circuit provides current limiting. Semi-resonant start was mainly used in commercial installations because of their higher initial cost. There are no starter switches to be replaced and cathode d amage is reduced during starting. Due to the high open circuit tube voltage, thi s starting method was particularly good for starting tubes in cold locations. Ad ditionally, the circuit power factor is almost 1.0, and no additional power fact or correction is needed in the lighting installation. As the design requires tha t twice the mains voltage must be lower than the cold-cathode striking voltage ( or the tubes would erroneously instant-start), this design can only be used with 1.5 meter and longer tubes on 240 volt mains. Semi-resonant start fixtures are generally incompatible with energy saving T8 retrofit tubes, because such tubes have a higher starting voltage than T12 lamps and may not start reliably, especi ally in low temperatures. Recent proposals in some countries to phase out T12 tu

bes will reduce the application of this starting method. [edit] Programmed startThis is used with electronic ballasts shown below. A prog rammed-start ballast is a more advanced version of rapid start. This ballast app lies power to the filaments first, then after a short delay to allow the cathode s to preheat, applies voltage to the lamps to strike an arc. This ballast gives the best life and most starts from lamps, and so is preferred for applications w ith very frequent power cycling such as vision examination rooms and restrooms w ith a motion detector switch. [edit] Electronic ballasts Electronic ballast for fluorescent lamp, 2x58W Electronic ballast basic schematic Starting a lamp that has an electronic ballast. Electronic ballasts and different compact fluorescent lampsElectronic ballasts e mploy transistors to alter mains voltage frequency into high-frequency AC while also regulating the current flow in the lamp. Some still use an inductance to li mit the current, but the higher frequency allows a much smaller inductance to be used. Others use a capacitor-transistor combination to replace the inductor, si nce a transistor and capacitor working together can perfectly simulate the actio n of an inductor. These ballasts take advantage of the higher efficacy of lamps operated with higher-frequency current. Efficacy of a fluorescent lamp rises by almost 10% at a frequency of 10 kHz, compared to efficacy at normal power freque ncy. When the AC period is shorter than the relaxation time to de-ionize mercury atoms in the discharge column, the discharge stays closer to optimum operating condition.[17] Electronic ballasts typically work in rapid start or instant star t mode. Electronic ballasts are commonly supplied with AC power, which is intern ally converted to DC and then back to a variable frequency AC waveform. Dependin g upon the capacitance and the quality of constant-current pulse-width modulatio n, this can largely eliminate modulation at 100 or 120 Hz. Low cost ballasts mostly contain only a simple oscillator and series resonant LC circuit. When turned on, the oscillator starts, and the LC circuit charges. Aft er a short time the voltage across the lamp reaches about 1 kV and the lamp igni tes. The process is too fast to preheat the cathodes, so the lamp instant-starts in cold cathode mode. The cathode filaments are still used for protection of th e ballast from overheating if the lamp does not ignite. A few manufacturers use positive temperature coefficient (PTC) thermistors to disable instant starting a nd give some time to preheat the filaments. More complex electronic ballasts use programmed start. The output AC frequency i s started above the resonance frequency of the output circuit of the ballast; an d after the filaments are heated, the frequency is rapidly decreased. If the fre quency approaches the resonant frequency of the ballast, the output voltage will increase so much that the lamp will ignite. If the lamp does not ignite, an ele ctronic circuit stops the operation of the ballast. Many electronic ballasts are controlled by a microcontroller or similar, and the se are sometimes called digital ballasts. Digital ballasts can apply quite compl ex logic to lamp starting and operation. This enables functions such as testing for broken electrodes and missing tubes before attempting to start, auto detect tube replacement, and auto detection of tube type, such that a single ballast ca n be used with several different tubes, even those that operate at different arc currents, etc. Once such fine grained control over the starting and arc current is achievable, features such as dimming, and having the ballast maintain a cons tant light level against changing sunlight contribution are all easily included in the embedded microcontroller software, and can be found in various manufactur ers' products.

Since introduction in the 1990s, high frequency ballasts have been used in gener al lighting fixtures with either rapid start or pre-heat lamps. These ballasts c onvert the incoming power to an output frequency in excess of 20 kHz. This incre ases lamp efficiency. These are used in several applications, including new gene ration tanning lamp systems, whereby a 100 watt lamp (e.g., F71T12BP) can be lit using 65 to 70 watts of actual power while obtaining the same luminous flux (me asured in lumens) as magnetic ballasts. These ballasts operate with voltages tha t can be almost 600 volts, requiring some consideration in housing design, and c an cause a minor limitation in the length of the wire leads from the ballast to the lamp ends. [edit] End of lifeThe end of life failure mode for fluorescent lamps varies depe nding on how they are used and their control gear type. Often the light will tur n pink (see section 2.7.4) with black burns on the ends of the bulb due to sputt ering of emission mix (see below). The lamp may also flicker at a noticeable rat e (see section 6.8). More information about other normal tube failure modes incl uding the above are as follows: [edit] Emission mix Closeup of the filament on a low pressure mercury gas discharge lamp showing whi te thermionic emission mix coating on the central portion of the coil acting as hot cathode. Typically made of a mixture of barium, strontium and calcium oxides , the coating is sputtered away through normal use, often eventually resulting i n lamp failure.The "emission mix" on the tube filaments/cathodes is necessary to enable electrons to pass into the gas via thermionic emission at the tube opera ting voltages used. The mix is slowly sputtered off by bombardment with electron s and mercury ions during operation, but a larger amount is sputtered off each t ime the tube is started with cold cathodes. The method of starting the lamp has a significant impact on this. Lamps operated for typically less than 3 hours eac h switch-on will normally run out of the emission mix before other parts of the lamp fail. The sputtered emission mix forms the dark marks at the tube ends seen in old tubes. When all the emission mix is gone, the cathode cannot pass suffic ient electrons into the gas fill to maintain the discharge at the designed tube operating voltage. Ideally, the control gear should shut down the tube when this happens. However, some control gear will provide sufficient increased voltage t o continue operating the tube in cold cathode mode, which will cause overheating of the tube end and rapid disintegration of the electrodes (filament goes opencircuit) and filament support wires until they are completely gone or the glass cracks, wrecking the low pressure gas fill and stopping the gas discharge.[citat ion needed] [edit] Ballast electronicsThis may occur in compact fluorescent lamps with integ ral electrical ballasts or in linear lamps. Ballast electronics failure is a som ewhat random process that follows the standard failure profile for any electroni c device. There is an initial small peak of early failures, followed by a drop a nd steady increase over lamp life. Life of electronics is heavily dependent on o perating temperatureit typically halves for each 10 C temperature rise. The quoted average life of a lamp is usually at 25 C ambient (this may vary by country). Th e average life of the electronics at this temperature is normally greater than t his, so at this temperature, not many lamps will fail due to failure of the elec tronics. In some fittings, the ambient temperature could be well above this, in which case failure of the electronics may become the predominant failure mechani sm. Similarly, running a compact fluorescent lamp base-up will result in hotter electronics, which can cause shorter average life (particularly with higher powe r rated ones). Electronic ballasts should be designed to shut down the tube when the emission mix runs out as described above. In the case of integral electroni c ballasts, since they never have to work again, this is sometimes done by havin g them deliberately burn out some component to permanently cease operation. In most CFLs the filaments are connected in series, with a small capacitor betwe

en them. The discharge, once lit, is in parallel to the capacitor and presents a lower-resistance path, effectively shorting the capacitor out. One of the most common failure modes of cheap lamps is caused by underrating this capacitor (usi ng lower-voltage, lower-cost part), which is very stressed during operation, lea ding to its premature failure.[22] [edit] PhosphorThe phosphor drops off in efficiency during use. By around 25,000 operating hours, it will typically be half the brightness of a new lamp (althou gh some manufacturers claim much longer half-lives for their lamps). Lamps that do not suffer failures of the emission mix or integral ballast electronics will eventually develop this failure mode. They still work, but have become dim and i nefficient. The process is slow, and often only becomes obvious when a new lamp is operating next to an old one. [edit] Loss of mercuryLike in all mercury-based gas-filled tubes, mercury is slo wly absorbed into glass, phosphor, and tube electrodes throughout the lamp life, where it can no longer function. Newer lamps now have just enough mercury to la st the expected life of the lamp. Loss of mercury will take over from failure of the phosphor in some lamps. The failure symptoms are similar, except loss of me rcury initially causes an extended run-up time to full light output, and finally causes the lamp to glow a dim pink when the mercury runs out and the argon base gas takes over as the primary discharge.[23] Subjecting the tube to asymmetric waveforms, where the total current flow throug h the tube does not cancel out and the tube effectively operates under a DC bias , causes asymmetric distribution of mercury ions along the tube due to cataphore sis. The localized depletion of mercury vapor pressure manifests as pink lumines cence of the base gas in the vicinity of one of the electrodes, and the operatin g lifetime of the lamp may be dramatically shortened. This can be an issue with some poorly designed inverters.[24] The same effect can be observed with new tubes. Mercury is present in the form o f an amalgam and takes some time to be liberated in sufficient amount. New lamps may initially glow pink for several seconds after startup. This period is minim ized after about 100 hours of operation.[25] [edit] Burned filamentsThe filaments can burn at the end of the lamp's lifetime, opening the circuit and losing the capability to heat up. Both filaments lose f unction as they are connected in series, with just a simple switch start circuit a broken filament will render the lamp completely useless. Filaments rarely bur n or fail open circuit unless the filament becomes depleted of emitter and the c ontrol gear is able to supply a high enough voltage across the tube to operate i t in cold cathode mode. Some digital electronic ballasts are capable of detectin g broken filaments and can still strike an arc with one or both filaments broken providing there is still sufficient emitter. A broken filament in a bulb attach ed to a magnetic ballast often causes both bulbs to burn out or flicker. [edit] Phosphors and the spectrum of emitted light Light from a fluorescent tube lamp reflected by a CD shows the individual bands of color.The spectrum of light emitted from a fluorescent lamp is the combinatio n of light directly emitted by the mercury vapor, and light emitted by the phosp horescent coating. The spectral lines from the mercury emission and the phosphor escence effect give a combined spectral distribution of light that is different from those produced by incandescent sources. The relative intensity of light emi tted in each narrow band of wavelengths over the visible spectrum is in differen t proportions compared to that of an incandescent source. Colored objects are pe rceived differently under light sources with differing spectral distributions. F or example, some people find the color rendition produced by some fluorescent la mps to be harsh and displeasing. A healthy person can sometimes appear to have a n unhealthy skin tone under fluorescent lighting. The extent to which this pheno

menon occurs is related to the light's spectral composition, and may be gauged b y its color rendering index (CRI). [edit] Color temperatureMain article: Color temperature The color temperature of different electric lampsCorrelated color temperature (C CT) is a measure of the "shade" of whiteness of a light source, again by compari son with a blackbody. Typical incandescent lighting is 2700 K, which is yellowis h-white. Halogen lighting is 3000 K. Fluorescent lamps are manufactured to a cho sen CCT by altering the mixture of phosphors inside the tube. Warm-white fluores cents have CCT of 2700 K and are popular for residential lighting. Neutral-white fluorescents have a CCT of 3000 K or 3500 K. Cool-white fluorescents have a CCT of 4100 K and are popular for office lighting. Daylight fluorescents have a CCT of 5000 K to 6500 K, which is bluish-white. High CCT lighting generally requires higher light levels. At dimmer illumination levels, the human eye perceives lower color temperatures as more pleasant, as r elated through the Kruithof curve. So, a dim 2700 K incandescent lamp appears co mfortable and a bright 5000 K lamp also appears natural, but a dim 5000 K fluore scent lamp appears too pale. Daylight-type fluorescents look natural only if the y are very bright. [edit] Color rendering indexMain article: Color rendering index Color rendering index (CRI) is a measure of how well colors can be perceived usi ng light from a source, relative to light from a reference source such as daylig ht or a blackbody of the same color temperature. By definition, an incandescent lamp has a CRI of 100. Real-life fluorescent tubes achieve CRIs of anywhere from 50 to 99. Fluorescent lamps with low CRI have phosphors that emit too little re d light. Skin appears less pink, and hence "unhealthy" compared with incandescen t lighting. Colored objects appear muted. For example, a low CRI 6800 K halophos phate tube (an extreme example) will make reds appear dull red or even brown. Si nce the eye is relatively less efficient at detecting red light, an improvement in color rendering index, with increased energy in the red part of the spectrum, may reduce the overall luminous efficacy.[18] Lighting arrangements use fluorescent tubes in an assortment of tints of white. Sometimes[weasel words] this is because of the lack of appreciation for the diff erence or importance of differing tube types.[citation needed] Mixing tube types within fittings can improve the color reproduction of lower quality tubes. [edit] Phosphor compositionSome of the least pleasant light comes from tubes con taining the older, halophosphate-type phosphors (chemical formula Ca5(PO4)3(F, C l):Sb3+, Mn2+). This phosphor mainly emits yellow and blue light, and relatively little green and red. In the absence of a reference, this mixture appears white to the eye, but the light has an incomplete spectrum. The CRI of such lamps is around 60. Since the 1990s, higher quality fluorescent lamps use either a higher CRI haloph osphate coating, or a triphosphor mixture, based on europium and terbium ions, t hat have emission bands more evenly distributed over the spectrum of visible lig ht. High CRI halophosphate and triphosphor tubes give a more natural color repro duction to the human eye. The CRI of such lamps is typically 82100. Fluorescent lamp spectra Typical fluorescent lamp with "rare earth" phosphor A typical "cool white" fluorescent lamp utilizing two rare earth doped phosphors, Tb3+, Ce3+:LaPO4 for green and blue emission and Eu:Y2O3 for red. For an explana tion of the origin of the individual peaks click on the image. Note that several of the spectral peaks are directly generated from the mercury arc. This is like ly the most common type of fluorescent lamp in use today. An older style halophosphate phosphor fluorescent lamp Halophosphate phosphors

in these lamps usually consist of trivalent antimony and divalent manganese dope d calcium halophosphate (Ca5(PO4)3(Cl, F):Sb3+, Mn2+). The color of the light ou tput can be adjusted by altering the ratio of the blue emitting antimony dopant and orange emitting manganese dopant. The color rendering ability of these older style lamps is quite poor. Halophosphate phosphors were invented by A.H. McKeag et al. in 1942. "Natural sunshine" fluorescent light An explanation of the origin of the peaks is on the image page. Peaks with stars are mercury-lines. Yellow fluorescent lights The spectrum is nearly identical to a normal fluoresc ent bulb except for a near total lack of light below 500 nanometers. This effect can be achieved through either specialized phosphor use or more commonly by the use of a simple yellow light filter. These lamps are commonly used as lighting for photolithography work in cleanrooms and as "bug repellent" outdoor lighting (the efficacy of which is questionable). Spectrum of a "blacklight" bulb There is typically only one phosphor present in a blacklight bulb, usually consisting of europium-doped strontium fluoroborate, which is contained in an envelope of Wood's glass. [edit] ApplicationsFluorescent light bulbs come in many shapes and sizes. The co mpact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) is becoming more popular. Many compact fluore scent lamps integrate the auxiliary electronics into the base of the lamp, allow ing them to fit into a regular light bulb socket. In US residences, fluorescent lamps are mostly found in kitchens, basements, or garages, but schools and businesses find the cost savings of fluorescent lamps t o be significant and rarely use incandescent lights. Tax incentives and building code result in higher use in places such as California. In other countries, residential use of fluorescent lighting varies depending on the price of energy, financial and environmental concerns of the local populatio n, and acceptability of the light output. In East and Southeast Asia it is very rare to see incandescent bulbs in buildings anywhere. Some countries are encouraging the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs and sub stitution of incandescent lamps with fluorescent lamps or other types of energyefficient lamps. In addition to general lighting, special fluorescent lights are often used in st age lighting for film and video production. They are cooler than traditional hal ogen light sources, and use high-frequency ballasts to prevent video flickering and high color-rendition index bulbs to approximate daylight color temperatures. [edit] Advantages[edit] Luminous efficacyFluorescent lamps convert more of the i nput power to visible light than incandescent lamps. A typical 100 watt tungsten filament incandescent lamp may convert only 2% of its power input to visible wh ite light, whereas typical fluorescent lamps convert about 22% of the power inpu t to visible white light.[18] See the table in the luminous efficacy article. The efficacy of fluorescent tubes ranges from about 16 lumens per watt for a 4 w att tube with an ordinary ballast to over 100 lumens per watt[26] with a modern electronic ballast, commonly averaging 50 to 67 lm/W overall. Most compact fluor escents above 13 watts with integral electronic ballasts achieve about 60 lm/W. Lamps are rated by lumens after 100 hours of operation.[27] For a given fluoresc ent tube, a high-frequency electronic ballast gives about a 10% efficacy improve ment over an inductive ballast. It is necessary to include the ballast loss when evaluating the efficacy of a fluorescent lamp system; this can be about 25% of the lamp power with magnetic ballasts, and around 10% with electronic ballasts. Fluorescent lamp efficacy is dependent on lamp temperature at the coldest part o f the lamp. In T8 lamps this is in the center of the tube. In T5 lamps this is a

t the end of the tube with the text stamped on it. The ideal temperature for a T 8 lamp is 25 C (77 F) while the T5 lamp is ideally at 35 C (95 F). [edit] LifeTypically a fluorescent lamp will last between 10 to 20 times as long as an equivalent incandescent lamp when operated several hours at a time. The higher initial cost of a fluorescent lamp is usually more than compensated f or by lower energy consumption over its life.[28] The longer life may also reduc e lamp replacement costs, providing additional saving especially where labor is costly. Therefore they are widely used by businesses and institutions, but not a s much by households. [edit] Lower luminanceCompared with an incandescent lamp, a fluorescent tube is a more diffuse and physically larger light source. In suitably designed lamps, l ight can be more evenly distributed without point source of glare such as seen f rom an undiffused incandescent filament; the lamp is large compared to the typic al distance between lamp and illuminated surfaces. [edit] Lower heatAbout two-thirds to three-quarters less heat is given off by fl uorescent lamps compared to an equivalent installation of incandescent lamps. Th is greatly reduces the size, cost, and energy consumption. [edit] Disadvantages This section needs additional citations for verification. P lease help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourc ed material may be challenged and removed. (October 2011) [edit] Frequent switchingIf the lamp is installed where it is frequently switche d on and off, it will age rapidly. Under extreme conditions, its lifespan may be much shorter than a cheap incandescent lamp. Each start cycle slightly erodes t he electron-emitting surface of the cathodes; when all the emission material is gone, the lamp cannot start with the available ballast voltage. Fixtures intende d for flashing of lights (such as for advertising) will use a ballast that maint ains cathode temperature when the arc is off, preserving the life of the lamp. The extra energy used to start a fluorescent lamp is equivalent to a few seconds of normal operation; it is more energy-efficient to switch off lamps when not r equired for several minutes.[29] [edit] Health and safety issuesMain article: Fluorescent lamps and health If a fluorescent lamp is broken, a very small amount of mercury can contaminate the surrounding environment. About 99% of the mercury is typically contained in the phosphor, especially on lamps that are near the end of their life.[30] The b roken glass is usually considered a greater hazard than the small amount of spil led mercury.[citation needed] The EPA recommends airing out the location of a fl uorescent tube break and using wet paper towels to help pick up the broken glass and fine particles. Any glass and used towels should be disposed of in a sealed plastic bag. Vacuum cleaners can cause the particles to become airborne, and sh ould not be used.[31] [edit] Ultraviolet emissionFluorescent lamps emit a small amount of ultraviolet (UV) light. A 1993 study in the US found that ultraviolet exposure from sitting under fluorescent lights for eight hours is equivalent to only one minute of sun exposure.[32] Very sensitive individuals may experience a variety of health pro blems relating to light sensitivity that is aggravated by artificial lighting. Ultraviolet light can affect sensitive paintings, especially watercolors and man y textiles. Valuable art work must be protected from light by additional glass o r transparent acrylic sheets put between the lamp(s) and the painting.[citation needed]

[edit] Ballast Magnetic single-lamp ballasts have a low power factorFluorescent lamps require a ballast to stabilize the current through the lamp, and to provide the initial s triking voltage required to start the arc discharge. This increases the cost of fluorescent light fixtures, though often one ballast is shared between two or mo re lamps. Electromagnetic ballasts with a minor fault can produce an audible hum ming or buzzing noise. Magnetic ballasts are usually filled with a tar-like pott ing compound to reduce emitted noise. Hum is eliminated in lamps with a high-fre quency electronic ballast. Energy lost in magnetic ballasts can be significant, on the order of 10% of lamp input power.[18] Electronic ballasts reduce this los s. Small lamps may use an incandescent lamp as a ballast if the supply voltage i s high enough to allow the lamp to start. [edit] Power quality and radio interferenceSimple inductive fluorescent lamp bal lasts have a power factor of less than unity. Inductive ballasts include power f actor correction capacitors. Simple electronic ballasts may also have low power factor due to their rectifier input stage. Fluorescent lamps are a non-linear load and generate harmonic currents in the el ectrical power supply. The arc within the lamp may generate radio frequency nois e, which can be conducted through power wiring. Suppression of radio interferenc e is possible. Very good suppression is possible, but adds to the cost of the fl uorescent fixtures. [edit] Operating temperatureFluorescent lamps operate best around room temperatu re. At much lower or higher temperatures, efficiency decreases. At below-freezin g temperatures standard lamps may not start. Special lamps may be needed for rel iable service outdoors in cold weather. In applications such as road and railway signalling, fluorescent lamps which do not generate as much heat as incandescen t lamps may not melt snow and ice build up around the lamp, leading to reduced v isibility.[citation needed] [edit] Lamp shapeFluorescent tubes are long, low-luminance sources compared with high pressure arc lamps and incandescent lamps. However, low luminous intensity of the emitting surface is useful because it reduces glare. Lamp fixture design must control light from a long tube instead of a compact globe. The compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) replaces regular incandescent bulbs. However, some CFLs will not fit some lamps, because the harp (heavy wire shade support b racket) is shaped for the narrow neck of an incandescent lamp, while CFLs tend t o have a wide housing for their electronic ballast close to the bulb's base. [edit] Flicker problems The "beat effect" problem created when shooting photos under standard fluorescen t lightingFluorescent lamps using a magnetic mains frequency ballast do not give out a steady light; instead, they flicker at twice the supply frequency. This r esults in fluctuations not only with light output but color temperature as well, [33] which may pose problems for photography and people who are sensitive to the flicker. Even among persons not sensitive to light flicker, a stroboscopic effe ct can be noticed, where something spinning at just the right speed may appear s tationary if illuminated solely by a single fluorescent lamp. This effect is eli minated by paired lamps operating on a lead-lag ballast. Unlike a true strobe la mp, the light level drops in appreciable time and so substantial "blurring" of t he moving part would be evident. In some circumstances, fluorescent lamps operated at mains frequency can also pr oduce flicker at the mains frequency (50 or 60 Hz) itself, which is noticeable b y more people. This can happen in the last few hours of tube life when the catho de emission coating at one end has almost run out, and that cathode starts havin g difficulty emitting enough electrons into the gas fill, resulting in slight re

ctification and hence uneven light output in positive and negative going mains c ycles. Mains frequency flicker can also sometimes be emitted from the very ends of the tubes, if each tube electrode produces a slightly different light output pattern on each half-cycle. Flicker at mains frequency is more noticeable in the peripheral vision than it is when viewed directly, as is all flicker (since the peripheral vision is fasterhas a higher critical frequencythan the central vision ).

The "beat effect" problem created when shooting films under standard fluorescent lightingNew fluorescent lamps may show a twisting spiral pattern of light in a part of the lamp. This effect is due to loose cathode material and usually disap pears after a few hours of operation.[18] Electromagnetic ballasts may also cause problems for video recording as there ca n be a "beat effect" between the periodic reading of a camera's sensor and the f luctuations in intensity of the fluorescent lamp. Fluorescent lamps using high-frequency electronic ballasts do not produce visibl e light flicker, since above about 5 kHz, the excited electron state half-life i s longer than a half cycle, and light production becomes continuous. Operating f requencies of electronic ballasts are selected to avoid interference with infrar ed remote controls. Poor quality (or failing) electronic ballasts may have insuf ficient reservoir capacitance or have poor regulation, thereby producing conside rable 100/120 Hz modulation of the light. [edit] DimmingFluorescent light fixtures cannot be connected to dimmer switches intended for incandescent lamps. Two effects are responsible for this: the wavef orm of the voltage emitted by a standard phase-control dimmer interacts badly wi th many ballasts, and it becomes difficult to sustain an arc in the fluorescent tube at low power levels. Dimming installations require a compatible dimming bal last. These systems keep the cathodes of the fluorescent tube fully heated even as the arc current is reduced, promoting easy thermionic emission of electrons i nto the arc stream. CFLs are available that work in conjunction with a suitable dimmer. [edit] Disposal and recyclingMain article: Fluorescent lamp recycling The disposal of phosphor and particularly the toxic mercury in the tubes is an e nvironmental issue. Governmental regulations in many areas require special dispo sal of fluorescent lamps separate from general and household wastes. For large c ommercial or industrial users of fluorescent lights, recycling services are avai lable in many nations, and may be required by regulation.[34][35] In some areas, recycling is also available to consumers.[36] [edit] Lamp sizes and designationsMain article: Fluorescent lamp formats Systematic nomenclature identifies mass-market lamps as to general shape, power rating, length, color, and other electrical and illuminating characteristics. [edit] Other fluorescent lampsBlack lights Blacklights are a subset of fluorescent lamps that are used to provide near ultr aviolet light (at about 360 nm wavelength). They are built in the same fashion a s conventional fluorescent lamps but the glass tube is coated with a phosphor th at converts the short-wave UV within the tube to long-wave UV rather than to vis ible light. They are used to provoke fluorescence (to provide dramatic effects u sing blacklight paint and to detect materials such as urine and certain dyes tha t would be invisible in visible light) as well as to attract insects to bug zapp ers. So-called blacklite blue lamps are also made from more expensive deep purple gla ss known as Wood's glass rather than clear glass. The deep purple glass filters

out most of the visible colors of light directly emitted by the mercury-vapor di scharge, producing proportionally less visible light compared with UV light. Thi s allows UV-induced fluorescence to be seen more easily (thereby allowing blackl ight posters to seem much more dramatic). The blacklight lamps used in bug zappe rs do not require this refinement so it is usually omitted in the interest of co st; they are called simply blacklite (and not blacklite blue). Tanning lamps The lamps used in tanning beds contain a different phosphor blend (typically 3 t o 5 or more phosphors) that emits both UVA and UVB, provoking a tanning response in most human skin. Typically, the output is rated as 3% to 10% UVB (5% most ty pical) with the remaining UV as UVA. These are mainly F71, F72 or F73 HO (100 W) lamps, although 160 W VHO are somewhat common. One common phosphor used in thes e lamps is lead-activated barium disilicate, but a europium-activated strontium fluoroborate is also used. Early lamps used thallium as an activator, but emissi ons of thallium during manufacture were toxic.[17] Grow lamps Grow lamps contain phosphor blends that encourage photosynthesis, growth, and/or flowering in plants, algae, photosynthetic bacteria, and other light-dependent organisms. These often emit light in the red and blue color range, which is abso rbed by chlorophyll and used for photosynthesis in plants.[37] Infrared lamps Lamps can be made with a lithium metaluminate phosphor activated with iron. This phosphor has peak emissions between 675 and 875 nanometers, with lesser emissio ns in the deep red part of the visible spectrum.[17] Bilirubin lamps Deep blue light generated from a europium-activated phosphor is used in the ligh t therapy treatment of jaundice; light of this color penetrates skin and helps i n the breakup of excess bilirubin.[17] Germicidal lamps Germicidal lamps depend on the property that UV light kills most germs. Germicid al lamps contain no phosphor at all (making them gas discharge lamps rather than fluorescent) and their tubes are made of fused quartz that is transparent to th e UV light emitted by the mercury discharge. The UV emitted by these tubes will kill germs and ionize oxygen to ozone. In addition it can cause eye and skin dam age and should not be used or observed without eye and skin protection. Besides their uses to kill germs and create ozone, they are sometimes used by geologists to identify certain species of minerals by the color of their fluorescence. Whe n used in this fashion, they are fitted with filters in the same way as blacklig ht-blue lamps are; the filter passes the short-wave UV and blocks the visible li ght produced by the mercury discharge. They are also used in some EPROM erasers. Germicidal lamps have designations beginning with G (meaning 'Germicidal'), rath er than F, for example G30T8 for a 30-watt, 1-inch (2.5 cm) diameter, 36-inch (9 1 cm) long germicidal lamp (as opposed to an F30T8, which would be the fluoresce nt lamp of the same size and rating). Electrodeless lamps Electrodeless induction lamps are fluorescent lamps without internal electrodes. They have been commercially available since 1990. A current is induced into the gas column using electromagnetic induction. Because the electrodes are usually the life-limiting element of fluorescent lamps, such electrodeless lamps can hav e a very long service life, although they also have a higher purchase price. Cold-cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) Cold-cathode fluorescent lamps are used as backlighting for LCD displays in pers onal computer and TV monitors. They are also popular with computer case modders in recent years. [edit] Science demonstrations Capacitive coupling with high-voltage power lines can light a lamp continuously at low intensityFluorescent lamps can be illuminated by means other than a prope r electrical connection. These other methods, however, result in very dim or ver y short-lived illumination, and so are seen mostly in science demonstrations. St atic electricity or a Van de Graaff generator will cause a lamp to flash momenta

rily as it discharges a high voltage capacitance. A Tesla coil will pass high fr equency current through the tube, and since it has a high voltage as well, the g ases within the tube will ionize and emit light. Capacitive coupling with high-v oltage power lines can light a lamp continuously at low intensity,[38] depending on the intensity of the electrostatic field. Also, placing a bulb half way up a two-way radio antenna while transmitting will illuminate the bulb due to the RF energy.[citation needed] INCANDESCENT LIGHT BULB : An incandescent light bulbThe incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or inca ndescent light globe produces light by heating a metal filament wire to a high t emperature until it glows. The hot filament is protected from oxidation in the a ir with a glass enclosure that is filled with inert gas or evacuated. In a halog en lamp, filament evaporation is prevented by a chemical process that redeposits metal vapor onto the filament, extending its life. The light bulb is supplied w ith electrical current by feed-through terminals or wires embedded in the glass. Most bulbs are used in a socket which provides mechanical support and electrica l connections. Incandescent bulbs are manufactured in a wide range of sizes, light output, and voltage ratings, from 1.5 volts to about 300 volts. They require no external reg ulating equipment, have low manufacturing costs, and work equally well on either alternating current or direct current. As a result, the incandescent lamp is wi dely used in household and commercial lighting, for portable lighting such as ta ble lamps, car headlamps, and flashlights, and for decorative and advertising li ghting. Some applications of the incandescent bulb use the heat generated by the filamen t, such as incubators, brooding boxes for poultry, heat lights for reptile tanks ,[1][2] infrared heating for industrial heating and drying processes, and the Ea sy-Bake Oven toy. This waste heat increases the energy required by a building's air conditioning system. Incandescent light bulbs are gradually being replaced in many applications by ot her types of electric lights, such as fluorescent lamps, compact fluorescent lam ps (CFL), cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL), high-intensity discharge lamps, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). These newer technologies improve the ratio of visible light to heat generation. Some jurisdictions, such as the European Unio n, are in the process of phasing out the use of incandescent light bulbs in favo r of more energy-efficient lighting. Contents [hide] 1 History of the light bulb 1.1 Early pre-commercial research 1.2 Commercialization 2 Tungsten bulbs 3 Efficiency and environmental impact 3.1 Cost of lighting 3.2 Measures to ban its use 3.3 Efforts to improve efficiency 4 Construction 5 Manufacturing 6 Filament 6.1 Reducing filament evaporation 6.2 Bulb blackening 6.3 Halogen lamps 6.4 Incandescent arc lamps 7 Electrical characteristics

7.1 Power 7.2 Current and resistance 8 Physical characteristics 8.1 Bulb shapes 8.2 Lamp bases 9 Light output and lifetime 10 Health issues 11 See also 12 References 13 External links History of the light bulb Original carbon-filament bulb from Thomas Edison.In addressing the question of w ho invented the incandescent lamp, historians Robert Friedel and Paul Israel[3] list 22 inventors of incandescent lamps prior to Joseph Swan and Thomas Edison. They conclude that Edison's version was able to outstrip the others because of a combination of three factors: an effective incandescent material, a higher vacu um than others were able to achieve (by use of the Sprengel pump) and a high res istance that made power distribution from a centralized source economically viab le. Another historian, Thomas Hughes, has attributed Edison's success to the fact th at he developed an entire, integrated system of electric lighting. The lamp was a small component in his system of electric lighting, and no more c ritical to its effective functioning than the Edison Jumbo generator, the Edison main and feeder, and the parallel-distribution system. Other inventors with gen erators and incandescent lamps, and with comparable ingenuity and excellence, ha ve long been forgotten because their creators did not preside over their introdu ction in a system of lighting. Historian Thomas P. Hughes[4][5] Early evolution of the light bulb [6] Early pre-commercial researchIn 1802, Humphry Davy had what was then the most po werful electrical battery in the world at the Royal Institution of Great Britain . In that year, he created the first incandescent light by passing the current t hrough a thin strip of platinum, chosen because the metal had an extremely high melting point. It was not bright enough nor did it last long enough to be practi cal, but it was the precedent behind the efforts of scores of experimenters over the next 75 years.[7] In 1809, Davy also created the first arc lamp with two ca rbon charcoal rods connected to a 2000-cell battery; it was demonstrated to the Royal Institution in 1810. Over the first three-quarters of the 19th century many experimenters worked with various combinations of platinum or iridium wires, carbon rods, and evacuated o r semi-evacuated enclosures. Many of these devices were demonstrated and some we re patented.[8] In 1835, James Bowman Lindsay demonstrated a constant electric light at a public meeting in Dundee, Scotland. He stated that he could "read a book at a distance of one and a half feet". However, having perfected the device to his own satisf action, he turned to the problem of wireless telegraphy and did not develop the electric light any further. His claims are not well documented, although he is c redited in Challoner etal.[9] with being the inventor of the "Incandescent Light Bulb". In 1840, British scientist Warren de la Rue enclosed a coiled platinum filament

in a vacuum tube and passed an electric current through it. The design was based on the concept that the high melting point of platinum would allow it to operat e at high temperatures and that the evacuated chamber would contain fewer gas mo lecules to react with the platinum, improving its longevity. Although an efficie nt design, the cost of the platinum made it impractical for commercial use.[cita tion needed] In 1841, Frederick de Moleyns of England was granted the first patent for an inc andescent lamp, with a design using platinum wires contained within a vacuum bul b.[10] In 1845, American John W. Starr [11] acquired a patent for his incandescent ligh t bulb involving the use of carbon filaments.[12] He died shortly after obtainin g the patent, and his invention was never produced commercially. Little else is known about him.[13] In 1851, Jean Eugne Robert-Houdin publicly demonstrated incandescent light bulbs on his estate in Blois, France. His light bulbs are on permanent display in the museum of the Chteau de Blois. [14] In 1872, Russian Alexander Lodygin invented an incandescent light bulb and obtai ned a Russian patent in 1874. He used as a burner two carbon rods of diminished section in a glass receiver, hermetically sealed, and filled with nitrogen, elec trically arranged so that the current could be passed to the second carbon when the first had been consumed.[15] Later he lived in the USA, changed his name to Alexander de Lodyguine and applied and obtained patents for incandescent lamps h aving chromium, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, osmium, molybdenum and tungsten fil aments,[16] and a bulb using a molybdenum filament was demonstrated at the world fair of 1900 in Paris.[17] Heinrich Gbel in 1893 claimed he had designed the first incandescent light bulb i n 1854, with a thin carbonized bamboo filament of high resistance, platinum lead -in wires in an all-glass envelope, and a high vacuum. Judges of four courts rai sed doubts about the alleged Goebel anticipation, but there was never a decision in a final hearing due to the expiry date of Edison's patent. A research work p ublished 2007 concluded that the story of the Goebel lamps in the 1850s is a leg end.[18] On July 24, 1874, a Canadian patent was filed by Henry Woodward and Mathew Evans for a lamp consisting of carbon rods mounted in a nitrogen-filled glass cylinde r. They were unsuccessful at commercializing their lamp, and sold rights to thei r patent (U.S. Patent 0,181,613) to Thomas Edison in 1879.[19][20] Commercialization Carbon filament lamps, showing darkening of bulbJoseph Swan (18281914) was a Brit ish physicist and chemist. In 1850, he began working with carbonized paper filam ents in an evacuated glass bulb. By 1860, he was able to demonstrate a working d evice but the lack of a good vacuum and an adequate supply of electricity result ed in a short lifetime for the bulb and an inefficient source of light. By the m id-1870s better pumps became available, and Swan returned to his experiments. With the help of Charles Stearn, an expert on vacuum pumps, in 1878, Swan develo ped a method of processing that avoided the early bulb blackening. This received British Patent No 8 in 1880.[21] On 18 December 1878, a lamp using a slender ca rbon rod was shown at a meeting of the Newcastle Chemical Society, and Swan gave a working demonstration at their meeting on 17 January 1879. It was also shown to 700 who attended a meeting of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newca stle upon Tyne on 3 February 1879. These lamps used a carbon rod from an arc lam p rather than a slender filament. Thus they had low resistance and required very large conductors to supply the necessary current, so they were not commercially

practical, although they did furnish a demonstration of the possibilities of in candescent lighting with relatively high vacuum, a carbon conductor, and platinu m lead-in wires. Besides requiring too much current for a central station electr ic system to be practical, they had a very short lifetime.[22] Swan turned his a ttention to producing a better carbon filament and the means of attaching its en ds. He devised a method of treating cotton to produce 'parchmentised thread' and obtained British Patent 4933 in 1880.[21] From this year he began installing li ght bulbs in homes and landmarks in England. His house was the first in the worl d to be lit by a lightbulb and so the first house in the world to be lit by hydr oelectric power. The home of Lord Armstrong at Cragside was also among the first houses to be lit by electricity. In the early 1880s he had started his company. [23] In 1881, the Savoy Theatre in the City of Westminster, London was lit by Sw an incandescent lightbulbs, which was the first theatre, and the first public bu ilding in the world, to be lit entirely by electricity.[24] Thomas Edison began serious research into developing a practical incandescent la mp in 1878. Edison filed his first patent application for "Improvement In Electr ic Lights" on October 14, 1878.[25] After many experiments with platinum and oth er metal filaments, Edison returned to a carbon filament. The first successful t est was on October 22, 1879,[26][27] and lasted 13.5 hours. Edison continued to improve this design and by November 4, 1879, filed for a U.S. patent for an elec tric lamp using "a carbon filament or strip coiled and connected ... to platina contact wires."[28] Although the patent described several ways of creating the c arbon filament including using "cotton and linen thread, wood splints, papers co iled in various ways,"[28] it was not until several months after the patent was granted that Edison and his team discovered that a carbonized bamboo filament co uld last over 1200 hours. Hiram S. Maxim started a lightbulb company in 1878 to exploit his patents and th ose of William Sawyer. His United States Electric Lighting Company was the secon d company, after Edison, to sell practical incandescent electric lamps. They mad e their first commercial installation of incandescent lamps at the Mercantile Sa fe Deposit Company in New York City in the fall of 1880, about six months after the Edison incandescent lamps had been installed on the steamer Columbia. In Oct ober 1880, Maxim patented a method of coating carbon filaments with hydrocarbons to extend their life. Lewis Latimer, his employee at the time, developed an imp roved method of heat-treating them which reduced breakage and allowed them to be molded into novel shapes, such as the characteristic "M" shape of Maxim filamen ts. On January 17, 1882, Latimer received a patent for the "Process of Manufactu ring Carbons," an improved method for the production of light bulb filaments, wh ich was purchased by the United States Electric Light Company. Latimer patented other improvements such as a better way of attaching filaments to their wire sup ports.[29] In Britain, the Edison and Swan companies merged into the Edison and Swan United Electric Company (later known as Ediswan, that was ultimately incorporated into Thorn Lighting Ltd). Edison was initially against this combination, but after S wan sued him and won, Edison was eventually forced to cooperate, and the merger was made. Eventually, Edison acquired all of Swan's interest in the company. Swa n sold his United States patent rights to the Brush Electric Company in June 188 2. U.S. Patent 0,223,898 by Thomas Edison for an improved electric lamp, January 27 , 1880In 1882, the first recorded set of miniature incandescent lamps for lighti ng a Christmas tree was installed. These did not become common in homes for many years. The United States Patent Office gave a ruling October 8, 1883, that Edison's pat ents were based on the prior art of William Sawyer and were invalid. Litigation

continued for a number of years. Eventually on October 6, 1889, a judge ruled th at Edison's electric light improvement claim for "a filament of carbon of high r esistance" was valid. In the 1890s, the Austrian inventor Carl Auer von Welsbach worked on metal-filam ent mantles, first with platinum wire, and then osmium, and produced an operatin g version in 1898. In 1898, he patented the osmium lamp and started marketing it in 1902, the first commercial metal filament incandescent lamp. In 1897, German physicist and chemist Walther Nernst developed the Nernst lamp, a form of incandescent lamp that used a ceramic globar and did not require enclo sure in a vacuum or inert gas. Twice as efficient as carbon filament lamps, Nern st lamps were briefly popular until overtaken by lamps using metal filaments. In 1901, American businessman Frank A. Poor purchased the Merritt Manufacturing Company, the predecessor to North American light bulb makers Hygrade and Osram S ylvania. Poor's firm in Middleton, Massachusetts, specialized in refilling burne d-out light bulbs until 1916. In 1903, Willis Whitnew invented a metal-coated carbon filament that would not b lacken the inside of a light bulb. Tungsten bulbs Hungarian advertising of the Tungsram-bulb from 1904. This was the first light b ulb that used a filament made from tungsten instead of carbon. The inscription r eads: wire lamp with a drawn wire - indestructibleOn December 13, 1904, Hungaria n Sndor Just and Croatian Franjo Hanaman were granted a Hungarian patent (No. 345 41) for a tungsten filament lamp that lasted longer and gave brighter light than the carbon filament. Tungsten filament lamps were first marketed by the Hungari an company Tungsram in 1904. This type is often called Tungsram-bulbs in many Eu ropean countries.[30] Their experiments also showed that the luminosity of bulbs filled with an inert gas was higher than in vacuum.[31] The tungsten filament o utlasted all other types. In 1906, the General Electric Company patented a method of making filaments from sintered tungsten and in 1911, used ductile tungsten wire for incandescent ligh t bulbs. In 1913, Irving Langmuir found that filling a lamp with inert gas instead of a v acuum resulted in twice the luminous efficacy and reduction of bulb blackening. In 1924, Marvin Pipkin, an American chemist, patented a process for frosting the inside of lamp bulbs without weakening them, and in 1947, he patented a process for coating the inside of lamps with silica. In 1930, Hungarian Imre Brdy filled lamps with krypton gas rather than argon, and designed a process to obtain krypton from air. Production of krypton filled lam ps based on his invention started at Ajka in 1937, in a factory co-designed by P olnyi and Hungarian-born physicist Egon Orowan.[32] By 1964, improvements in efficiency and production of incandescent lamps had red uced the cost of providing a given quantity of light by a factor of thirty, comp ared with the cost at introduction of Edison's lighting system [33] Consumption of incandescent light bulbs grew rapidly in the United States. In 18 85, an estimated 300,000 general lighting service lamps were sold, all with carb on filaments. When tungsten filament were introduced, about 50 million lamp sock ets existed in the United States. In 1914, 88.5 million lamps were used, (only 1 5% with carbon filaments), and by 1945, annual sales of lamps were 795 million ( more than 5 lamps per person per year).[34]

Efficiency and environmental impact Xenon halogen lamp (105 W) with an E27 base, intended for direct replacement of a non-halogen bulbApproximately 90% of the power consumed by an incandescent lig ht bulb is emitted as heat, rather than as visible light.[35] Luminous efficacy of a light source is a ratio of the visible light energy emitt ed (the luminous flux) to the total power input to the lamp.[36] Visible light i s measured in lumens, a unit which is defined in part by the differing sensitivi ty of the human eye to different wavelengths of light. Not all wavelengths of vi sible electromagnetic energy are equally effective at stimulating the human eye; the luminous efficacy of radiant energy is a measure of how well the distributi on of energy matches the perception of the eye. The maximum efficacy possible is 683 lm/W for monochromatic green light at 555 nanometres wavelength, the peak s ensitivity of the human eye. For white light, the maximum luminous efficacy is a round 240 lumens per watt, but the exact value is not unique because the human e ye can perceive many different mixtures of visible light as "white". The chart below lists values of overall luminous efficacy and efficiency for sev eral types of general service, 120-volt, 1000-hour lifespan incandescent bulb, a nd several idealized light sources. A similar chart in the article on luminous e fficacy compares a broader array of light sources to one another. Type Overall luminous efficiency Overall luminous efficacy (lm/W) 40 W tungsten incandescent 1.9% 12.6[37] 60 W tungsten incandescent 2.1% 14.5[37] 100 W tungsten incandescent 2.6% 17.5[37] glass halogen 2.3% 16 quartz halogen 3.5% 24 high-temperature incandescent 5.1% 35[38] ideal black-body radiator at 4000 K (or a class K star like Arcturus) 7.0% 47.5[ 39] ideal black-body radiator at 7000 K (or a class F star like Procyon) 14% 95[39] ideal monochromatic 555 nm (green) source 100% 683[40] Unfortunately, the spectrum emitted by a blackbody radiator does not match the s ensitivity characteristics of the human eye. Tungsten filaments radiate mostly i nfrared radiation at temperatures where they remain solid below 3,683 K (3,410 C; 6,170 F). Donald L. Klipstein explains it this way: "An ideal thermal radiator p roduces visible light most efficiently at temperatures around 6,300 C (6,600 K; 1 1,400 F). Even at this high temperature, a lot of the radiation is either infrare d or ultraviolet, and the theoretical luminous efficiency is 95 lumens per watt. "[38] No known material can be used as a filament at this ideal temperature, whi ch is hotter than the sun's surface. An upper limit for incandescent lamp lumino us efficacy is around 52 lumens per watt, the theoretical value emitted by tungs ten at its melting point.[33] For a given quantity of light, an incandescent light bulb produces more heat (an d consumes more power) than a fluorescent lamp. In buildings where air condition ing is used, incandescent lamps' heat output increases load on the air condition ing system.[41] Heat from lights will displace heat required from a building's h eating system; generally space heating energy is of lower cost than electricity. High-quality halogen incandescent lamps 60-watt bulb to provide nearly as much so, a lower-wattage halogen lamp can be ight as a 60-watt non-halogen lamp, but have higher efficacy, which will allow a light as a non-halogen 100-watt bulb. Al designed to produce the same amount of l with much longer life.

Many light sources, such as the fluorescent lamp, high-intensity discharge lamps and LED lamps offer higher efficiency, and some have been designed to be retrof itted in existing fixtures. These devices produce light by luminescence, instead

of heating a filament to incandescence. These mechanisms produce discrete spect ral lines and so don't have the broad "tail" of wasted invisible infrared emissi ons. By careful selection of which electron energy level transitions are used, t he spectrum emitted can be tuned to mimic the appearance of incandescent sources , or other different color temperatures of white light. Cost of lightingSee also: Architectural lighting design The initial cost of an incandescent bulb is small compared to the cost of the en ergy it uses over its lifetime. A comparison of incandescent lamp operating cost with other light sources must consider the luminous efficacy of each lamp. The comparison must include illumination requirements, capital cost of the lamp, lab or cost to replace lamps, various depreciation factors for light output as the l amp ages, effect of lamp operation on heating and air conditioning systems, and energy consumption as well.[citation needed] Measures to ban its useMain article: Phase-out of incandescent light bulbs Due to the higher energy usage of incandescent light bulbs in comparison to more energy efficient alternatives, such as CFLs and LED lamps, many governments hav e introduced measures to ban their use,[42] by setting minimum efficacy standard s higher than can be achieved by general service lamps. In ht ht in the United States, federal law has scheduled the most common incandescent lig bulbs to be phased out by 2014, to be replaced with more energy-efficient lig bulbs.[43] Traditional incandescent light bulbs were phased out in Australia November 2009.[44]

There has been consumer resistance to phasing out of incandescent lamps, preferr ing the quality of light produced from incandescents[45], the Libertarian politi cal theory of free markets as somehow precluding national interest as a reason f or regulation, and concerns about mercury contamination with CFLs. Formerly, ins tant availability of light was an issue for CFLs, but newer CFLs are available w ith an Instant On feature, as well as a wide variety of correlated color tempera tures. CFLs and LEDs labeled for dimmer control are also becoming available, alt hough typically at higher cost. In the United States and Canada, the Energy Star program labels compact fluorescent lamps that meet a set of standards for start ing time, life expectancy, color, and consistency of performance, with the inten t of reducing consumer resistance; in the United Kingdom a similar program is ru n by the Energy Saving Trust. Efforts to improve efficiencySome research has been carried out to improve the e fficacy of commercial incandescent lamps. In 2007, the consumer lighting divisio n of General Electric announced a "high efficiency incandescent" (HEI) lamp proj ect, which they claimed would ultimately be as much as four times more efficient than current incandescents, although their initial production goal was to be ap proximately two times more efficient.[46][47] The HEI program was quietly termin ated in 2008 due to slow progress.[48][49] U.S. Department of Energy research at Sandia National Laboratories initially ind icated the potential for dramatically improved efficiency from a photonic lattic e filament.[46][50] However, later work indicated that initially promising resul ts were in error.[51] Prompted by U.S. legislation mandating increased bulb efficiency by 2012, new "h ybrid" incandescent bulbs have been introduced by Philips. The "Halogena Energy Saver" incandescent is 30 percent more efficient than traditional designs, using a special chamber to reflect formerly wasted heat back to the filament to provi de additional lighting power.[52] In the United States and Canada, the Energy Star program labels lamps that meet a set of standards for efficiency, starting time, life expectancy, color, and co

nsistency of performance. The intent of the program is to reduce consumer concer ns due to variable quality of products.[53] Those CFLs with a recent Energy Star certification start in less than one second and do not flicker. Energy Star Lig ht Bulbs for Consumers is a resource for finding and comparing Energy Star quali fied lamps. In the United Kingdom a similar program is run by the Energy Saving Trust to ide ntify lighting products that meet energy conservation and performance guidelines .[54] ConstructionIncandescent light bulbs consist of a glass enclosure (the envelope, or bulb) with a filament of tungsten wire inside the bulb, through which an ele ctric current is passed. Contact wires and a base with two (or more) conductors provide electrical connections to the filament. Incandescent light bulbs usually contain a stem or glass mount anchored to the bulb's base that allows the elect rical contacts to run through the envelope without gas/air leaks. Small wires em bedded in the stem in turn support the filament and/or its lead wires. The bulb is filled with an inert gas such as argon to reduce evaporation and prevent oxid ation of the filament. An electric current heats the filament to typically 2,000 to 3,300 K (3,140 to 5 ,480 F)), well below tungsten's melting point of 3,695 K (6,191 F). Filament tempe ratures depend on the filament type, shape, size, and amount of current drawn. T he heated filament emits light that approximates a continuous spectrum. The usef ul part of the emitted energy is visible light, but most energy is given off as heat in the near-infrared wavelengths. Three-way light bulbs have two filaments and three conducting contacts in their bases. The filaments share a common ground, and can be lit separately or togethe r. Common wattages include 3070100, 50100150, and 100200300, with the first two number s referring to the individual filaments, and the third giving the combined watta ge. While most light bulbs have clear or frosted glass, other kinds are also made, i ncluding the various colors used for Christmas tree lights and other decorative lighting. Neodymium-containing glass is sometimes used to provide a more natural -appearing light. (Incandescent light bulb structure) 1.Outline of Glass bulb 2.Low pressure inert gas (argon, neon, nitrogen) 3.Tungsten filament 4.Contact wire (goes out of stem) 5.Contact wire (goes into stem) 6.Support wires 7.Stem (glass mount) 8.Contact wire (goes out of stem) 9.Cap (sleeve) 10.Insulation (vitrite) 11.Electrical contact Many arrangements of electrical contacts are used. Large lamps may have a screw base (one or more contacts at the tip, one at the shell) or a bayonet base (one or more contacts on the base, shell used as a contact or used only as a mechanic al support). Some tubular lamps have an electrical contact at either end. Miniat ure lamps may have a wedge base and wire contacts, and some automotive and speci al purpose lamps have screw terminals for connection to wires. Contacts in the l amp socket allow the electric current to pass through the base to the filament.

Power ratings for incandescent light bulbs range from about 0.1 watt to about 10 ,000 watts. The glass bulb of a general service lamp can reach temperatures between 200 and 260 C (392 and 500 F). Lamps intended for high power operation or used for heating purposes will have envelopes made of hard glass or fused quartz.[33] ManufacturingEarly lamps were laboriously hand-assembled; however, after automat ic machinery was developed the cost of lamps fell. In manufacturing the glass bulb, a type of "ribbon machine" is used. A continuou s ribbon of glass is passed along a conveyor belt, heated in a furnace, and then blown by precisely aligned air nozzles through holes in the conveyor belt into molds. Thus the glass bulbs are created. After the bulbs are blown, and cooled, they are cut off of the ribbon machine. A typical machine of this sort produces 50,000 bulbs per hour.[55] The filament and its supports are assembled on a glas s stem, which is fused to the bulb. The air is pumped out of the bulb, and the e vacuation tube in the stem press is sealed by a flame. The bulb is then inserted into the lamp base, and the whole assembly tested. FilamentThe first successful light bulb filaments were made of carbon (from carb onized paper or bamboo). Early carbon filaments had a negative temperature coeff icient of resistance -- as they got hotter, their electrical resistance decrease d. This made the lamp sensitive to fluctuations in the power supply, since a sma ll increase of voltage would cause the filament to heat up, reducing its resista nce and causing it to draw even more power and heat even further. In the "flashi ng" process, carbon filaments were heated by current passing through them, while in an evacuated vessel containing hydrocarbon (gasoline) vapor. The carbon depo sited by this treatment improved the uniformity and strength of filaments, and t heir efficiency. A metallized or graphitized filament was first heated in a high -temperature oven before flashing and lamp assembly; this transformed the carbon into graphite, which further strengthened and smoothed the filament, and as a b yproduct had the advantage of changing the lamp to a positive temperature coeffi cient like a metallic conductor. This helped stabilize power consumption, temper ature and light output against minor variations in supply voltage. In 1902, the Siemens company developed a tantalum lamp filament. These lamps wer e more efficient than even graphitized carbon filaments and could operate at hig her temperatures. Since the metal had a lower resistivity than carbon, the tanta lum lamp filament was quite long and required multiple internal supports. The me tal filament had the property of gradually shortening in use; the filaments were installed with large loops that tightened in use. This made lamps in use for se veral hundred hours quite fragile.[56] Metal filaments had the property of break ing and re-welding, though this would usually decrease resistance and shorten th e life of the filament. General Electric bought the rights to use tantalum filam ents and produced them in the United States until 1913.[57] From 1898 to around 1905, osmium was also used as a lamp filament in Europe, but the metal was so expensive that used broken lamps could be returned for part cr edit.[58] It could not be made for 110 V or 220 V so several lamps were wired in series for use on standard voltage circuits. In 1906, the tungsten filament was introduced. Tungsten metal was initially not available in a form that allowed it to be drawn into fine wires. Filaments made from sintered tungsten powder were quite fragile. By 1910, a process was develop ed by William D. Coolidge at General Electric for production of a ductile form o f tungsten. The process required pressing tungsten powder into bars, then severa l steps of sintering, swaging, and then wire drawing. It was found that very pur e tungsten formed filaments that sagged in use, and that a very small "doping" t reatment with potassium, silicon, and aluminium oxides at the level of a few hun

dred parts per million greatly improved the life and durability of the tungsten filaments.[59] To improve the efficiency of the lamp, the filament usually consists of coils of coiled fine wire, also known as a 'coiled coil.' For a 60-watt 120-volt lamp, t he uncoiled length of the tungsten filament is usually 22.8 inches (580 mm),[33] and the filament diameter is 0.0018 inches (0.046 mm). The advantage of the coi led coil is that evaporation of the tungsten filament is at the rate of a tungst en cylinder having a diameter equal to that of the coiled coil. The coiled-coil filament evaporates more slowly than a straight filament of the same surface are a and light-emitting power. If the filament is then run hotter to bring back eva poration to the same rate, the resulting filament is a more efficient light sour ce. There are several different shapes of filament used in lamps, with differing cha racteristics. Manufacturers designate the types with codes such as C-6, CC-6, C2V, CC-2V, C-8, CC-88, C-2F, CC-2F, C-Bar, C-Bar-6, C-8I, C-2R, CC-2R, and Axial . Filament of a 200-watt incandescent lightbulb highly magnified Filament of a burnt-out 50-watt incandescent lightbulb in an SEM in stereoscopic mode, presented as an anaglyph image. Filament of a 50-watt incandescent lightbulb in an SEM in stereoscopic mode, pre sented as an anaglyph image. Electrical filaments are also used in hot cathodes of fluorescent lamps and vacu um tubes as a source of electrons or in vacuum tubes to heat an electron-emittin g electrode. Reducing filament evaporationOne of the problems of the standard electric light bulb is evaporation of the filament. Small variations in resistivity along the f ilament cause "hot spots" to form at points of higher resistivity;[34] a variati on of diameter of only 1% will cause a 25% reduction in service life.[33] The ho t spots evaporate faster than the rest of the filament, increasing resistance at that pointa positive feedback that ends in the familiar tiny gap in an otherwise healthy-looking filament. Irving Langmuir found that an inert gas, instead of v acuum, would retard evaporation. General service incandescent light bulbs over a bout 25 watts in rating are now filled with a mixture of mostly argon and some n itrogen,[60] or sometimes krypton.[61] Xenon gas, much more expensive, is used o ccasionally in small bulbs, such as those for flashlights. Since a filament brea king in a gas-filled bulb can form an electric arc, which may spread between the terminals and draw very heavy current, intentionally thin lead-in wires or more elaborate protection devices are therefore often used as fuses built into the l ight bulb.[62] More nitrogen is used in higher-voltage lamps to reduce the possibility of arcin g. While inert gas reduces filament evaporation, it also conducts heat from the fil ament, thereby cooling the filament and reducing efficiency. At constant pressur e and temperature, the thermal conductivity of a gas depends upon the molecular weight of the gas and the cross sectional area of the gas molecules. Higher mole cular weight gasses have lower thermal conductivity, because both the molecular weight is higher and also the cross sectional area is higher. Xenon gas improves efficiency because of its high molecular weight, but is also more expensive, so its use is limited to smaller lamps.[63] During ordinary operation, the tungsten of the filament evaporates; hotter, more -efficient filaments evaporate faster. Because of this, the lifetime of a filame

nt lamp is a trade-off between efficiency and longevity. The trade-off is typica lly set to provide a lifetime of several hundred to 2,000 hours for lamps used f or general illumination. Theatrical, photographic, and projection lamps may have a useful life of only a few hours, trading life expectancy for high output in a compact form. Long-life general service lamps have lower efficiency but are use d where the cost of changing the lamp is high compared to the value of energy us ed. Filament notching describes another phenomenon that limits the life of lamps. La mps operated on direct current develop random stair-step irregularities on the f ilament surface, reducing the cross section and further increasing heat and evap oration of tungsten at these points. In small lamps operated on direct current, lifespan may be cut in half compared to AC operation. Different alloys of tungst en and rhenium can be used to counteract the effect.[64][65] If a light bulb envelope leaks, the hot tungsten filament reacts with air, yield ing an aerosol of brown tungsten nitride, brown tungsten dioxide, violet-blue tu ngsten pentoxide, and yellow tungsten trioxide that then deposits on the nearby surfaces or the bulb interior. Bulb blackeningIn a conventional lamp, the evaporated tungsten eventually conden ses on the inner surface of the glass envelope, darkening it. For bulbs that con tain a vacuum, the darkening is uniform across the entire surface of the envelop e. When a filling of inert gas is used, the evaporated tungsten is carried in th e thermal convection currents of the gas, depositing preferentially on the upper most part of the envelope and blackening just that portion of the envelope. An i ncandescent lamp that gives 93% or less of its initial light output at 75% of it s rated life is regarded as unsatisfactory, when tested according to IEC Publica tion 60064. Light loss is due to filament evaporation and bulb blackening.[66] S tudy of the problem of bulb blackening led to the discovery of the Edison effect , thermionic emission and invention of the vacuum tube. A very small amount of water vapor inside a light bulb can significantly affect lamp darkening. Water vapor dissociates into hydrogen and oxygen at the hot fila ment. The oxygen attacks the tungsten metal, and the resulting tungsten oxide pa rticles travel to cooler parts of the lamp. Hydrogen from water vapor reduces th e oxide, reforming water vapor and continuing this water cycle.[34] The equivale nt of a drop of water distributed over 500,000 lamps will significantly increase darkening.[33] Small amounts of substances such as zirconium are placed within the lamp as a getter to react with any oxygen that may bake out of the lamp comp onents during operation. Some old, high-powered lamps used in theater, projection, searchlight, and light house service with heavy, sturdy filaments contained loose tungsten powder withi n the envelope. From time to time, the operator would remove the bulb and shake it, allowing the tungsten powder to scrub off most of the tungsten that had cond ensed on the interior of the envelope, removing the blackening and brightening t he lamp again.[67] Halogen lamps Close-up of a tungsten filament inside a halogen lamp. The two ring-shaped struc tures left and right are filament supports.Main article: Halogen lamp The halogen lamp reduces uneven evaporation of the filament and darkening of the envelope by filling the lamp with a halogen gas at low pressure, rather than an inert gas. The halogen cycle increases the lifetime of the bulb and prevents it s darkening by redepositing tungsten from the inside of the bulb back onto the f ilament. The halogen lamp can operate its filament at a higher temperature than a standard gas filled lamp of similar power without loss of operating life. Such bulbs are much smaller than normal incandescent bulbs, and are widely used wher e intense illumination is needed in a limited space. Fibre-optic lamps for optic

al microscopy is one typical application. Incandescent arc lampsA variation of the incandescent lamp did not use a hot wir e filament, but instead used an arc struck on a spherical bead electrode to prod uce heat. The electrode then became incandescent, with the arc contributing litt le to the light produced. Such lamps were used for projection or illumination fo r scientific instruments such as microscopes. These arc lamps ran on relatively low voltages and incorporated tungsten filaments to start ionization within the envelope. They provided the intense concentrated light of an arc lamp but were e asier to operate. Developed around 1915, these lamps were displaced by mercury a nd xenon arc lamps.[68][69][70] Electrical characteristicsPowerIncandescent lamps are nearly pure resistive load s with a power factor of 1. This means the actual power consumed (in watts) and the apparent power (in volt-amperes) are equal. Incandescent light bulbs are usu ally marketed according to the electrical power consumed. This is measured in wa tts and depends mainly on the resistance of the filament, which in turn depends mainly on the filament's length, thickness, and material. For two bulbs of the s ame voltage, type, color, and clarity, the higher-powered bulb gives more light. The table shows the approximate typical output, in lumens, of standard incandesc ent light bulbs at various powers. Note that the lumen values for "soft white" b ulbs will generally be slightly lower than for standard bulbs at the same power, while clear bulbs will usually emit a slightly brighter light than correspondin gly powered standard bulbs.[citation needed] Current and resistanceThe actual resistance of the filament is temperature-depen dent. The cold resistance of tungsten-filament lamps is about 1/15 the hot-filam ent resistance when the lamp is operating. For example, a 100-watt, 120-volt lam p has a resistance of 144 ohms when lit, but the cold resistance is much lower ( about 9.5 ohms).[33][71] Since incandescent lamps are resistive loads, simple ph ase-control triac dimmers can be used to control brightness. Electrical contacts may carry a "T" rating symbol indicating that they are designed to control circ uits with the high inrush current characteristic of tungsten lamps. For a 100-wa tt, 120-volt general-service lamp, the current stabilizes in about 0.10 seconds, and the lamp reaches 90% of its full brightness after about 0.13 seconds.[72] Comparison of efficacy by power (120 volt lamps)[citation needed] Power (W) Outp ut (lm) Efficacy (lm/W) 5 25 5 15 110 7.3 25 200 8.0 35 350 10.0 40 500 12.5 50 700 14.0 55 800 14.5 60 850 14.2 65 1,000 15.4 70 1,100 15.7 75 1,200 16.0 90 1,450 16.1 95 1,600 16.8 100 1,700 17.0 135 2,350 17.4 150 2,850 19.0 200 3,900 19.5 300 6,200 20.7 Physical characteristicsBulb shapesIncandescent light bulbs come in a range of s hapes and sizes. The names of the shapes may be slightly different in some regio

ns. Many of these shapes have a designation consisting of one or more letters fo llowed by one or more numbers, e.g. A55 or PAR38. The letters represent the shap e of the bulb. The numbers represent the maximum diameter, either in 18 of an inc h, or in millimetres, depending on the shape and the region. For example, 63 mm reflectors are designated R63, but in the U.S. they are known as R20 (2.5 in). H owever, in both regions, a PAR38 reflector is known as PAR38. In Australia an R8 0 is 1 in in diameter. Common shapes: General Service Light emitted in (nearly) all directions. Available either clear or frosted. Types: General (A), Mushroom High Wattage General Service Lamps greater than 200 watts. Types: Pear-shaped (PS) Decorative lamps used in chandeliers, etc. Types: candle (B), twisted candle, bent-tip candle (CA & BA), flame (F), fancy r ound (P), globe (G) Reflector (R) Reflective coating inside the bulb directs light forward. Flood types (FL) sprea d light. Spot types (SP) concentrate the light. Reflector (R) bulbs put approxim ately double the amount of light (foot-candles) on the front central area as Gen eral Service (A) of same wattage. Types: Standard reflector (R), elliptical reflector (ER), crown-silvered Parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) Parabolic aluminized reflector (PAR) bulbs control light more precisely. They pr oduce about four times the concentrated light intensity of general service (A), and are used in recessed and track lighting. Weatherproof casings are available for outdoor spot and flood fixtures. 120 V sizes: PAR 16, 20, 30, 38, 56 and 64 230 V sizes: Par 38, 56 and 64 Available in numerous spot and flood beam spreads. Like all light bulbs, the num ber represents the diameter of the bulb in 18 of an inch. Therefore, a PAR 16 is 2 in in diameter, a PAR 20 is 2.5 in in diameter, PAR 30 is 3.75 in and a PAR 38 is 4.75 in in diameter. Multifaceted reflector (MR) HIR "HIR" is a GE designation for a lamp with an infrared reflective coating. Since less heat escapes, the filament burns hotter and more efficiently.[73] The Osram designation for a similar coating is "IRC".[74] Lamp basesMain article: Lightbulb sockets 40-watt light bulbs with standard E10, E14 and E27 Edison screw baseVery small l amps may have the filament support wires extended through the base of the lamp, and can be directly soldered to a printed circuit board for connections. Some re flector-type lamps include screw terminals for connection of wires. Most lamps h ave metal bases that fit in a socket to support the lamp and conduct current to the filament wires. In the late 19th century, manufacturers introduced a multitu de of incompatible lamp bases. General Electric introduced standard base sizes f or tungsten incandescent lamps under the Mazda trademark in 1909. This standard was soon adopted across the United States, and the Mazda name was used by many m anufacturers under license through 1945. Today most incandescent lamps for gener al lighting service use an Edison screw in candelabra, intermediate, or standard or mogul sizes, or double contact bayonet base. Bayonet base lamps are frequent ly used in automotive lamps to resist loosening due to vibration. A bipin base i s often used for halogen or reflector lamps. Lamp bases may be secured to the bulb with a cement, or by mechanical crimping t

o indentations molded into the glass bulb. The double-contact bayonet cap on an incandescent bulbMiniature lamps used for s ome automotive lamps or decorative lamps have wedge bases that have a partial pl astic or even completely glass base. In this case, the wires wrap around to the outside of the bulb, where they press against the contacts in the socket. Miniat ure Christmas bulbs use a plastic wedge base as well. Lamps intended for use in optical systems (such as film projectors, microscope i lluminators, or stage lighting instruments have bases with alignment features so that the filament is positioned accurately within the optical system. A screw-b ase lamp may have a random orientation of the filament when the lamp is installe d in the socket. Light output and lifetimeSee also: Lamp rerating Incandescent lamps are very sensitive to changes in the supply voltage. These ch aracteristics are of great practical and economic importance. For a supply voltage V near the rated voltage of the lamp: Light output is approximately proportional to V 3.4 Power consumption is approximately proportional to V 1.6 Lifetime is approximately proportional to V 16 Co or temperature is approximately proportional to V 0.42 [75] This means that a 5% reduction in operating voltage will more than double the li fe of the bulb, at the expense of reducing its light output by about 20%. This m ay be a very acceptable trade off for a light bulb that is in a difficult-to-acc ess location (for example, traffic lights or fixtures hung from high ceilings). Long-life bulbs take advantage of this trade-off. Since the value of the electri c power they consume is much more than the value of the lamp, general service la mps emphasize efficiency over long operating life. The objective is to minimize the cost of light, not the cost of lamps.[33] The relationships above are valid for only a few percent change of voltage aroun d rated conditions, but they do indicate that a lamp operated at much lower than rated voltage could last for hundreds of times longer than at rated conditions, albeit with greatly reduced light output. The Centennial Light is a light bulb that is accepted by the Guinness Book of World Records as having been burning al most continuously at a fire station in Livermore, California, since 1901. Howeve r, the bulb is powered by only four watts. A similar story can be told of a 40-w att bulb in Texas that has been illuminated since September 21, 1908. It once re sided in an opera house where notable celebrities stopped to take in its glow, b ut is now in an area museum.[76] In flood lamps used for photographic lighting, the tradeoff is made in the other direction. Compared to general-service bulbs, for the same power, these bulbs p roduce far more light, and (more importantly) light at a higher color temperatur e, at the expense of greatly reduced life (which may be as short as two hours fo r a type P1 lamp). The upper temperature limit for the filament is the melting p oint of the metal. Tungsten is the metal with the highest melting point, 3,695 K (6,191 F). A 50-hour-life projection bulb, for instance, is designed to operate only 50 C (122 F) below that melting point. Such a lamp may achieve up to 22 lumen s per watt, compared with 17.5 for a 750-hour general service lamp.[33] Lamps designed for different voltages have different luminous efficacy. For exam ple, a 100-watt, 120-volt lamp will produce about 17.1 lumens per watt. A lamp w ith the same rated lifetime but designed for 230 V would produce only around 12. 8 lumens per watt, and a similar lamp designed for 30 volts (train lighting) wou ld produce as much as 19.8 lumens per watt.[33] Lower voltage lamps have a thick

er filament, for the same power rating. They can run hotter for the same lifetim e before the filament evaporates. The wires used to support the filament make it mechanically stronger, but remove heat, creating another tradeoff between efficiency and long life. Many generalservice 120-volt lamps use no additional support wires, but lamps designed for " rough service" or "vibration service" may have as many as five. Low-voltage lamp s have filaments made of heavier wire and do not require additional support wire s. Very low voltages are inefficient since the lead wires would conduct too much he at away from the filament, so the practical lower limit for incandescent lamps i s 1.5 volts. Very long filaments for high voltages are fragile, and lamp bases b ecome more difficult to insulate, so lamps for illumination are not made with ra ted voltages over 300 volts.[33] Some infrared heating elements are made for hig her voltages, but these use tubular bulbs with widely separated terminals. Health issuesAlthough some sources claim fluorescent lighting causes more health problems than incandescent lighting (see Light sensitivity and Over-illuminatio n for discussion), more research needs to be done in this field. According to th e European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Heal th Risks (SCENIHR) in 2008, the only property of compact fluorescent lamps that could pose an added health risk is the ultraviolet and blue light emitted by suc h devices. The worst that can happen is that this radiation could aggravate symp toms in people who already suffer rare skin conditions that make them exceptiona lly sensitive to light. They also stated that more research is needed to establi sh whether compact fluorescent lamps constitute any higher risk than incandescen t lamps. MAGNETIC CATRIDGE : An Audio Technica AT-F3 MC cartridgeA magnetic cartridge is a transducer used fo r the playback of gramophone records on a turntable or phonograph. It converts m echanical vibrational energy from a stylus riding in a spiral record groove into an electrical signal that is subsequently amplified and then converted back to sound by a loudspeaker system. Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Types 2.1 Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Iron (MI) cartridges 2.2 Moving Coil (MC) cartridges 2.3 Moving Micro Cross (MMC) cartridges 2.4 Moving Magnet vs. Moving Coil debate 2.5 "London Decca" Cartridges 3 External links [edit] HistoryThe first commercially successful type of electrical phonograph pi ckup was introduced in 1925. Although electromagnetic, its resemblance to later magnetic cartridges is remote: it contained a bulky horseshoe magnet and employe d the same imprecisely mass-produced single-use steel needles which had been sta ndard since the first crude disc record players appeared in the 1890s. Its track ing weight was specified in ounces, not grams. This early type of magnetic picku p completely dominated the market well into the 1930s, but by the end of that de cade it had been superseded by a comparatively lightweight piezoelectric crystal pickup type. The use of short-lived disposable metal needles remained standard. During the years of affluence and long-deferred consumer demand immediately fol lowing World War II, as old record players with very heavy pickups were replaced , precision-ground and conveniently long-lasting stylus tips made of sapphire or

exotic hard metals such as osmium were increasingly popular. However, records m ade for home use still played at 78 rpm and most of them were still made of the same old abrasive shellac compound formulated to rapidly wear down the points of steel needles to fit the groove. The introduction of the 33 rpm vinyl LP "album" in 1948 and the 45 rpm vinyl "sin gle" in 1949 prompted consumers to upgrade to a new multi-speed record player wi th the required smaller-tipped "microgroove" stylus. Sapphire and diamond then b ecame the standard stylus tip materials. At first, the new styli came installed in smaller, lighter piezoelectric ceramic cartridges of the general type found i n inexpensive self-contained portable record players throughout the vinyl era. C eramic cartridges continue to be used in most of the "retro" and compact record players currently being made, in part because they are comparatively robust and resistant to damage from careless handling. However, during the 1950s, a new gen eration of small, lightweight, highly compliant magnetic cartridges appeared and quickly found favor among high-fidelity enthusiasts because of their audibly su perior performance. They soon became standard in all but the cheapest component audio systems and are the most common type of pickup cartridge in use today. [edit] TypesIn high-fidelity systems, crystal and ceramic pickups have been repl aced by the magnetic cartridge, using either a moving magnet or a moving coil. Compared to the crystal and ceramic pickups, the magnetic cartridge usually give s improved playback fidelity and reduced record wear by tracking the groove with lighter pressure. Magnetic cartridges use lower tracking forces and thus reduce the potential for groove damage. They also have a lower output voltage than a c rystal or ceramic pickup, in the range of only a few millivolts, thus requiring greater amplification. [edit] Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Iron (MI) cartridgesIn a moving magnet cart ridge, the stylus cantilever carries a tiny permanent magnet, which is positione d between two sets of fixed coils (in a stereophonic cartridge), forming a tiny electromagnetic generator. As the magnet vibrates in response to the stylus foll owing the record groove, it induces a tiny current in the coils. Because the magnet is small and has little mass, and is not coupled mechanically to the generator (as in a ceramic cartridge), a properly adjusted stylus follow s the groove more faithfully while requiring less tracking force (the downward p ressure on the stylus). Moving iron and induced magnet types (ADC being a well known example) have a mov ing piece of iron or other ferrous alloy is coupled to the cantilever (instead o f a magnet), while a permanent, bigger magnet is over the coils, providing the n ecessary magnetic flux. [edit] Moving Coil (MC) cartridgesThe MC design is again a tiny electromagnetic generator, but (unlike an MM design) with the magnet and coils reversed: the coi ls are attached to the stylus, and move within the field of a permanent magnet. The coils are tiny and made from very fine wire. Since the amount of windings that can be supported in such armature is small, th e output voltage level is corresponsingly small. The resulting signal is only a few hundred microvolts, and thus more easily swamped by noise, induced hum, etc. Thus it is more challenging to design a preamplifier with the extremely low noi se inputs needed for moving-coil cartridge, therefore a "step up transformer" is sometimes used instead. However, there are available many "high output" moving coil cartridges that have output levels similar to MM cartridges.

Moving coil cartridges are extremely small precision instruments and are therefo re generally expensive, but are frequently preferred by audiophiles due to a sub jectively better performance. [edit] Moving Micro Cross (MMC) cartridgesThe MMC design was invented and patent ed by Bang & Olufsen. The MMC cartridge is variation of the Moving Iron (MI) des ign. Magnets and coils are stationary while a micro cross moves with the stylus, thereby varying the distances between the arms of the cross and the magnets. It is claimed that the MMC design allows for superior channel separation, since ea ch channel's movements appear on a separate axis. [edit] Moving Magnet vs. Moving Coil debateMoving magnet cartridges are more com monly found at the 'lower-end' of the market, while the 'higher-end' tends to be dominated by moving coil designs. The debate as to whether MM or MC designs can ultimately produce the better sound is often heated and subjective. The distinc tion between the two is often blurred by cost and design considerations - i.e. c an an MC cartridge requiring another step-up amplification outperform well made MM cartridges that need simpler front-end stages? Every now and then a design co mes along to re-open this debate. MC cartridges offer very low inductance and impedance, which means that the effe cts of capacitance (in the cable that goes from the cartridge to the preamp) are negligible, unlike MM cartridges, which comparatively sport very high inductanc e and impedance. In the latter, cable capacitance can negatively affect the flat ness of frequency response and linearlity of phase response. This would account for a sonic advantage to MC types. It is generally believed that MC cartridges sport lower moving masses. However, quality MM cartridges are able to sport as low as a moving mass than the best MC cartridges. For example, the state-of-the-art Technics EPC-100CMK4 with 0.055 m g of effective tip mass, of moving magnet design. Comparatively, the popular Den on DL-301 moving coil cartridge has an effective tip mass of 0.270 mg. To discriminate cartridges by engine (MC vs MM) overlooks the fact that the styl us tip shape and cantilever have a significant influence in the sound, and this may account for even more sonic differences than the engine type used. [edit] "London Decca" CartridgesThe Decca phono cartridges were a unique design, with fixed magnets and coils. The stylus shaft was composed of the diamond tip, a short piece of soft iron, and an L-shaped cantilever made of non-magnetic ste el. Since the iron was placed very close to the tip (within 1 mm), the motions o f the tip could be tracked very accurately. Decca engineers called this "positiv e scanning". Vertical and lateral compliance was controlled by the shape and thi ckness of the cantilever. Decca cartridges had a reputation for being very music al; however early versions required more tracking force than competitive designs - making record wear a concern. PHOTORESISTORS : The symbol for a photoresistor[1] A light dependent resistor The internal components of a photoelectric control for a typical American street light. The photoresistor is facing rightwards, and controls whether current flow s through the heater which opens the main power contacts. At night, the heater c ools, closing the power contacts, energizing the street light. The heater/bimeta l mechanism provides a built-in light level transient filter.A photoresistor or light dependent resistor (LDR) is a resistor whose resistance decreases with inc reasing incident light intensity; in other words, it exhibits photoconductivity. It can also be referred to as a photoconductor or CdS device, from "cadmium sul fide," which is the material from which the device is made and that actually exh ibits the variation in resistance with light level. Note that CdS is not a semic onductor in the usual sense of the word (not doped silicon).

A photoresistor is made of a high resistance semiconductor. If light falling on the device is of high enough frequency, photons absorbed by the semiconductor gi ve bound electrons enough energy to jump into the conduction band. The resulting free electron (and its hole partner) conduct electricity, thereby lowering resi stance. A photoelectric device can be either intrinsic or extrinsic. An intrinsic semico nductor has its own charge carriers and is not an efficient semiconductor, e.g. silicon. In intrinsic devices the only available electrons are in the valence ba nd, and hence the photon must have enough energy to excite the electron across t he entire bandgap. Extrinsic devices have impurities, also called dopants, added whose ground state energy is closer to the conduction band; since the electrons do not have as far to jump, lower energy photons (i.e., longer wavelengths and lower frequencies) are sufficient to trigger the device. If a sample of silicon has some of its atoms replaced by phosphorus atoms (impurities), there will be e xtra electrons available for conduction. This is an example of an extrinsic semi conductor. Photoresistors are basically photocells.[2] Contents [hide] 1 Applications 2 References 3 See also 4 External links [edit] ApplicationsPhotoresistors come in many different types. Inexpensive cadm ium sulphide cells can be found in many consumer items such as camera light mete rs, street lights, clock radios, alarm devices, outdoor clocks,solar street lamp s and solar road studs etc. They are also used in some dynamic compressors together with a small incandescen t lamp or light emitting diode to control gain reduction and are also used in be d lamps etc. Lead sulphide (PbS) and indium antimonide (InSb) LDRs (light dependent resistor) are used for the mid infrared spectral region. Ge:Cu photoconductors are among the best far-infrared detectors available, and are used for infrared astronomy a nd infrared spectroscopy. [edit] References1.^ British Standard 3939 2.^ diffenderfes, robert (2005). electronic devices:system and applications. new delhi: delimar. pp. 480. ISBN 976-81-315-0685-1. [edit] See alsoOptoelectronics Photodiode Phototransistor TAPE HEAD : A tape head is a type of transducer used in tape recorders to convert electrical signals to magnetic fluctuations and vice versa. Contents [hide] 1 Principles of operation 1.1 Reversibility 1.2 Head gap width 2 Types of tape heads 2.1 Play heads 2.2 Erase heads 2.3 osbourne heads 2.4 Head materials

3 See also [edit] Principles of operationThe electromagnetic arrangement of a tape head is generally similar for all types, though the physical design varies considerably depending on the application - for example videocassette recorders (VCR) use rot ating heads which implement a helical scan, whereas most audio recorders have fi xed heads. A head consists of a core of magnetic material arranged into a doughn ut shape or toroid, into which a very narrow gap has been let. This gap is fille d with a paramagnetic material, such as gold. This forces the magnetic flux out of the gap into the magnetic tape medium more than air would (it also prevents t he gap filling with rubbed off material from the tape which would have the rever se effect). The flux thus magnetises the tape at that point. A coil of wire wrap ped around the core opposite the gap interfaces to the electrical side of the ap paratus; thus either supplying a signal in the case of recording, or being fed t o an amplifier in the case of playback. The basic head design is fully reversibl e - a variable magnetic field at the gap will induce an electric current in the coil, and an electric current in the coil will induce a magnetic field in the co re and hence in the tape drawn across the gap. [edit] ReversibilityWhile a head is reversible in principle, and very often in p ractice, there are desirable characteristics that differ between the playback an d recording phases. One of these is the impedance of the coil - playback preferr ing a high impedance, and recording a low one. In the very best tape recorders, separate heads are used to avoid compromising these desirable characteristics. H aving separate heads for recording and playback has other advantages, such as of f-tape monitoring during recording, etc. [edit] Head gap widthThe width of the head gap is also critical - the narrower t he gap, the better the head will be - a narrow gap gives much better transcripti on in the magnetic domain (the magnetic flux is higher, and hence will give stro nger recording for a given signal, or greater signal pickup for a given tape). A narrow gap also permits higher frequency signals to be recorded for a given tap e speed. The desirability for a narrow gap means that most practical heads are m ade by forming a narrow V-shaped groove in the back face of the core, and grindi ng away the front face until the V-groove is just breached. In this way, gaps of the order of micrometres are achievable. There are also negative aspects of narrow head gaps, particularly for magnetic r ecording. The narrower the head gap, the more bias signal must be used to mainta in linearity of the signal on tape. This reduces high frequency headroom, partic ularly at lower tape speeds. Manufacturers must find a compromise between intend ed tape speeds and head gaps for this reason. [edit] Types of tape headsThe physical design of a head depends on whether it is fixed or rotating. In either case, the face of the head where the gap is must b e made hard wearing and highly smooth to avoid excessive head wear. It can also be seen that due to the construction method of the head gap, head wear will tend to widen the gap, reducing the head's performance over time. The vertical align ment of the heads (the azimuth) must also match between recording and playback f or good fidelity, and the gap should be as close to exactly vertical as possible for highest frequency response. Most tape transport mechanisms will allow fine mechanical adjustment of the azimuth of the heads. Sometimes this can be achieve d by automatic circuitry - the actual mechanical azimuth adjustment being carrie d out by taking advantage of the piezo effect of certain types of crystal materi al. [edit] Play headsPlay heads as used in video recorders, digital audio tape and o ther applications are used to achieve a high relative head/tape speed while main taining a low overall tape transport speed. The wear characteristics of such hel

ical scan heads are even more critical, and highly polished heads and tapes are required. The electrical signals of rotating heads are coupled either inductivel y or capacitively - there is no direct connection to the head coils. [edit] Erase headsAn erase head is constructed in a similar manner to a record o r replay head, but has a much larger gap, or more frequently, two large gaps. Th e erase head is powered during recording from a high frequency source (usually t he same oscillator that provides the AC bias). In some really cheap cassette rec order designs, the erase head is a permanent magnet that is mechanically moved i nto contact with the moving tape only during recording. Permanent magnet erase h eads are also sometimes used in machines that are equipped with AC bias. [edit] osbourne headsInstead of feeding both the bias signal and the audio signa l into the same recording head, a few brands of audio tape recorder, notably Tan dberg, Akai and its US cousin Roberts, used a separate bias head on the opposite side of the tape from the recording head; this system was termed cross-field. [edit] Head materialsRecord and replay heads are traditionally made of soft iron (the softness is an essential requisite for good record and replay characterist ics). This material features extremely good electro-acoustical properties, but u nfortunately wears away fairly rapidly with a consequent deterioration of perfor mance. Some higher end recorders featured heads made from ferrite, which feature s excellent electro-acoustical properties while being a very hard material which resists wear. Its two main disadvantages are that it is brittle and easily dama ged, and that it has a much higher noise output due to the Barkhausen effect. In more recent years, more exotic materials have appeared , some involving ceramic s, which offer the best of both of the traditional materials. HALL EFECT SENSORS : A Hall effect sensor is a transducer that varies its output voltage in response to a magnetic field. Hall effect sensors are used for proximity switching, posit ioning, speed detection, and current sensing applications. In its simplest form, the sensor operates as an analogue transducer, directly re turning a voltage. With a known magnetic field, its distance from the Hall plate can be determined. Using groups of sensors, the relative position of the magnet can be deduced. Electricity carried through a conductor will produce a magnetic field that varie s with current, and a Hall sensor can be used to measure the current without int errupting the circuit. Typically, the sensor is integrated with a wound core or permanent magnet that surrounds the conductor to be measured. Frequently, a Hall sensor is combined with circuitry that allows the device to a ct in a digital (on/off) mode, and may be called a switch in this configuration. Commonly seen in industrial applications such as the pictured pneumatic cylinde r, they are also used in consumer equipment; for example some computer printers use them to detect missing paper and open covers. When high reliability is requi red, they are used in keyboards.

Hall sensors are commonly used to time the speed of wheels and shafts, such as f or internal combustion engine ignition timing, tachometers and anti-lock braking systems. They are used in brushless DC electric motors to detect the position o f the permanent magnet. In the pictured wheel with two equally spaced magnets, t he voltage from the sensor will peak twice for each revolution. This arrangement is commonly used to regulate the speed of disc drives.

Contents [hide] 1 Hall probe 2 Hall Effect Sensor Interface 3 Further reading 4 External links 5 See also [edit] Hall probeA Hall probe contains an indium compound semiconductor crystal such as indium antimonide, mounted on an aluminum backing plate, and encapsulate d in the probe head. The plane of the crystal is perpendicular to the probe hand le. Connecting leads from the crystal are brought down through the handle to the circuit box. When the Hall Probe is held so that the magnetic field lines are passing at righ t angles through the sensor of the probe, the meter gives a reading of the value of magnetic flux density (B). A current is passed through the crystal which, wh en placed in a magnetic field has a Hall effect voltage developed across it. The H all effect is seen when a conductor is passed through a uniform magnetic field. The natural electron drift of the charge carriers causes the magnetic field to a pply a Lorentz force (the force exerted on a charged particle in an electromagne tic field) to these charge carriers. The result is what is seen as a charge sepa ration, with a build up of either positive or negative charges on the bottom or on the top of the plate. The crystal measures 5 mm square. The probe handle, bei ng made of a non-ferrous material, has no disturbing effect on the field. A Hall Probe is enough to measure the Earth's magnetic field. It must be held so that the Earth's field lines are passing directly through it. It is then rotate d quickly so the field lines pass through the sensor in the opposite direction. The change in the flux density reading is double the Earth's magnetic flux densi ty. A hall probe must first be calibrated against a known value of magnetic fiel d strength. For a solenoid the hall probe is placed in the center. [edit] Hall Effect Sensor InterfaceHall effect sensor may require analog circuit ry to be interfaced to microprocessors. These interfaces may include input diagn ostics, fault protection for transient conditions, and short/open circuit detect ion. It may also provide and monitor the current to the hall effect sensor itsel f. There are precision IC products available to handle these features. PH METER : A pH meter is an electronic instrument used for measuring the pH (acidity or alk alinity) of a liquid (though special probes are sometimes used to measure the pH of semi-solid substances). A typical pH meter consists of a special measuring p robe (a glass electrode) connected to an electronic meter that measures and disp lays the pH reading. Contents [hide] 1 The probe 2 The meter 3 Calibration and use 4 Storage conditions of the glass probes 5 Cleaning and troubleshooting of the glass probes 6 Types of pH meters 7 History 8 Building a pH meter 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] The probeThe pH probe measures pH as the activity of hydrogen cations sur rounding a thin-walled glass bulb at its tip. The probe produces a small voltage (about 0.06 volt per pH unit) that is measured and displayed as pH units by the meter. For more information about pH probes, see glass electrode. [edit] The meterThe meter circuit is no more than a voltmeter that displays meas urements in pH units instead of volts. The input impedance of the meter must be very high because of the high resistance approximately 20 to 1000 M of the glass electrode probes typically used with pH meters. The circuit of a simple pH meter usually consists of operational amplifiers in an inverting configuration, with a total voltage gain of about 17. The inverting amplifier converts the small volt age produced by the probe (+0.059 volt/pH) into pH units, which are then offset by seven volts to give a reading on the pH scale. For example: At neutral pH (pH 7) the voltage at the probe's output is 0 volts. 0 * 17 + 7 = 7. At basic pH, the voltage at the probe's output ranges from +0 to +0.41 volts (7 * 0.059 = 0.41). So for a sample of pH 10 (3 pH units above neutral), 3 * 0.059 = 0.18 volts), the output of the meter's amplifier is 0.18 * 17 + 7 = 10. At acid pH, the voltage at the probe's output ranges from 0.41 volts to 0. So for a sample of pH 4 (3 pH units below neutral), 3 * 0.059 = 0.18 volts, the output of the meter's amplifier is 0.18 * 17 + 7 = 3.94. The two basic adjustments performed at calibration (see below) set the gain and offset of the inverting amplifier. [edit] Calibration and useFor very precise work the pH meter should be calibrate d before each measurement. For normal use calibration should be performed at the beginning of each day. The reason for this is that the glass electrode does not give a reproducible e.m.f. over longer periods of time. Calibration should be performed with at least two standard buffer solutions that span the range of pH values to be measured. For general purposes buffers at pH 4 and pH 10 are acceptable. The pH meter has one control (calibrate) to set the meter reading equal to the value of the first standard buffer and a second contr ol (slope) which is used to adjust the meter reading to the value of the second buffer. A third control allows the temperature to be set. Standard buffer sachet s, which can be obtained from a variety of suppliers, usually state how the buff er value changes with temperature. For more precise measurements, a three buffer solution calibration is preferred. As pH 7 is essentially, a "zero point" calibration (akin to zeroing or taring a scale or balance), calibrating at pH 7 first, calibrating at the pH closest to the point of interest ( e.g. either 4 or 10) second and checking the third point will provide a more linear accuracy to what is essentially a non-linear problem . Some meters will allow a three point calibration and that is the preferred sch eme for the most accurate work. Higher quality meters will have a provision to a ccount for temperature coefficient correction, and high-end pH probes have tempe rature probes built in. The calibration process correlates the voltage produced by the probe (approximat ely 0.06 volts per pH unit) with the pH scale. After each single measurement, th e probe is rinsed with distilled water or deionized water to remove any traces o f the solution being measured, blotted with a scientific wipe to absorb any rema ining water which could dilute the sample and thus alter the reading, and then q uickly immersed in another solution. [edit] Storage conditions of the glass probesWhen not in use, the glass probe ti p must be kept wet at all times to avoid the pH sensing membrane dehydration and the subsequent dysfunction of the electrode.

A glass electrode alone (i.e., without combined reference electrode) is typicall y stored immersed in an acidic solution of around pH 3.0. In an emergency, acidi fied tap water can be used, but distilled or deionised water must never be used for longer-term probe storage as the relatively ionless water "sucks" ions out o f the probe membrane through diffusion, which degrades it. Combined electrodes (glass membrane + reference electrode) are better stored imm ersed in the bridge electrolyte (often KCl 3 M) to avoid the diffusion of the e lectrolyte (KCl) out of the liquid junction. [edit] Cleaning and troubleshooting of the glass probesOccasionally (about once a month), the probe may be cleaned using pH-electrode cleaning solution; general ly a 0.1 M solution of hydrochloric acid (HCl) is used,[1] having a pH of about one. In case of strong degradation of the glass membrane performance due to membrane poisoning, diluted hydrofluoric acid (HF < 2 %) can be used to quickly etch (< 1 minute) a thin damaged film of glass. Alternatively a dilute solution of ammoni um fluoride (NH4F) can be used. To avoid unexpected problems, the best practice is however to always refer to the electrode manufacturer recommendations or to a classical textbook of analytical chemistry. [edit] Types of pH meters A simple pH meterpH meters range from simple and inexpensive pen-like devices to complex and expensive laboratory instruments with computer interfaces and sever al inputs for indicator and temperature measurements to be entered to adjust for the slight variation in pH caused by temperature. Specialty meters and probes a re available for use in special applications, harsh environments, etc. [edit] HistoryThe first commercial pH meters were built around 1936 by Radiomete r in Denmark and by Arnold Orville Beckman in the United States. While Beckman w as an assistant professor of chemistry at the California Institute of Technology , he was asked to devise a quick and accurate method for measuring the acidity o f lemon juice for the California Fruit Growers Exchange (Sunkist). Beckman's inv ention helped him to launch the Beckman Instruments company (now Beckman Coulter ). In 2004 the Beckman pH meter was designated an ACS National Historical Chemic al Landmark in recognition of its significance as the first commercially success ful electronic pH meter.[2] In the 1970s Jenco Electronics of Taiwan designed and manufactured the first por table digital pH meter. This meter was sold under Cole-Parmer's label. [edit] Building a pH meterBecause the circuitry of a basic pH meter is quite sim ple, it is possible to build a serviceable pH meter or pH controller with parts available at a neighborhood electronics retailer. (pH probes, however, are not s o easily acquired and must usually be ordered from a scientific instrument suppl ier.) For a walkthrough of how to build the simplest possible pH meter or a deta iled description of how to build a pH meter/pH controller, see The pH Pages. The application note for the LM6001 chip at the National Semiconductor web site als o has a very simple demonstration circuit. Although the application note is for a specialty IC, serviceable pH meters can be built from any operational amplifie r with a high input impedance, such as the common and inexpensive National Semic onductor TL082 or its equivalent. ELECTRO - GALVANIC FUEL CELLS : An electro-galvanic fuel cell is an electrical device, one form of which is comm only used to measure the concentration of oxygen gas in scuba diving and medical equipment.

A chemical reaction occurs in the fuel cell when the potassium hydroxide in the cell comes into contact with oxygen. This creates an electric current between th e lead anode and the gold-plated cathode through a load resistance. The current produced is proportional to the concentration (partial pressure) of oxygen prese nt. They are used in oxygen analysers in technical diving to display the proportion of oxygen in a nitrox or trimix breathing gas before a dive.[1] They are also us ed in electronic, closed-circuit rebreathers to monitor the oxygen partial press ure during the dive.[2] The partial pressure of oxygen in diving chambers and surface supplied breathing gas mixtures can also be monitored using these cells. This can either be done b y placing the cell directly in the hyperbaric environment, wired through the hul l to the monitor, or indirectly, by bleeding off gas from the hyperbaric environ ment or diver gas supply and analysing at atmospheric pressure, then calculating the partial pressure in the hyperbaric environment. This is frequently required in saturation diving and surface oriented surface supplied mixed gas commercial diving.[3][4] Electro-galvanic fuel cells have a limited lifetime which is reduced by exposure to high concentrations of oxygen. The reaction between oxygen and lead at the a node consumes lead, which eventually results in the cell failing to sense high c oncentrations of oxygen. Typically, a cell used for diving applications will fun ction correctly for 3 years if stored in a sealed bag of air but only for four m onths if stored in pure oxygen. Contents [hide] 1 Cell limitations 2 Testing 3 See also 4 References [edit] Cell limitationsOxygen cells behave in a similar way to electrical batter ies in that they have a finite lifespan which is dependent upon use. The chemica l reaction described above causes the cell to create an electrical output that h as a predicted voltage which is dependent on the materials used. In theory they should give that voltage from the day they are made until they are exhausted, ex cept that one component of the planned chemical reaction has been left out of th e assembly: oxygen. Oxygen is one of the fuels of the cell so the more oxygen ctricity is generated. The chemistry sets the voltage and sets how much electric current it can give. If you put an e cell that draws current you can draw up to this current he voltage from the cell fades. there is, the more ele the fuel, the oxygen, electric circuit on th but ask for more and t

Failures in cells can be life threatening for technical divers and in particular , rebreather divers.[5] The failure modes common to these cells are: failing wit h a higher than expected output due to electrolyte leaks, current limitation due to exhausted cell life and non linear output across its range. These failures a re usually attributable to physical damage, contamination during manufacture or defects in manufacture. Failing high is invariably a result of a manufacturing fault or mechanical damag e. In rebreathers, failing high will result in the rebreather assuming that ther e is more oxygen in the loop than there actually is which results in hypoxia.

Current limited cells do give a high output in high concentrations of oxygen. Th e rebreather assumes there is insufficient oxygen in the loop and injects to rea ch a setpoint the cell will never achieve resulting in hyperoxia. Non-linear cells do not perform in an expected manner across its range of oxygen partial pressures. Calibration will not pick up this fault which results in ina ccurate loop contents of a rebreather. This gives the potential for decompressio n illness. Preventing accidents in rebreathers from cell failures is possible in most cases by accurately testing the cells before use. Some divers carry out in-water chec ks by pushing the oxygen content in the loop to a pressure that is above that of pure oxygen at sea level to indicate if the cell is capable of high outputs. Th is test is only a spot check and does not accurately assess the quality of predi ction of failure of that cell. The only way to accurately test a cell is with a calibrated test chamber which can hold a static pressure without deviation and t he ability to log the results and graph them. [edit] TestingThe first certified cell checking device that was commercially ava ilable was launched in 2005 by Narked at 90 but did not achieve commercial succe ss. A much revised model was released in 2007 and won the "Gordon Smith Award" f or Innovation at the Diving Equipment Manufacturers Exhibition in Florida.[6] Na rked at 90 Ltd won the Award for Innovation for the Development of Advanced Divi ng products at Eurotek 2010 for the Cell Checker and its continuing Development. Now used throughout the world by organisations such as Teledyne/Vandegraph Nati onal Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NURC (NATO Underwater Research Cent re) and Diving Diseases Research Centre. HYDROGEN SENSORS : A hydrogen sensor is a gas detector that detects the presence of hydrogen. They contain micro-fabricated point-contact hydrogen sensors and are used to locate l eaks. They are considered low-cost, compact, durable, and easy to maintain as co mpared to conventional gas detecting instruments.[1] Contents [hide] 1 Key Issues 1.1 Additional requirements 2 Types of microsensors 2.1 Optical fibre hydrogen sensors 2.2 Other types of hydrogen sensors 2.3 Enhancement 3 See also 4 References 5 External links [edit] Key IssuesThere are five key issues with hydrogen detectors:[2] Reliability: Functionality should be easily verifiable. Performance: Detection 0.5% hydrogen in air or better Response time < 1 second. Lifetime: At least the time between scheduled maintenance. Cost: Goal is $5 per sensor and $30 per controller. [edit] Additional requirementsMeasurement range coverage of 0.1%10.0% concentrati on[3] Operation in temperatures of -30C to 80C Accuracy within 5% of full scale Function in an ambient air gas environment within a 10%98% relative humidity rang e

Resistance to hydrocarbon and other interference. Lifetime greater than 10 years [edit] Types of microsensorsThere are various types of hydrogen microsensors, wh ich use different mechanisms to detect the gas. Palladium is used in many of the se, because it selectively absorbs hydrogen gas and forms the compound palladium hydride.[4] Palladium-based sensors have a strong temperature dependence which makes their response time too large at very low temperatures.[5] Palladium senso rs have to be protected against carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen sul fide. [edit] Optical fibre hydrogen sensorsSeveral types of optical fibre surface plas mon resonance (SPR) sensor are used for the point-contact detection of hydrogen: Fiber Bragg grating coated with a palladium layer - Detects the hydrogen by meta l hindrance. Micromirror - With a palladium thin layer at the cleaved end, detecting changes in the backreflected light. Tapered fibre coated with palladium - Hydrogen changes the refractive index of t he palladium, and consequently the amount of losses in the evanescent wave. [edit] Other types of hydrogen sensorsElectrochemical hydrogen sensor - low (ppm ) levels of hydrogen gas can be sensed using electrochemical sensors which compr ise an array of electrodes packaged so as to be surrounded by a conductive elect rolyte and gas ingress controlled with a diffusion limited capillary. MEMS hydrogen sensor - The combination of nanotechnology and microelectromechani cal systems (MEMS) technology allows the production of a hydrogen microsensor th at functions properly at room temperature. The hydrogen sensor is coated with a film consisting of nanostructured indium oxide (In2O3) and tin oxide (SnO2).[6] Thin film sensor - A palladium thin film sensor is based on an opposing property that depends on the nanoscale structures within the thin film. In the thin film , nanosized palladium particles swell when the hydride is formed, and in the pro cess of expanding, some of them form new electrical connections with their neigh bors. The resistance decreases because of the increased number of conducting pat hways.[2][7] Thick film sensor - Thick film hydrogen sensors rely on the fact that palladium hydride's electrical resistance is greater than the metal's resistance. The abso rption of hydrogen causes a measurable increase in electrical resistance. Chemochromic hydrogen sensor - Reversible and irreversible chemochromic hydrogen sensors, a smart pigment paint that visually identifies hydrogen leaks by a cha nge in color. The sensor is also available as tape.[8][9] Diode based Schottky sensor - A Schottky diode-based hydrogen gas sensor employs a palladium-alloy gate. Hydrogen can be selectively absorbed in the gate, lower ing the Schottky energy barrier.[10] A Pd/InGaP metal-semiconductor (MS) Schottk y diode can detect a concentration of 15 parts per million (ppm) H2 in air.[11] Silicon carbide semiconductor or silicon substrates are used. Metallic La-Mg2-Ni which is electrical conductive, absorbs hydrogen near ambient conditions, forming the nonmetallic hydride LaMg2NiH7 an insulator.[12] Sensors are typically calibrated at the manufacturing factory and are valid for the service life of the unit. [edit] EnhancementSiloxane enhances the sensitivity and reaction time of hydroge n sensors.[4] Detection of hydrogen levels as low as 25 ppm can be achieved; far below hydrogen's lower explosive limit of around 40,000 ppm. ELECTROACTIVE POLYMERS : Electroactive Polymers, or EAPs, are polymers that exhibit a change in size or s hape when stimulated by an electric field. The most common applications of this type of material are in actuators and sensors. A typical characteristic property of an EAP is that they will undergo a large amount of deformation while sustain ing large forces. The majority of historic actuators are made of ceramic piezoel

ectric materials. While these materials are able to withstand large forces, they commonly will only deform a fraction of a percent. In the late 1990s, it has be en demonstrated that some EAPs can exhibit up to a 380% strain,[1] which is much more than any ceramic actuator. Another one of the most common applications for EAPs is in the field of robotics in the development of artificial muscles. Due to this being one of the most common and attractive applications, EAPs are often referred to as artificial muscles. A cartoon drawing of a gripping device using EAPs as "fingers" to grip a ball is depicted in Figure 1. Contents [hide] 1 History of EAPs 2 Types of Electroactive Polymers 2.1 Dielectric EAPs 2.2 Ferroelectric Polymers 2.2.1 Electrostrictive Graft Polymers 2.2.2 Liquid Crystalline Polymers 2.3 Ionic EAPs 2.3.1 Electrorheological Fluid 2.3.2 Ionic polymer-metal composite 3 Comparison of Electronic and Ionic EAPs 4 Characterization 4.1 Stress-Strain Curve 4.2 Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) 4.3 Dielectric thermal analysis (DETA) 5 Applications of EAP 6 Future Directions 7 See also 8 References 9 External links [edit] History of EAPsThe field of EAPs emerged back in 1880, when Wilhelm Roent gen designed an experiment in which he tested the effect of an electrical curren t on the mechanical properties of a rubber band.[2] The rubber band was fixed at one end and was attached to a mass at the other. It was then charged and discha rged to study the change in length with electrical current. M.P. Sacerdote follo wed up on Roentgens experiment by formulating a theory on strain response to an a pplied electric field in 1899.[2] It wasnt until the year 1925 that the first pie zoelectric polymer was discovered (Electret). Electret was formed by combining c arnauba wax, rosin and beeswax, and then cooling the solution while it is subjec t to an applied DC electrical bias. The mixture would then solidify into a polym eric material that exhibited a piezoelectric effect. Polymers that respond to environmental conditions other than an applied electric al current have also been a large part of this area of study. In 1949, Katchalsk y et al. demonstrated that when collagen filaments are dipped in acid or alkali solutions they would respond with a change in volume.[2] The collagen filaments were found to expand in an acidic solution and contract in an alkali solution. A lthough other stimuli (such as pH) have been investigated, due to its ease and p racticality most research has been devoted to developing polymers that respond t o electrical stimuli in order to mimic biological systems. It wasnt until the late 1960s when the next major breakthrough in EAPs was observ ed. In 1969, Kawai was able to demonstrate that polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) e xhibits a large piezoelectric effect.[2] This sparked research interest in devel oping other polymers systems that would show a similar effect. In 1977, the firs t electrically conducting polymers were discovered by Hideki Shirakawa et al.[3] Shirakawa along with Alan MacDiarmid and Alan Heeger demonstrated that polyacet ylene was electrically conductive, and that by doping it with iodine vapor, they could enhance its conductivity by 8 orders of magnitude. Thus the conductance w

as close to that of a metal. By the late 1980s a number of other polymers had be en shown to exhibit a piezoelectric effect or were demonstrated to be conductive . In the early 1990s, ionic polymer-metal composites were developed and shown to e xhibit electroactive properties far superior to previous EAPs. The major advanta ge of IPMCs was that they were able to show activation (deformation) at voltages as low as 1 or 2 volts.[2] This is orders of magnitude less than any previous E AP. Not only was the activation energy for these materials much lower, but they could also undergo much larger deformations. IMPCs were shown to exhibit anywher e up to 380% strain, orders of magnitude larger than previously developed EAPs.[ 1] In 1999, one of the pioneers of the field of robotics and artificial muscles, Yoseph Bar-Cohen, proposed the Armwrestling Match of EAP Robotic Arm Against Hu man Challenge.[2] This was a challenge in which research groups around the world competed to design a robotic arm consisting of EAP muscles that could defeat a human in an arm wrestling match. The first challenge was held at the Electroacti ve Polymer Actuators and Devices Conference in 2005.[2] Another major milestone of the field is that the first commercially developed device including EAPs as a n artificial muscle was produced in 2002 by Eamex in Japan.[1] This device was a fish that is able to swim on its own, moving its tail using an EAP muscle. But the progress in practical development is not satisfactory, probably due to misle ading in fundamental research.[4] [edit] Types of Electroactive PolymersEAP can have several configurations, but a re generally divided in two principal classes: Dielectric and Ionic. [edit] Dielectric EAPsDielectric EAPs, are materials in which actuation is cause d by electrostatic forces between two electrodes which squeeze the polymer. Diel ectric elastomers are capable of very high strains and are fundamentally a capac itor that changes its capacitance when a voltage is applied by allowing the poly mer to compress in thickness and expand in area due to the electric field. This type of EAP typically requires a large actuation voltage to produce high electri c fields (hundreds to thousands of volts), but very low electrical power consump tion. Dielectric EAPs require no power to keep the actuator at a given position. Examples are electrostrictive polymers and dielectric elastomers. [edit] Ferroelectric PolymersFerroelectric Polymers[5][6] are a group of crystal line polar polymers that are also ferroelectric, meaning that they maintain a pe rmanent electric polarization that can be reversed, or switched, in an external electric field. Ferroelectric polymers, such as polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF), a re used in acoustic transducers and electromechanical actuators because of their inherent piezoelectric response, and as heat sensors because of their inherent pyroelectric response.[7] Figure 1: Structure of Poly(vinylidene fluoride)[edit] Electrostrictive Graft Po lymers Figure 2: Cartoon of an electrostrictive graft polymer.Electrostricive graft pol ymers consist of flexible backbone chains with branching side chains. The side c hains on neighboring backbone polymers cross link and form crystal units. The ba ckbone and side chain crystal units can then form polarized monomers, which cont ain atoms with partial charges and generate dipole moments, shown in Figure 2.[8 ] When an electrical field is applied, a force is applied to each partial charge and causes rotation of the whole polymer unit. This rotation causes electrostri ctive strain and deformation of the polymer. [edit] Liquid Crystalline PolymersMain-chain liquid crystalline polymers have me sogenic groups linked to each other by a flexible spacer. The mesogens within a backbone form the mesophase structure causing the polymer itself to adopt a conf ormation compatible with the structure of the mesophase. The direct coupling of the liquid crystalline order with the polymer conformation has given main-chain

liquid crystalline elastomers a large amount of interest.[9] The synthesis of hi ghly oriented elastomers leads to have a large strain thermal actuation along th e polymer chain direction with temperature variation resulting in unique mechani cal properties and potential applications as mechanical actuators. [edit] Ionic EAPsIonic EAPs, in which actuation is caused by the displacement of ions inside the polymer. Only a few volts are needed for actuation, but the ion ic flow implies a higher electrical power needed for actuation, and energy is ne eded to keep the actuator at a given position. Examples of ionic EAPS are conduc tive polymers, ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs), and responsive gels. Yet another example is a Bucky gel actuator, which is a polymer-supported layer of p olyelectrolyte material consisting of an ionic liquid sandwiched between two ele ctrode layers consisting of a gel of ionic liquid containing single-wall carbon nanotubes.[10] As the name implies, these gel actuators can also be made with bu cky balls instead of nanotubes.[11] [edit] Electrorheological FluidMain article: Electrorheological Fluid Figure 3: The cations in the ionic polymer-metal composite are randomly oriented in the absence of an electric field. Once a field is applied the cations gather to the side of the polymer in contact with the anode causing the polymer to ben d.Electrorheological fluids change the viscosity of a solution with the applicat ion of an electric field. The fluid is a suspension of polymers in a low dielect ric-constant liquid.[12] With the application of a large electric field the visc osity of the suspension increases. Potential applications of these fluids includ e shock absorbers, engine mounts and acoustic dampers.[12] [edit] Ionic polymer-metal compositeMain article: Ionic polymer-metal composite Ionic polymer-metal composites consist of a thin ionomeric membrane with noble m etal electrodes plated on its surface. It also has cations to balance the charge of the anions fixed to the polymer backbone.[13] They are very active actuators that show very high deformation at low applied voltage and show low impedance. Ionic polymer-metal composites work through electrostatic attraction between the cationic counter ions and the cathode of the applied electric field, a schemati c representation is shown in Figure 3. These types of polymers show the greatest promise for bio-mimetic uses as collagen fibers are essentially composed of nat ural charged ionic polymers.[14] Nafion and Flemion are commonly used ionic poly mer metal composites.[15] [edit] Comparison of Electronic and Ionic EAPsDielectronic polymers are able to hold their induced displacement while activated under a DC voltage.[16] This all ows dielectronic polymers to be considered for robotic applications. These types of materials also have high mechanical energy density and can be operated in ai r without a major decrease in performance. However, dielectronic polymers requir e very high activation fields (>10 v/um) that are close to the breakdown level. The activation of ionic polymers, on the other hand, requires only 1-2 volts. Th ey however need to maintain wetness, though some polymers have been developed as self contained encapsulated activators which allows their use in dry environmen ts.[14] Ionic polymers also have a low electromechanical coupling. They are howe ver ideal for the bio-mimetic devices. [edit] CharacterizationWhile there are many different ways electroactive polymer s can be characterized, only three will be addressed here: stress-strain curve, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, and dielectric thermal analysis. [edit] Stress-Strain CurveMain article: Stress-strain curve Figure 4: The unstressed polymer spontaneously forms a folded structure, upon ap plication of a stress the polymer regains its original length.Stress strain curv es provide information about the polymers mechanical properties such as the britt

leness, elasticity and yield strength of the polymer. This is done by providing a force to the polymer at a uniform rate and measuring the deformation that resu lts.[17] An example of this deformation is shown in Figure 4. This technique is useful for determining the type of material (brittle, tough, etc.), but it is a destructive technique as the stress is increased until the polymer fractures. [edit] Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA)Main article: Dynamic mechanica l analysis Both dynamic mechanical analysis is a non destructive technique that is useful i n understanding the mechanism of deformation at a molecular level. In DMTA a sin usoidal stress is applied to the polymer, and based on the polymers deformation t he elastic modulus and damping characteristics are obtained (assuming the polyme r is a damped harmonic oscillator).[17] Elastic materials take the mechanical en ergy of the stress and convert it into potential energy which can later be recov ered. An ideal spring will use all the potential energy to regain its original s hape (no dampening), while a liquid will use all the potential energy to flow, n ever returning to its original position or shape (high dampening). A viscoeleast ic polymer will exhibit a combination of both types of behavior.[17] [edit] Dielectric thermal analysis (DETA)Main article: Dielectric thermal analys is DETA is similar to DMTA, but instead of an alternating mechanical force an alter nating electric field is applied. The applied field can lead to polarization of the sample, and if the polymer contains groups that have permanent dipoles (as i n Figure 2), they will align with the electrical field.[17] The permittivity can be measured from the change in amplitude and resolved into dielectric storage a nd loss components. The electric displacement field can also be measured by foll owing the current.[17] Once the field is removed, the dipoles will relax back in to a random orientation. [edit] Applications of EAP Figure 5: Cartoon drawing of an arm controlled by EAPs. When a voltage is applie d (blue muscles) the polymer expands. When the voltage is removed (red muscles) the polymer returns to its original state.EAP materials can be easily manufactur ed into various shapes due to the ease in processing many polymeric materials, m aking them very versatile materials. One potential application for EAPs is that they can potentially be integrated into microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to produce smart actuators. As the most prospective practical research direction, EAPs have been utilized in artificial muscles.[18] Their ability to emulate the operation of biological muscles with high fracture toughness, large actuation st rain and inherent vibration damping draw the attention of scientists in this fie ld.[2] In recent years, electro active polymers for refreshable Braille displays[19] has emerged to aid the visually impaired in fast reading and computer assisted commu nication. This concept is based on using an EAP actuator configured in an array form. Rows of electrodes on one side of an EAP film and columns on the other act ivate individual elements in the array. Each element is mounted with a Braille d ot and is lowered by applying a voltage across the thickness of the selected ele ment, causing local thickness reduction. Under computer control, dots would be a ctivated to create tactile patterns of highs and lows representing the informati on to be read. Small pumps can also be achieved by applying EAP materials. These pumps could be used for drug delivery, microfluidic devices, active flow control, and a multit ude of consumer applications. The most likely configuration for a pump based on actuators would be a dual diaphragm device. The advantages that an ionomeric pum p could offer would be low voltage (battery) operation, extremely low noise sign ature, high system efficiency, and highly accurate control of flow rate.[20]

Another technology that can benefit from the unique properties of EAP actuators is optical membranes. Due to their low modulus, the mechanical impedance of the actuators, they are well-matched to common optical membrane materials. Also, a s ingle EAP actuator is capable of generating displacements that range from microm eters to centimeters. For this reason, these materials can be used for static sh ape correction and jitter suppression. These actuators could also be used to cor rect for optical aberrations due to atmospheric interference.[21] Since these materials exhibit excellent electroactive character, EAP materials s how potential in biomimetic-robot research, stress sensors and acoustics field, which will make EAPs become a more attractive study topic in the near future. Th ey have been used for various actuators such as face muscles and arm muscles in humanoid robots.[22] [edit] Future DirectionsThe field of EAPs is far from mature, which leaves sever al issues that still need to be worked on.[2] The performance and long-term stab ility of the EAP should be improved by designing a water impermeable surface. Th is will prevent the evaporation of water contained in the EAP, and also reduce t he potential loss of the positive counter ions when the EAP is operating submerg ed in an aqueous environment. Improved surface conductivity should be explored u sing methods to produce a defect-free conductive surface. This could possibly be done using metal vapor deposition or other doping methods. It may also be possi ble to utilize conductive polymers to form a thick conductive layer. Heat resist ant EAP would be desirable to allow operation at higher voltages without damagin g the internal structure of the EAP due to the generation of heat in the EAP com posite. Development of EAPs in different configurations (e.g., fibers and fiber bundles), would also be beneficial, in order to increase the range of possible m odes of motion. GALVANOMETER : A galvanometer is a type of ammeter: an instrument for detecting and measuring e lectric current. It is an analog electromechanical transducer that produces a ro tary deflection of some type of pointer in response to electric current flowing through its coil in a magnetic field. . Galvanometers were the first instruments used to detect and measure electric cur rents. Sensitive galvanometers were used to detect signals from long submarine c ables, and were used to discover the electrical activity of the heart and brain. Some galvanometers used a solid pointer on a scale to show measurements, other very sensitive types used a tiny mirror and a beam of light to provide mechanica l amplification of tiny signals. Initially a laboratory instrument relying on th e Earth's own magnetic field to provide restoring force for the pointer, galvano meters were developed into compact, rugged, sensitive portable instruments that were essential to the development of electrotechnology. A type of galvanometer t hat permanently recorded measurements was the chart recorder. The term has expan ded to include uses of the same mechanism in recording, positioning, and servome chanism equipment Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Operation 3 Types 3.1 Tangent galvanometer 3.1.1 Theory 3.1.2 Geomagnetic field measurement 3.2 Astatic galvanometer 3.3 Mirror galvanometer 3.4 Ballistic galvanometer 4 Uses

4.1 Past uses 4.2 Modern uses 5 See also 6 References 7 External links [edit] HistoryThe deflection of a magnetic compass needle by current in a wire w as first described by Hans Oersted in 1820. The phenomenon was studied both for its own sake and as a means of measuring electrical current. The earliest galvan ometer was reported by Johann Schweigger at the University of Halle on 16 Septem ber 1820. Andr-Marie Ampre also contributed to its development. Early designs incr eased the effect of the magnetic field due to the current by using multiple turn s of wire; the instruments were at first called "multipliers" due to this common design feature. The term "galvanometer", in common use by 1836, was derived fro m the surname of Italian electricity researcher Luigi Galvani, who discovered in 1771 that electric current could make a frog's leg jerk. Originally the instruments relied on the Earth's magnetic field to provide the r estoring force for the compass needle; these were called "tangent" galvanometers and had to be oriented before use. Later instruments of the "astatic" type used opposing magnets to become independent of the Earth's field and would operate i n any orientation. The most sensitive form, the Thompson or mirror galvanometer, was invented by William Thomson (Lord Kelvin) and patented by him in 1858. Inst ead of a compass needle, it used tiny magnets attached to a small lightweight mi rror, suspended by a thread; the deflection of a beam of light greatly magnified the deflection due to small currents. Alternatively the deflection of the suspe nded magnets could be observed directly through a microscope. The ability to quantitatively measure voltage and current allowed Georg Ohm to f ormulate Ohm's Law, which states that the voltage across a conductor is directly proportional to the current through it. The early moving-magnet form of galvanometer had the disadvantage that it was af fected by any magnets or iron masses near it, and its deflection was not linearl y proportional to the current. In 1882 Jacques-Arsne d'Arsonval and Marcel Deprez developed a form with a stationary permanent magnet and a moving coil of wire, suspended by fine wires which provided both an electrical connection to the coil and the restoring torque to return to the zero position. An iron tube within th e coil concentrated the magnetic field. A mirror attached to the coil deflected a beam of light to indicate the coil position. The concentrated magnetic field a nd delicate suspension made these instruments sensitive; d'Arsonval's initial in strument could detect ten microamperes.[1] Edward Weston extensively improved the design. He replaced the fine wire suspens ion with a pivot, and provided restoring torque and electrical connections throu gh spiral springs rather like those in a wristwatch balance wheel. He developed a method of stabilizing the magnetic field of the permanent magnet, so that the instrument would have consistent accuracy over time. He replaced the light beam and mirror with a knife-edge pointer, which could be directly read; a mirror und er the pointer and in the same plane as the scale eliminated parallax error in o bservation. To maintain the field strength, Weston's design used a very narrow s lot in which the coil was mounted, with a minimal air-gap and soft iron pole pie ces; this made the deflection of the instrument more linear with respect to coil current. Finally, the coil was wound on a light former made of conductive metal , which acted as a damper. By 1888 Edward Weston had patented and brought out a commercial form of this instrument, which became a standard component in electri cal equipment. It was known as the "portable" instrument because it was little a ffected by mounting position or by transporting it from place to place. This des ign is almost universally used in moving-coil meters today.

[edit] Operation D'Arsonval/Weston galvanometer movement. Part of the magnet's left pole piece is broken out to show the coilThe most familiar use is as an analog measuring inst rument, often called a meter. It is used to measure the direct current (flow of electric charge) through an electric circuit. The D'Arsonval/Weston form used to day is constructed with a small pivoting coil of wire in the field of a permanen t magnet. The coil is attached to a thin pointer that traverses a calibrated sca le. A tiny torsion spring pulls the coil and pointer to the zero position. When a direct current (DC) flows through the coil, the coil generates a magnetic field. This field acts against the permanent magnet. The coil twists, pushing a gainst the spring, and moves the pointer. The hand points at a scale indicating the electric current. Careful design of the pole pieces ensures that the magneti c field is uniform, so that the angular deflection of the pointer is proportiona l to the current. A useful meter generally contains provision for damping the me chanical resonance of the moving coil and pointer, so that the pointer settles q uickly to its position without oscillation. The basic sensitivity of a meter might be, for instance, 100 microamperes full s cale (with a voltage drop of, say, 50 millivolts at full current). Such meters a re often calibrated to read some other quantity that can be converted to a curre nt of that magnitude. The use of current dividers, often called shunts, allows a meter to be calibrated to measure larger currents. A meter can be calibrated as a DC voltmeter if the resistance of the coil is known by calculating the voltag e required to generate a full scale current. A meter can be configured to read o ther voltages by putting it in a voltage divider circuit. This is generally done by placing a resistor in series with the meter coil. A meter can be used to rea d resistance by placing it in series with a known voltage (a battery) and an adj ustable resistor. In a preparatory step, the circuit is completed and the resist or adjusted to produce full scale deflection. When an unknown resistor is placed in series in the circuit the current will be less than full scale and an approp riately calibrated scale can display the value of the previously-unknown resisto r. Because the pointer of the meter is usually a small distance above the scale of the meter, parallax error can occur when the operator attempts to read the scale line that "lines up" with the pointer. To counter this, some meters include a m irror along the markings of the principal scale. The accuracy of the reading fro m a mirrored scale is improved by positioning one's head while reading the scale so that the pointer and the reflection of the pointer are aligned; at this poin t, the operator's eye must be directly above the pointer and any parallax error has been minimized. [edit] Types Thompson reflecting galvanometer.Today the main type of galvanometer mechanism s till used is the moving coil D'Arsonval/Weston mechanism, which is used in tradi tional analog meters.

[edit] Tangent galvanometer Tangent galvanometer made by J.H.Bunnell Co. around 1890.A tangent galvanometer is an early measuring instrument used for the measurement of electric current. I t works by using a compass needle to compare a magnetic field generated by the u nknown current to the magnetic field of the Earth. It gets its name from its ope rating principle, the tangent law of magnetism, which states that the tangent of the angle a compass needle makes is proportional to the ratio of the strengths of the two perpendicular magnetic fields. It was first described by Claude Pouil

let in 1837. A tangent galvanometer consists of a coil of insulated copper wire wound on a ci rcular non-magnetic frame. The frame is mounted vertically on a horizontal base provided with levelling screws. The coil can be rotated on a vertical axis passi ng through its centre. A compass box is mounted horizontally at the centre of a circular scale. It consists of a tiny, powerful magnetic needle pivoted at the c entre of the coil. The magnetic needle is free to rotate in the horizontal plane . The circular scale is divided into four quadrants. Each quadrant is graduated from 0 to 90. A long thin aluminium pointer is attached to the needle at its centr e and at right angle to it. To avoid errors due to parallax a plane mirror is mo unted below the compass needle. In operation, the instrument is first rotated until the magnetic field of the Ea rth, indicated by the compass needle, is parallel with the plane of the coil. Th en the unknown current is applied to the coil. This creates a second magnetic fi eld on the axis of the coil, perpendicular to the Earth's magnetic field. The co mpass needle responds to the vector sum of the two fields, and deflects to an an gle equal to the tangent of the ratio of the two fields. From the angle read fro m the compass's scale, the current could be found from a table.[2] The current supply wires have to be wound in a small helix, like a pig's tail, o therwise the field due to the wire will affect the compass needle and an incorre ct reading will be obtained. [edit] TheoryThe galvanometer is oriented so that the plane of the coil is paral lel to the local magnetic meridian, that is the horizontal component BH of the E arth's magnetic field. When a current passes through the galvanometer coil, a se cond magnetic field B perpendicular to the coil is created, of strength: B = (not).n.I/2r where I is the current in amperes, n is the number of turns of the coil and r is the radius of the coil. These two perpendicular magnetic fields add vectorially , and the compass needle points along the direction of their resultant, at an an gle of: = tan(inverse)B/B From tangent law, , i.e. or or , where K is called the Reduction Factor of the tangent galvanometer. One problem with the tangent galvanometer is that its resolution degrades at bot h high currents and low currents. The maximum resolution is obtained when the va lue of is 45. When the value of is close to 0 or 90, a large percentage change in t he current will only move the needle a few degrees. [edit] Geomagnetic field measurementA tangent galvanometer can also be used to m easure the magnitude of the horizontal component of the geomagnetic field. When used in this way, a low-voltage power source, such as a battery, is connected in series with a rheostat, the galvanometer, and an ammeter. The galvanometer is f irst aligned so that the coil is parallel to the geomagnetic field, whose direct ion is indicated by the compass when there is no current through the coils. The battery is then connected and the rheostat is adjusted until the compass needle deflects 45 degrees from the geomagnetic field, indicating that the magnitude of

the magnetic field at the center of the coil is the same as that of the horizon tal component of the geomagnetic field. This field strength can be calculated fr om the current as measured by the ammeter, the number of turns of the coil, and the radius of the coils. [edit] Astatic galvanometer Astatic galvanometerThe astatic galvanometer was developed by Leopoldo Nobili in 1825.[3] Unlike a compass-needle galvanometer, the astatic galvanometer has two magnetic needles parallel to each other, but with the magnetic poles reversed. The needle assembly is suspended by a silk thread, and has no net magnetic dipole moment. It is not affected by the earth's magnetic field. The lower needle is inside the current sensing coils and is deflected by the magnetic field created by the pas sing current.

[edit] Mirror galvanometerExtremely sensitive measuring equipment once used mirr or galvanometers that substituted a mirror for the pointer. A beam of light refl ected from the mirror acted as a long, massless pointer. Such instruments were u sed as receivers for early trans-Atlantic telegraph systems, for instance. The m oving beam of light could also be used to make a record on a moving photographic film, producing a graph of current versus time, in a device called an oscillogr aph. The string galvanometer was a type of mirror galvanometer so sensitive that it was used to make the first electrocardiogram of the electrical activity of t he human heart. [edit] Ballistic galvanometerA Ballistic galvanometer is an instrument with a hi gh inertia, arranged so that its deflection is proportional to the total charge sent through the meter's coil. [edit] Uses An automatic exposure unit from an 8 mm movie camera, based on a galvanometer me chanism (center) and a CdS photoresistor in the opening at left. Modern closed-loop galvanometer-driven laser scanning mirror from Scanlab.[edit] Past usesA major early use for galvanometers was for finding faults in telecomm unications cables. They were superseded in this application late in the 20th cen tury by time-domain reflectometers. Probably the largest use of galvanometers was the D'Arsonval/Weston type movemen t used in analog meters in electronic equipment. Since the 1980s, galvanometer-t ype analog meter movements have been displaced by analog to digital converters ( ADCs) for some uses. A digital panel meter (DPM) contains an analog to digital c onverter and numeric display. The advantages of a digital instrument are higher precision and accuracy, but factors such as power consumption or cost may still favor application of analog meter movements. Galvanometer mechanisms were also used to position the pens in analog strip char t recorders such as used in electrocardiographs, electroencephalographs and poly graphs. Strip chart recorders with galvanometer driven pens may have a full scal e frequency response of 100 Hz and several centimeters deflection. The writing m echanism may be a heated tip on the needle writing on heat-sensitive paper, or a hollow ink-fed pen. In some types the pen is continuously pressed against the p aper, so the galvanometer must be strong enough to move the pen against the fric tion of the paper. In other types, such as the Rustrak recorders, the needle is only intermittently pressed against the writing medium; at that moment, an impre ssion is made and then the pressure is removed, allowing the needle to move to a new position and the cycle repeats. In this case, the galvanometer need not be

especially strong. Galvanometer mechanisms were also used in exposure mechanisms in film cameras. [edit] Modern usesMost modern uses for the galvanometer mechanism are in positio ning and control systems. Galvanometer mechanisms are divided into moving magnet and moving coil galvanometers; in addition, they are divided into closed-loop a nd open-loop - or resonant - types. Mirror galvanometer systems are used as beam positioning or beam steering elemen ts in laser scanning systems. For example, for material processing with high-pow er lasers, mirror galvanometer are typically high power galvanometer mechanisms used with closed loop servo control systems. The newest galvanometers designed f or beam steering applications can have frequency responses over 10 kHz with appr opriate servo technology. Examples of manufacturers of such systems are Cambridg e Technology Inc. (www.camtech.com) - now part of General Scanning (www.gsig.com ) - and Scanlab (www.scanlab.de). Closed-loop mirror galvanometers are also used in stereolithography, in laser sintering, in laser engraving, in laser beam wel ding, in laser TV, in laser displays, and in imaging applications such as Optica l Coherence Tomography (OCT) retinal scanning. Almost all of these galvanometers are of the moving magnet type. Open loop, or resonant mirror galvanometers, are mainly used in laser-based barc ode scanners, in some printing machines, in some imaging applications, in milita ry applications, and in space systems. Their non-lubricated bearings are especia lly of interest in applications that require a high vacuum. A galvanometer mechanism is used for the head positioning servos in hard disk dr ives and CD and DVD players. These are all of the moving coil type, in order to keep mass, and thus access times, as low as possible. MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS : Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) (also written as micro-electro-mechanical, MicroElectroMechanical or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) i s the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merg es at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and nanotechnolog y. MEMS are also referred to as micromachines (in Japan), or micro systems techn ology MST (in Europe). MEMS are separate and distinct from the hypothetical vision of molecular nanotec hnology or molecular electronics. MEMS are made up of components between 1 to 10 0 micrometres in size (i.e. 0.001 to 0.1 mm) and MEMS devices generally range in size from 20 micrometres (20 millionths of a metre) to a millimetre. They usual ly consist of a central unit that processes data, the microprocessor and several components that interact with the outside such as microsensors.[1] At these siz e scales, the standard constructs of classical physics are not always useful. Be cause of the large surface area to volume ratio of MEMS, surface effects such as electrostatics and wetting dominate volume effects such as inertia or thermal m ass. The potential of very small machines was appreciated before the technology exist ed that could make themsee, for example, Richard Feynman's famous 1959 lecture Th ere's Plenty of Room at the Bottom. MEMS became practical once they could be fab ricated using modified semiconductor device fabrication technologies, normally u sed to make electronics. These include molding and plating, wet etching (KOH, TM AH) and dry etching (RIE and DRIE), electro discharge machining (EDM), and other technologies capable of manufacturing small devices. An early example of a MEMS device is the resonistor an electromechanical monolithic resonator.[2][3]

Contents [hide] 1 Materials for MEMS manufacturing 1.1 Silicon 1.2 Polymers 1.3 Metals 1.4 Ceramics 2 MEMS basic processes 2.1 Deposition processes 2.1.1 Physical deposition 2.1.1.1 Physical vapor deposition (PVD) 2.1.2 Chemical deposition 2.2 Patterning 2.2.1 Lithography 2.2.1.1 Photolithography 2.2.1.2 Electron beam lithography 2.2.1.3 Ion beam lithography 2.2.1.4 Ion track technology 2.2.1.5 X-ray lithography 2.2.2 Diamond patterning 2.3 Etching processes 2.3.1 Wet etching 2.3.1.1 Isotropic etching 2.3.1.2 Anisotropic etching 2.3.1.3 HF etching 2.3.1.4 Electrochemical etching 2.3.2 Dry etching 2.3.2.1 Vapor etching 2.3.2.1.1 Xenon difluoride etching 2.3.2.2 Plasma etching 2.3.2.2.1 Sputtering 2.3.2.2.2 Reactive ion etching (RIE) 2.4 Die preparation 3 MEMS manufacturing technologies 3.1 Bulk micromachining 3.2 Surface micromachining 3.3 High aspect ratio (HAR) silicon micromachining 4 Applications 5 Industry structure 6 See also 7 References 8 External links [edit] Materials for MEMS manufacturingThe fabrication of MEMS derived from the process technology in semiconductor device fabrication, i.e. the basic technique s are deposition of material layers, patterning by photolithography and etching to produce the required shapes.[4] [edit] SiliconSilicon is the material used to create most integrated circuits us ed in consumer electronics in the modern world. The economies of scale, ready av ailability of cheap high-quality materials and ability to incorporate electronic functionality make silicon attractive for a wide variety of MEMS applications. Silicon also has significant advantages engendered through its material properti es. In single crystal form, silicon is an almost perfect Hookean material, meani ng that when it is flexed there is virtually no hysteresis and hence almost no e nergy dissipation. As well as making for highly repeatable motion, this also mak es silicon very reliable as it suffers very little fatigue and can have service lifetimes in the range of billions to trillions of cycles without breaking. [edit] PolymersEven though the electronics industry provides an economy of scale

for the silicon industry, crystalline silicon is still a complex and relatively expensive material to produce. Polymers on the other hand can be produced in hu ge volumes, with a great variety of material characteristics. MEMS devices can b e made from polymers by processes such as injection molding, embossing or stereo lithography and are especially well suited to microfluidic applications such as disposable blood testing cartridges. [edit] MetalsMetals can also be used to create MEMS elements. While metals do no t have some of the advantages displayed by silicon in terms of mechanical proper ties, when used within their limitations, metals can exhibit very high degrees o f reliability. Metals can be deposited by electroplating, evaporation, and sputt ering processes. Commonly used metals include gold, nickel, aluminium, copper, c hromium, titanium, tungsten, platinum, and silver. [edit] CeramicsThe nitrides of silicon, aluminium and titanium as well as silico n carbide and other ceramics are increasingly applied in MEMS fabrication due to advantageous combinations of material properties. AlN crystallizes in the wurtz ite structure and thus shows pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties enabling sensors, for instance, with sensitivity to normal and shear forces.[5] TiN, on t he other hand, exhibits a high electrical conductivity and large elastic modulus allowing to realize electrostatic MEMS actuation schemes with ultrathin membran es.[6] Moreover, the high resistance of TiN against biocorrosion qualifies the m aterial for applications in biogenic environments and in biosensors. [edit] MEMS basic processesThis chart is not complete : Basic Process

Deposition

Patterning

Etching

[edit] Deposition processesOne of the basic building blocks in MEMS processing i s the ability to deposit thin films of material with a thickness anywhere betwee n a few nanometres to about 100 micrometres. [edit] Physical depositionThere are two types of physical deposition processes.T hey are as follows. [edit] Physical vapor deposition (PVD)Physical vapor deposition consists of a pr ocess in which a material is removed from a target, and deposited on a surface. Techniques to do this include the process of sputtering, in which an ion beam li berates atoms from a target, allowing them to move through the intervening space and deposit on the desired substrate, and Evaporation (deposition), in which a material is evaporated from a target using either heat (thermal evaporation) or an electron beam (e-beam evaporation) in a vacuum system. [edit] Chemical depositionChemical deposition techniques include chemical vapor deposition ("CVD"), in which a stream of source gas reacts on the substrate to g row the material desired. This can be further divided into categories depending on the details of the technique, for example, LPCVD (Low Pressure chemical vapor deposition) and PECVD (Plasma Enhanced chemical vapor deposition). Oxide films can also be grown by the technique of thermal oxidation, in which th e (typically silicon) wafer is exposed to oxygen and/or steam, to grow a thin su rface layer of silicon dioxide. [edit] PatterningPatterning in MEMS is the transfer of a pattern into a material .

[edit] LithographyLithography in MEMS context is typically the transfer of a pat tern into a photosensitive material by selective exposure to a radiation source such as light. A photosensitive material is a material that experiences a change in its physical properties when exposed to a radiation source. If a photosensit ive material is selectively exposed to radiation (e.g. by masking some of the ra diation) the pattern of the radiation on the material is transferred to the mate rial exposed, as the properties of the exposed and unexposed regions differs. This exposed region can then be removed or treated providing a mask for the unde rlying substrate. Photolithography is typically used with metal or other thin fi lm deposition, wet and dry etching. [edit] PhotolithographyKrF ArF Immersion EUV [edit] Electron beam lithographyMain article: Electron beam lithography Electron beam lithography (often abbreviated as e-beam lithography) is the pract ice of scanning a beam of electrons in a patterned fashion across a surface cove red with a film (called the resist),[7] ("exposing" the resist) and of selective ly removing either exposed or non-exposed regions of the resist ("developing"). The purpose, as with photolithography, is to create very small structures in the resist that can subsequently be transferred to the substrate material, often by etching. It was developed for manufacturing integrated circuits, and is also us ed for creating nanotechnology architectures. The primary advantage of electron beam lithography is that it is one of the ways to beat the diffraction limit of light and make features in the nanometer regim e. This form of maskless lithography has found wide usage in photomask-making us ed in photolithography, low-volume production of semiconductor components, and r esearch & development. The key limitation of electron beam lithography is throughput, i.e., the very lo ng time it takes to expose an entire silicon wafer or glass substrate. A long ex posure time leaves the user vulnerable to beam drift or instability which may oc cur during the exposure. Also, the turn-around time for reworking or re-design i s lengthened unnecessarily if the pattern is not being changed the second time. [edit] Ion beam lithographyIt is known that focused-ion-beam lithography has the capability of writing extremely fine lines (less than 50 nm line and space has been achieved) without proximity effect. However, because the writing field in i on-beam lithography is quite small, large area patterns must be created by stitc hing together the small fields. [edit] Ion track technologyIon track technology is a deep cutting tool with a re solution limit around 8 nm applicable to radiation resistant minerals, glasses a nd polymers. It is capable to generate holes in thin films without any developme nt process. Structural depth can be defined either by ion range or by material t hickness. Aspect ratios up to several 104 can be reached. The technique can shap e and texture materials at a defined inclination angle. Random pattern, single-i on track structures and aimed pattern consisting of individual single tracks can be generated. [edit] X-ray lithographyX-ray lithography, is a process used in electronic indus try to selectively remove parts of a thin film. It uses X-rays to transfer a geo metric pattern from a mask to a light-sensitive chemical photoresist, or simply "resist," on the substrate. A series of chemical treatments then engraves the pr oduced pattern into the material underneath the photoresist. [edit] Diamond patterning This section is empty. You can help by adding to it.

[edit] Etching processesThere are two basic categories of etching processes: wet etching and dry etching. In the former, the material is dissolved when immersed in a chemical solution. In the latter, the material is sputtered or dissolved u sing reactive ions or a vapor phase etchant.[8][9] for a somewhat dated overview of MEMS etching technologies. [edit] Wet etchingMain article: Wet etching Wet chemical etching consists in selective removal of material by dipping a subs trate into a solution that dissolves it. The chemical nature of this etching pro cess provides a good selectivity, which means the etching rate of the target mat erial is considerably higher than the mask material if selected carefully. [edit] Isotropic etchingEtching progresses at the same speed in all directions. Long and narrow holes in a mask will produce v-shaped grooves in the silicon. Th e surface of these grooves can be atomically smooth if the etch is carried out c orrectly, with dimensions and angles being extremely accurate. [edit] Anisotropic etchingSome single crystal materials, such as silicon, will h ave different etching rates depending on the crystallographic orientation of the substrate. This is known as anisotropic etching and one of the most common exam ples is the etching of silicon in KOH (potassium hydroxide), where Si <111> plan es etch approximately 100 times slower than other planes (crystallographic orien tations). Therefore, etching a rectangular hole in a (100)-Si wafer results in a pyramid shaped etch pit with 54.7 walls, instead of a hole with curved sidewalls as with isotropic etching. [edit] HF etchingHydrofluoric acid is commonly used as an aqueous etchant for si licon dioxide (SiO2, also known as BOX for SOI), usually in 49% concentrated for m, 5:1, 10:1 or 20:1 BOE (buffered oxide etchant) or BHF (Buffered HF). They wer e first used in medieval times for glass etching. It was used in IC fabrication for patterning the gate oxide until the process step was replaced by RIE. Hydrofluoric acid is considered one of the more dangerous acids in the cleanroom . It penetrates the skin upon contact and it diffuses straight to the bone. Ther efore the damage is not felt until it is too late. [edit] Electrochemical etchingElectrochemical etching (ECE) for dopant-selective removal of silicon is a common method to automate and to selectively control et ching. An active p-n diode junction is required, and either type of dopant can b e the etch-resistant ("etch-stop") material. Boron is the most common etch-stop dopant. In combination with wet anisotropic etching as described above, ECE has been used successfully for controlling silicon diaphragm thickness in commercial piezoresistive silicon pressure sensors. Selectively doped regions can be creat ed either by implantation, diffusion, or epitaxial deposition of silicon. [edit] Dry etching[edit] Vapor etching[edit] Xenon difluoride etchingXenon diflu oride (XeF2) is a dry vapor phase isotropic etch for silicon originally applied for MEMS in 1995 at University of California, Los Angeles.[10][11] Primarily use d for releasing metal and dielectric structures by undercutting silicon, XeF2 ha s the advantage of a stiction-free release unlike wet etchants. Its etch selecti vity to silicon is very high, allowing it to work with photoresist, SiO2, silico n nitride, and various metals for masking. Its reaction to silicon is "plasmales s", is purely chemical and spontaneous and is often operated in pulsed mode. Mod els of the etching action are available,[12] and university laboratories and var ious commercial tools offer solutions using this approach. [edit] Plasma etching[edit] Sputtering[edit] Reactive ion etching (RIE)Main arti cle: Reactive ion etching In reactive ion etching (RIE), the substrate is placed inside a reactor, and sev eral gases are introduced. A plasma is struck in the gas mixture using an RF pow

er source, which breaks the gas molecules into ions. The ions accelerate towards , and react with, the surface of the material being etched, forming another gase ous material. This is known as the chemical part of reactive ion etching. There is also a physical part, which is similar to the sputtering deposition process. If the ions have high enough energy, they can knock atoms out of the material to be etched without a chemical reaction. It is a very complex task to develop dry etch processes that balance chemical and physical etching, since there are many parameters to adjust. By changing the balance it is possible to influence the a nisotropy of the etching, since the chemical part is isotropic and the physical part highly anisotropic the combination can form sidewalls that have shapes from rounded to vertical. RIE can be deep (Deep RIE or deep reactive ion etching (DR IE)). Main article: Deep reactive ion etching Deep RIE (DRIE) is a special subclass of RIE that is growing in popularity. In t his process, etch depths of hundreds of micrometres are achieved with almost ver tical sidewalls. The primary technology is based on the so-called "Bosch process ",[13] named after the German company Robert Bosch, which filed the original pat ent, where two different gas compositions alternate in the reactor. Currently th ere are two variations of the DRIE. The first variation consists of three distin ct steps (the Bosch Process as used in the Plasma-Therm tool) while the second v ariation only consists of two steps (ASE used in the STS tool). In the 1st Varia tion, the etch cycle is as follows: (i) SF6 isotropic etch; (ii) C4F8 passivatio n; (iii) SF6 anisoptropic etch for floor cleaning. In the 2nd variation, steps ( i) and (iii) are combined. Both variations operate similarly. The C4F8 creates a polymer on the surface of the substrate, and the second gas composition (SF6 and O2) etches the substrate. The polymer is immediately sputtered away by the physical part of the etching, but only on the horizontal surfaces and not the sidewalls. Since the polymer onl y dissolves very slowly in the chemical part of the etching, it builds up on the sidewalls and protects them from etching. As a result, etching aspect ratios of 50 to 1 can be achieved. The process can easily be used to etch completely thro ugh a silicon substrate, and etch rates are 36 times higher than wet etching. [edit] Die preparationAfter preparing a large number of MEMS devices on a silico n wafer, individual dies have to be separated, which is called die preparation i n semiconductor technology. For some applications, the separation is preceded by wafer backgrinding in order to reduce the wafer thickness. Wafer dicing may the n be performed either by sawing using a cooling liquid or a dry laser process ca lled stealth dicing. [edit] MEMS manufacturing technologies[edit] Bulk micromachiningMain article: Bu lk micromachining Bulk micromachining is the oldest paradigm of silicon based MEMS. The whole thic kness of a silicon wafer is used for building the micro-mechanical structures.[9 ] Silicon is machined using various etching processes. Anodic bonding of glass p lates or additional silicon wafers is used for adding features in the third dime nsion and for hermetic encapsulation. Bulk micromachining has been essential in enabling high performance pressure sensors and accelerometers that have changed the shape of the sensor industry in the 80's and 90's. [edit] Surface micromachiningMain article: Surface micromachining Surface micromachining uses layers deposited on the surface of a substrate as th e structural materials, rather than using the substrate itself.[14] Surface micr omachining was created in the late 1980s to render micromachining of silicon mor e compatible with planar integrated circuit technology, with the goal of combini ng MEMS and integrated circuits on the same silicon wafer. The original surface micromachining concept was based on thin polycrystalline silicon layers patterne d as movable mechanical structures and released by sacrificial etching of the un

derlying oxide layer. Interdigital comb electrodes were used to produce in-plane forces and to detect in-plane movement capacitively. This MEMS paradigm has ena bled the manufacturing of low cost accelerometers for e.g. automotive air-bag sy stems and other applications where low performance and/or high g-ranges are suff icient. Analog Devices have pioneered the industrialization of surface micromach ining and have realized the co-integration of MEMS and integrated circuits. [edit] High aspect ratio (HAR) silicon micromachiningBoth bulk and surface silic on micromachining are used in the industrial production of sensors, ink-jet nozz les, and other devices. But in many cases the distinction between these two has diminished. A new etching technology, deep reactive-ion etching, has made it pos sible to combine good performance typical of bulk micromachining with comb struc tures and in-plane operation typical of surface micromachining. While it is comm on in surface micromachining to have structural layer thickness in the range of 2 m, in HAR silicon micromachining the thickness can be from 10 to 100 m. The mate rials commonly used in HAR silicon micromachining are thick polycrystalline sili con, known as epi-poly, and bonded silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers although pr ocesses for bulk silicon wafer also have been created (SCREAM). Bonding a second wafer by glass frit bonding, anodic bonding or alloy bonding is used to protect the MEMS structures. Integrated circuits are typically not combined with HAR si licon micromachining. The consensus of the industry at the moment seems to be th at the flexibility and reduced process complexity obtained by having the two fun ctions separated far outweighs the small penalty in packaging. A comparison of d ifferent high-aspect-ratio microstructure technologies can be found in the HARMS T article. A forgotten history regarding surface micromachining revolved around the choice of polysilicon A or B. Fine grained (<300A grain size, US4897360), post strain a nnealed pure polysilicon was advocated by Prof Henry Guckel (U. Wisconsin); whil e a larger grain, doped stress controlled polysilicon was advocated by the UC Be rkeley group. [edit] Applications microelectromechanical systems chip, sometimes called "lab on a chip"In one view point MEMS application is categorized by type of use. Sensor Actuator Structure In another view point MEMS applications are categorized by the field of applicat ion (commercial applications include): Inkjet printers, which use piezoelectrics or thermal bubble ejection to deposit ink on paper. Accelerometers in modern cars for a large number of purposes including airbag de ployment in collisions. Accelerometers in consumer electronics devices such as game controllers (Nintend o Wii), personal media players / cell phones (Apple iPhone, various Nokia mobile phone models, various HTC PDA models)[15] and a number of Digital Cameras (vari ous Canon Digital IXUS models). Also used in PCs to park the hard disk head when free-fall is detected, to prevent damage and data loss. MEMS gyroscopes used in modern cars and other applications to detect yaw; e.g., to deploy a roll over bar or trigger dynamic stability control[16] MEMS microphones in portable devices, e.g., mobile phones, head sets and laptops . Silicon pressure sensors e.g., car tire pressure sensors, and disposable blood p ressure sensors Displays e.g., the DMD chip in a projector based on DLP technology, which has a surface with several hundred thousand micromirrors Optical switching technology, which is used for switching technology and alignme

nt for data communications Bio-MEMS applications in medical and health related technologies from Lab-On-Chi p to MicroTotalAnalysis (biosensor, chemosensor) Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) applications in consumer electronics (p rimarily displays for mobile devices), used to create interferometric modulation reflective display technology as found in mirasol displays Fluid acceleration such as for micro-cooling Companies with strong MEMS programs come in many sizes. The larger firms special ize in manufacturing high volume inexpensive components or packaged solutions fo r end markets such as automobiles, biomedical, and electronics. The successful s mall firms provide value in innovative solutions and absorb the expense of custo m fabrication with high sales margins. In addition, both large and small compani es work in R&D to explore MEMS technology. [edit] Industry structureThe global market for micro-electromechanical systems, which includes products such as automobile airbag systems, display systems and i nkjet cartridges totaled $40 billion in 2006 according to Global MEMS/Microsyste ms Markets and Opportunities, a research report from SEMI and Yole Developpement and is forecasted to reach $72 billion by 2011.[17] MEMS devices are defined as die-level components of first-level packaging, and i nclude pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, digital mirror displays, micro fluidic devices, etc. The materials and equipment used to manuf acture MEMS devices topped $1 billion worldwide in 2006. Materials demand is dri ven by substrates, making up over 70 percent of the market, packaging coatings a nd increasing use of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). While MEMS manufac turing continues to be dominated by used semiconductor equipment, there is a mig ration to 200 mm lines and select new tools, including etch and bonding for cert ain MEMS applications. ELECTRIC MOTOR : An electric motor is an electromechanical device that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction of magnetic fields and curr ent-carrying conductors to generate force. The reverse process, producing electr ical energy from mechanical energy, is done by generators such as an alternator or a dynamo; some electric motors can also be used as generators, for example, a traction motor on a vehicle may perform both tasks. Electric motors and generat ors are commonly referred to as electric machines. Electric motors are found in applications as diverse as industrial fans, blowers and pumps, machine tools, household appliances, power tools, and disk drives. T hey may be powered by direct current, e.g., a battery powered portable device or motor vehicle, or by alternating current from a central electrical distribution grid or inverter. The smallest motors may be found in electric wristwatches. Me dium-size motors of highly standardized dimensions and characteristics provide c onvenient mechanical power for industrial uses. The very largest electric motors are used for propulsion of ships, pipeline compressors, and water pumps with ra tings in the millions of watts. Electric motors may be classified by the source of electric power, by their internal construction, by their application, or by t he type of motion they give. The physical principle behind production of mechanical force by the interactions of an electric current and a magnetic field, Faraday's law of induction, was di scovered by Michael Faraday in 1831. Electric motors of increasing efficiency we re constructed from 1821 through the end of the 19th century, but commercial exp loitation of electric motors on a large scale required efficient electrical gene rators and electrical distribution networks. The first commercially successful m

otors were made around 1873. Some devices convert electricity into motion but do not generate usable mechanic al power as a primary objective and so are not generally referred to as electric motors. For example, magnetic solenoids and loudspeakers are usually described as actuators and transducers,[1] respectively, instead of motors. Some electric motors are used to produce torque or force.[2] Contents [hide] 1 History and development 1.1 The first electric motors 2 Terminology 3 Operating principle 3.1 Magnetic 3.1.1 Categorization 3.1.2 DC motors 3.1.2.1 Permanent-magnet motors 3.1.2.2 Brushed DC motors 3.1.2.3 Brushless DC motors 3.1.2.4 Switched reluctance motors 3.1.2.5 Coreless or ironless DC motors 3.1.2.6 Printed armature or pancake DC motors 3.1.3 Universal motors 3.1.4 AC motors 3.1.4.1 AC motor with sliding rotor 3.1.4.2 Synchronous electric motor 3.1.4.3 Induction motor 3.1.4.4 Doubly fed electric motor 3.1.4.5 Singly fed electric motor 3.1.4.6 Torque motors 3.1.5 Stepper motors 3.1.6 Comparison 3.1.7 Goodness factor 3.2 Electrostatic 3.2.1 Full size 3.2.2 Nanotube nanomotor 3.3 Piezoelectric 4 Use and styles 4.1 Rotary 4.2 Servo motor 4.3 Linear motor 4.4 Spacecraft propulsive motors 4.5 Generator 5 Performance 5.1 Specifying an electric motor 5.2 Energy conversion by an electric motor 5.3 Power 5.4 Efficiency 5.5 Torque capability of motor types 5.6 Continuous torque density 5.7 Continuous power density 6 Motor standards 7 References and further reading 8 See also 9 External links [edit] History and development Faraday's electromagnetic experiment, 1821[3]The conversion of electrical energy into mechanical energy by electromagnetic means was demonstrated by the British

scientist Michael Faraday in 1821. A free-hanging wire was dipped into a pool o f mercury, on which a permanent magnet was placed. When a current was passed thr ough the wire, the wire rotated around the magnet, showing that the current gave rise to a close circular magnetic field around the wire.[4] This motor is often demonstrated in school physics classes, but brine (salt water) is sometimes use d in place of the toxic mercury. This is the simplest form of a class of devices called homopolar motors. A later refinement is the Barlow's wheel. These were d emonstration devices only, unsuited to practical applications due to their primi tive construction.[citation needed] Jedlik's "electromagnetic self-rotor", 1827 (Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest. T he historic motor still works perfectly today.[5])In 1827, Hungarian physicist ny os Jedlik started experimenting with devices he called "electromagnetic self-rot ors". Although they were used only for instructional purposes, in 1828 Jedlik de monstrated the first device to contain the three main components of practical di rect current motors: the stator, rotor and commutator. The device employed no pe rmanent magnets, as the magnetic fields of both the stationary and revolving com ponents were produced solely by the currents flowing through their windings.[6][ 7][8][9][10][11] [edit] The first electric motorsThe first commutator-type direct current electri c motor capable of turning machinery was invented by the British scientist Willi am Sturgeon in 1832.[12] Following Sturgeon's work, a commutator-type direct-cur rent electric motor made with the intention of commercial use was built by Ameri cans Emily and Thomas Davenport and patented in 1837. Their motors ran at up to 600 revolutions per minute, and powered machine tools and a printing press.[13] Due to the high cost of the zinc electrodes required by primary battery power, t he motors were commercially unsuccessful and the Davenports went bankrupt. Sever al inventors followed Sturgeon in the development of DC motors but all encounter ed the same cost issues with primary battery power. No electricity distribution had been developed at the time. Like Sturgeon's motor, there was no practical co mmercial market for these motors.[citation needed] In 1855 Jedlik built a device using similar principles to those used in his elec tromagnetic self-rotors that was capable of useful work.[6][8] He built a model electric motor-propelled vehicle that same year.[14] The modern DC motor was invented by accident in 1873, when Znobe Gramme connected the dynamo he had invented to a second similar unit, driving it as a motor. The Gramme machine was the first electric motor that was successful in the industry .[citation needed] In 1886 Frank Julian Sprague invented the first practical DC motor, a non-sparki ng motor capable of constant speed under variable loads. Other Sprague electric inventions about this time greatly improved grid electric distribution (prior wo rk done while employed by Thomas Edison), allowed power from electric motors to be returned to the electric grid, provided for electric distribution to trolleys via overhead wires and the trolley pole, and provided controls systems for elec tric operations. This allowed Sprague to use electric motors to invent the first electric trolley system in 188788 in Richmond VA, the electric elevator and cont rol system in 1892, and the electric subway with independently powered centrally controlled cars, which was first installed in 1892 in Chicago by the South Side Elevated Railway where it became popularly known as the "L". Sprague's motor an d related inventions led to an explosion of interest and use in electric motors for industry, while almost simultaneously another great inventor was developing its primary competitor, which would become much more widespread. In 1888 Nikola Tesla invented the first practicable AC motor and with it the pol yphase power transmission system. Tesla continued his work on the AC motor in th

e years to follow at the Westinghouse company. The development of electric motors of acceptable efficiency was delayed for seve ral decades by failure to recognize the extreme importance of a relatively small air gap between rotor and stator. Efficient designs have a comparatively small air gap.[15] The St. Louis motor, long used in classrooms to illustrate motor principles, is extremely inefficient for the same reason, as well as appearing nothing like a m odern motor. Photo of a traditional form of the St. Louis motor:[16] Application of electric motors revolutionized industry. Industrial processes wer e no longer limited by power transmission using line shafts, belts, compressed a ir or hydraulic pressure. Instead every machine could be equipped with its own e lectric motor, providing easy control at the point of use, and improving power t ransmission efficiency. Electric motors applied in agriculture eliminated human and animal muscle power from such tasks as handling grain or pumping water. Hous ehold uses of electric motors reduced heavy labor in the home and made higher st andards of convenience, comfort and safety possible. Today, electric motors cons ume more than half of all electric energy produced.[17][18] [edit] TerminologyIn an electric motor the moving part is called the rotor and t he stationary part is called the stator. Magnetic fields are produced on poles, and these can be salient poles where they are driven by windings of electrical w ire. A shaded-pole motor has a winding around part of the pole that delays the p hase of the magnetic field for that pole. A commutator switches the current flow to the rotor windings depending on the ro tor angle. A DC motor is powered by direct current, although there is almost always an inte rnal mechanism (such as a commutator) converting DC to AC for part of the motor. An AC motor is supplied with alternating current, often avoiding the need for a commutator. A synchronous motor is an AC motor that runs at a speed fixed to a fraction of the power supply frequency, and an asynchronous motor is an AC motor , usually an induction motor, whose speed slows with increasing torque to slight ly less than synchronous speed. Universal motors can run on either AC or DC, tho ugh the maximum frequency of the AC supply may be limited. [edit] Operating principleAt least 3 different operating principles are used to make electric motors: magnetism, electrostatics, piezoelectric. By far the most common is magnetic. [edit] MagneticNearly all electric motors are based around magnetism (Exceptions include Piezo Electric and Ultrasonic Motors). In these motors, magnetic fields are formed in both the rotor and the stator. The product between these two fiel ds give rise to a force, and thus a torque on the motor shaft. One, or both, of these fields must be made to change with the rotation of the motor. This is done by switching the poles on and off at the right time, or varying the strength of the pole. [edit] CategorizationThe main types are DC motors and AC motors, although the on going trend toward electronic control somewhat softens the distinction,[citation needed][dubious discuss] as modern drivers have moved the commutator out of the motor shell for some types of DC motors. Considering all rotating (or linear) electric motors require synchronism between a moving magnetic field and a moving current sheet for average torque productio n, there is a clear distinction between an asynchronous motor and synchronous ty pes. An asynchronous motor requires slip - relative movement between the magneti

c field (generated by the stator) and a winding set (the rotor) to induce curren t in the rotor by mutual inductance. The most ubiquitous example of asynchronous motors is the common AC induction motor which must slip to generate torque. In the synchronous types, induction (or slip) is not a requisite for magnetic fi eld or current production (e.g. permanent magnet motors, synchronous brush-less wound-rotor doubly fed electric machine). Rated output power is also used to categorize motors. Those of less than 746 wat ts, for example, are often referred to as fractional horsepower motors (FHP) in reference to the old imperial measurement. Commutation No commutation Electromechanical Electronic stator coils driven by line voltage motor has a commutator to switch power to ro tor coils Switches power to stator coils, rotor position by sensing, either by d iscrete sensors, or feedback from coils, or open loop. Electro-mechanical commutator Electronic switches Drive AC DC (1) DC Rotor Iron The rotor is ferromagnetic, not permanently magnetized; it has no win ding RELUCTANCE (2): Hysteresis Synchronous reluctance Switched or variable reluctance / SRM Switched or variab le reluctance / SRM Stepper Coilgun/mass driver Magnet The rotor is a permanent magnet; it has no winding PMSM / BLAC (2) (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor / Brush-less Alternating Current) BLDC (Brush-less Direct Current) Copper (usually plus magnetic core) The rotor includes a winding INDUCTION (3) (Squirrel cage) PM (Permanent Magnet) WOUND STATOR: universal(1) / series wound shunt wound compound wound Commutator supplies power to the coils that are best positioned to generate torq ue Homopolar motor (ironless rotors typical) Frequency controlled induction motor f ed from Inverter Notes: 1.Universal motors can also work at line frequency AC (rotation is independent o f the frequency of the AC voltage) 2.Rotation is synchronous with the frequency of the AC voltage 3.Rotation is always slower than synchronous. [edit] DC motorsMain article: DC motor A DC motor is designed to run on DC electric power. Two examples of pure DC desi gns are Michael Faraday's homopolar motor (which is uncommon), and the ball bear ing motor, which is (so far) a novelty. By far the most common DC motor types ar e the brushed and brushless types, which use internal and external commutation r espectively to reverse the current in the windings in synchronism with rotation. [edit] Permanent-magnet motorsMain article: Permanent-magnet electric motor A permanent-magnet motor does not have a field winding on the stator frame, inst

ead relying on permanent magnets to provide the magnetic field against which the rotor field interacts to produce torque. Compensating windings in series with t he armature may be used on large motors to improve commutation under load. Becau se this field is fixed, it cannot be adjusted for speed control. Permanent-magne t fields (stators) are convenient in miniature motors to eliminate the power con sumption of the field winding. Most larger DC motors are of the "dynamo" type, w hich have stator windings. Historically, permanent magnets could not be made to retain high flux if they were disassembled; field windings were more practical t o obtain the needed amount of flux. However, large permanent magnets are costly, as well as dangerous and difficult to assemble; this favors wound fields for la rge machines. To minimize overall weight and size, miniature permanent-magnet motors may use h igh energy magnets made with neodymium or other strategic elements; most such ar e neodymium-iron-boron alloy. With their higher flux density, electric machines with high energy permanent magnets are at least competitive with all optimally d esigned singly fed synchronous and induction electric machines. Miniature motors resemble the structure in the illustration, except that they have at least thre e rotor poles (to ensure starting, regardless of rotor position) and their outer housing is a steel tube that magnetically links the exteriors of the curved fie ld magnets. [edit] Brushed DC motorsMain article: Brushed DC electric motor Workings of a brushed electric motor with a two-pole rotor and permanent-magnet stator. ("N" and "S" designate polarities on the inside faces of the magnets; th e outside faces have opposite polarities.)DC motors have AC in a wound rotor als o called an armature, with a split ring commutator, and either a wound or perman ent magnet stator. The commutator and brushes are a long-life rotary switch. The rotor consists of one or more coils of wire wound around a laminated "soft" fer romagnetic core on a shaft; an electrical power source feeds the rotor windings through the commutator and its brushes, temporarily magnetizing the rotor core i n a specific direction. The commutator switches power to the coils as the rotor turns, keeping the magnetic poles of the rotor from ever fully aligning with the magnetic poles of the stator field, so that the rotor never stops (like a compa ss needle does), but rather keeps rotating as long as power is applied. Many of the limitations of the classic commutator DC motor are due to the need f or brushes to press against the commutator. This creates friction. Sparks are cr eated by the brushes making and breaking circuits through the rotor coils as the brushes cross the insulating gaps between commutator sections. Depending on the commutator design, this may include the brushes shorting together adjacent sect ions and hence coil ends momentarily while crossing the gaps. Furthermore, the i nductance of the rotor coils causes the voltage across each to rise when its cir cuit is opened, increasing the sparking of the brushes. This sparking limits the maximum speed of the machine, as too-rapid sparking will overheat, erode, or ev en melt the commutator. The current density per unit area of the brushes, in com bination with their resistivity, limits the output of the motor. The making and breaking of electric contact also generates electrical noise; sparking generates RFI. Brushes eventually wear out and require replacement, and the commutator it self is subject to wear and maintenance (on larger motors) or replacement (on sm all motors). The commutator assembly on a large motor is a costly element, requi ring precision assembly of many parts. On small motors, the commutator is usuall y permanently integrated into the rotor, so replacing it usually requires replac ing the whole rotor. While most commutators are cylindrical, some are flat discs consisting of severa l segments (typically, at least three) mounted on an insulator. Large brushes are desired for a larger brush contact area to maximize motor outp

ut, but small brushes are desired for low mass to maximize the speed at which th e motor can run without the brushes excessively bouncing and sparking (comparabl e to the problem of "valve float" in internal combustion engines). (Small brushe s are also desirable for lower cost.) Stiffer brush springs can also be used to make brushes of a given mass work at a higher speed, but at the cost of greater friction losses (lower efficiency) and accelerated brush and commutator wear. Th erefore, DC motor brush design entails a trade-off between output power, speed, and efficiency/wear. Notes on terminology The first practical electric motors, used for street railways, were DC with comm utators. Power was fed to the commutators (made of copper) by copper brushes, bu t the voltage difference between adjacent commutator bars, excellent conductivit y of the copper brushes, and arcing created considerable damage after only a qui te short period of operation. An electrical engineer realized that replacing the copper brushes with electrically resistive solid carbon blocks would provide mu ch longer life. Although the term is no longer descriptive, the carbon blocks co ntinue to be called "brushes" even to this day. Sculptors who work with clay need support structures called armatures to keep la rger works from sagging due to gravity. Magnetic laminations, in a rotor with wi ndings, similarly support insulated-copper-wire coils. By analogy, wound rotors came to be called "armatures".[citation needed] Commutators, at least among some people who work with them daily, have become so familiar that some fail to realize that they are just a particular variety of r otary electrical switch. Considering how frequently connections make and break, they have very long lifetimes. A: shuntB: seriesC: compoundf = field coilThere are five types of brushed DC mot or: DC shunt-wound motor DC series-wound motor DC compound motor (two configurations): Cumulative compound Differentially compounded Permanent magnet DC motor (not shown) Separately excited (not shown) [edit] Brushless DC motorsMain article: Brushless DC electric motor Some of the problems of the brushed DC motor are eliminated in the brushless des ign. In this motor, the mechanical "rotating switch" or commutator/brushgear ass embly is replaced by an external electronic switch synchronised to the rotor's p osition. Brushless motors are typically 8590% efficient or more, efficiency for a brushless electric motor, of up to 96.5% was reported[19] whereas DC motors wit h brushgear are typically 7580% efficient. Midway between ordinary DC motors and stepper motors lies the realm of the brush less DC motor. Built in a fashion very similar to stepper motors, these often us e a permanent magnet external rotor, three phases of driving coils, may use Hall effect sensors to sense the position of the rotor, and associated drive electro nics. The coils are activated, one phase after the other, by the drive electroni cs as cued by the signals from either Hall effect sensors or from the back EMF ( electromotive force) of the undriven coils. In effect, they act as three-phase s ynchronous motors containing their own variable-frequency drive electronics. A s pecialized class of brushless DC motor controllers utilize EMF feedback through the main phase connections instead of Hall effect sensors to determine position and velocity. These motors are used extensively in electric radio-controlled veh icles. When configured with the magnets on the outside, these are referred to by modelers as outrunner motors. Brushless DC motors are commonly used where precise speed control is necessary,

as in computer disk drives or in video cassette recorders, the spindles within C D, CD-ROM (etc.) drives, and mechanisms within office products such as fans, las er printers and photocopiers. They have several advantages over conventional mot ors: Compared to AC fans using shaded-pole motors, they are very efficient, running m uch cooler than the equivalent AC motors. This cool operation leads to much-impr oved life of the fan's bearings. Without a commutator to wear out, the life of a DC brushless motor can be signif icantly longer compared to a DC motor using brushes and a commutator. Commutatio n also tends to cause a great deal of electrical and RF noise; without a commuta tor or brushes, a brushless motor may be used in electrically sensitive devices like audio equipment or computers. The same Hall effect sensors that provide the commutation can also provide a con venient tachometer signal for closed-loop control (servo-controlled) application s. In fans, the tachometer signal can be used to derive a "fan OK" signal as wel l as provide running speed feedback. The motor can be easily synchronized to an internal or external clock, leading t o precise speed control. Brushless motors have no chance of sparking, unlike brushed motors, making them better suited to environments with volatile chemicals and fuels. Also, sparking generates ozone which can accumulate in poorly ventilated buildings risking harm to occupants' health. Brushless motors are usually used in small equipment such as computers and are g enerally used in fans to get rid of unwanted heat. They are also acoustically very quiet motors which is an advantage if being used in equipment that is affected by vibrations. Modern DC brushless motors range in power from a fraction of a watt to many kilo watts. Larger brushless motors up to about 100 kW rating are used in electric ve hicles. They also find significant use in high-performance electric model aircra ft. [edit] Switched reluctance motors 6/4 Pole Switched reluctance motorMain article: Switched reluctance motor The switched reluctance motor (SRM) has no brushes or permanent magnets, and the rotor has no electric currents. Instead, torque comes from a slight mis-alignme nt of poles on the rotor with poles on the stator. The rotor aligns itself with the magnetic field of the stator, while the stator field stator windings are seq uentially energized to rotate the stator field. The magnetic flux created by the field windings follows the path of least magnet ic reluctance, meaning the flux will flow through poles of the rotor that are cl osest to the energized poles of the stator, thereby magnitizing those poles of t he rotor and creating torque. As the rotor turns, different windings will be ene rgized, keeping the rotor turning. Switched reluctance motors are now being used in some appliances.[20] [edit] Coreless or ironless DC motors A Miniature Coreless MotorNothing in the principle of any of the motors describe d above requires that the iron (steel) portions of the rotor actually rotate. If the soft magnetic material of the rotor is made in the form of a cylinder, then (except for the effect of hysteresis) torque is exerted only on the windings of the electromagnets. Taking advantage of this fact is the coreless or ironless D C motor, a specialized form of a brush or brushless DC motor. Optimized for rapi d acceleration, these motors have a rotor that is constructed without any iron c ore. The rotor can take the form of a winding-filled cylinder, or a self-support ing structure comprising only the magnet wire and the bonding material. The roto r can fit inside the stator magnets; a magnetically soft stationary cylinder ins ide the rotor provides a return path for the stator magnetic flux. A second arra

ngement has the rotor winding basket surrounding the stator magnets. In that des ign, the rotor fits inside a magnetically soft cylinder that can serve as the ho using for the motor, and likewise provides a return path for the flux. Because the rotor is much lighter in weight (mass) than a conventional rotor for med from copper windings on steel laminations, the rotor can accelerate much mor e rapidly, often achieving a mechanical time constant under 1 ms. This is especi ally true if the windings use aluminum rather than the heavier copper. But becau se there is no metal mass in the rotor to act as a heat sink, even small coreles s motors must often be cooled by forced air. Overheating might be an issue for c oreless DC motor designs. Among these types are the disc-rotor types, described in more detail in the next section. Vibrator motors for cellular phones are sometimes tiny cylindrical permanent-mag net field types, but there are also disc-shaped types which have a thin multipol ar disc field magnet, and an intentionally unbalanced molded-plastic rotor struc ture with two bonded coreless coils. Metal brushes and a flat commutator switch power to the rotor coils. Related limited-travel actuators have no core and a bonded coil placed between t he poles of high-flux thin permanent magnets. These are the fast head positioner s for rigid-disk ("hard disk") drives. Although the contemporary design differs considerably from that of loudspeakers, it is still loosely (and incorrectly) re ferred to as a "voice coil" structure, because some earlier rigid-disk-drive hea ds moved in straight lines, and had a drive structure much like that of a loudsp eaker. [edit] Printed armature or pancake DC motorsMain article: pancake (slot car) A rather unusual motor design, the printed armature or pancake motor has the win dings shaped as a disc running between arrays of high-flux magnets. The magnets are arranged in a circle facing the rotor with space in between to form an axial air gap. This design is commonly known as the pancake motor because of its extr emely flat profile, although the technology has had many brand names since its i nception, such as ServoDisc. The printed armature (originally formed on a printed circuit board) in a printed armature motor is made from punched copper sheets that are laminated together u sing advanced composites to form a thin rigid disc. The printed armature has a u nique construction in the brushed motor world in that it does not have a separat e ring commutator. The brushes run directly on the armature surface making the w hole design very compact. An alternative manufacturing method is to use wound copper wire laid flat with a central conventional commutator, in a flower and petal shape. The windings are typically stabilized by being impregnated with electrical epoxy potting systems. These are filled epoxies that have moderate mixed viscosity and a long gel time . They are highlighted by low shrinkage and low exotherm, and are typically UL 1 446 recognized as a potting compound for use up to 180C (Class H) (UL File No. E 210549). The unique advantage of ironless DC motors is that there is no cogging (torque v ariations caused by changing attraction between the iron and the magnets). Paras itic eddy currents cannot form in the rotor as it is totally ironless, although iron rotors are laminated. This can greatly improve efficiency, but variable-spe ed controllers must use a higher switching rate (>40 kHz) or direct current beca use of the decreased electromagnetic induction. These motors were originally invented to drive the capstan(s) of magnetic tape d

rives in the burgeoning computer industry, where minimal time to reach operating speed and minimal stopping distance were critical. Pancake motors are still wid ely used in high-performance servo-controlled systems, humanoid robotic systems, industrial automation and medical devices. Due to the variety of constructions now available, the technology is used in applications from high temperature mili tary to low cost pump and basic servos. [edit] Universal motors Modern low-cost universal motor, from a vacuum cleaner. Field windings are dark copper colored, toward the back, on both sides. The rotor's laminated core is gr ay metallic, with dark slots for winding the coils. The commutator (partly hidde n) has become dark from use; it's toward the front. The large brown molded-plast ic piece in the foreground supports the brush guides and brushes (both sides), a s well as the front motor bearing.A series-wound motor is referred to as a unive rsal motor when it has been designed to operate on either AC or DC power. It can operate well on AC because the current in both the field and the armature (and hence the resultant magnetic fields) will alternate (reverse polarity) in synchr onism, and hence the resulting mechanical force will occur in a constant directi on of rotation. Operating at normal power line frequencies, universal motors are often found in a range rarely larger than 1000 watt. Universal motors also form the basis of th e traditional railway traction motor in electric railways. In this application, the use of AC to power a motor originally designed to run on DC would lead to ef ficiency losses due to eddy current heating of their magnetic components, partic ularly the motor field pole-pieces that, for DC, would have used solid (un-lamin ated) iron. Although the heating effects are reduced by using laminated pole-pie ces, as used for the cores of transformers and by the use of laminations of high permeability electrical steel, one solution available at start of the 20th cent ury was for the motors to be operated from very low frequency AC supplies, with 25 and 16.7 Hz operation being common. Because they used universal motors, locom otives using this design were also commonly capable of operating from a third ra il or overhead wire powered by DC. As well, considering that steam engines direc tly powered many alternators, their relatively low speeds favored low frequencie s because comparatively few stator poles were needed. An advantage of the universal motor is that AC supplies may be used on motors wh ich have some characteristics more common in DC motors, specifically high starti ng torque and very compact design if high running speeds are used. The negative aspect is the maintenance and short life problems caused by the commutator. Such motors are used in devices such as food mixers and power tools which are used o nly intermittently, and often have high starting-torque demands. Continuous spee d control of a universal motor running on AC is easily obtained by use of a thyr istor circuit, while multiple taps on the field coil provide (imprecise) stepped speed control. Household blenders that advertise many speeds frequently combine a field coil with several taps and a diode that can be inserted in series with the motor (causing the motor to run on half-wave rectified AC). In the past, repulsion-start wound-rotor motors provided high starting torque, b ut with added complexity. Their rotors were similar to those of universal motors , but their brushes were connected only to each other. Transformer action induce d current into the rotor. Brush position relative to field poles meant that star ting torque was developed by rotor repulsion from the field poles. A centrifugal mechanism, when close to running speed, connected all commutator bars together to create the equivalent of a squirrel-cage rotor. As well, when close to operat ing speed, better motors lifted the brushes out of contact. Induction motors cannot turn a shaft faster than allowed by the power line frequ ency. By contrast, universal motors generally run at high speeds, making them us eful for appliances such as blenders, vacuum cleaners, and hair dryers where hig

h speed and light weight is desirable. They are also commonly used in portable p ower tools, such as drills, sanders, circular and jig saws, where the motor's ch aracteristics work well. Many vacuum cleaner and weed trimmer motors exceed 10,0 00 RPM, while many Dremel and similar miniature grinders exceed 30,000 RPM. Universal motors also lend themselves to electronic speed control and, as such, are an ideal choice for domestic washing machines. The motor can be used to agit ate the drum (both forwards and in reverse) by switching the field winding with respect to the armature. The motor can also be run up to the high speeds require d for the spin cycle. Motor damage may occur from overspeeding (running at a rotational speed in exces s of design limits) if the unit is operated with no significant load. On larger motors, sudden loss of load is to be avoided, and the possibility of such an occ urrence is incorporated into the motor's protection and control schemes. In some smaller applications, a fan blade attached to the shaft often acts as an artifi cial load to limit the motor speed to a safe level, as well as a means to circul ate cooling airflow over the armature and field windings. [edit] AC motorsMain article: AC motor In 1882, Nikola Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field, and pioneered the use of a rotary field of force to operate machines. He exploited the principle t o design a unique two-phase induction motor in 1883. In 1885, Galileo Ferraris i ndependently researched the concept. In 1888, Ferraris published his research in a paper to the Royal Academy of Sciences in Turin. Tesla had suggested that the commutators from a machine could be removed and the device could operate on a rotary field of force. Professor Poeschel, his teache r, stated that would be akin to building a perpetual motion machine.[21] Tesla w ould later attain U.S. Patent 0,416,194, Electric Motor (December 1889), which r esembles the motor seen in many of Tesla's photos. This classic alternating curr ent electro-magnetic motor was an induction motor. Michail Osipovich Dolivo-Dobrovolsky later developed a three-phase "cage-rotor" in 1890. This type of motor is now used for the vast majority of commercial appl ications. An AC motor has two parts: a stationary stator having coils supplied with altern ating current to produce a rotating magnetic field, and a rotor attached to the output shaft that is given a torque by the rotating field. [edit] AC motor with sliding rotorA conical-rotor brake motor incorporates the b rake as an integral part of the conical sliding rotor. When the motor is at rest , a spring acts on the sliding rotor and forces the brake ring against the brake cap in the motor, holding the rotor stationary. When the motor is energized, it s magnetic field generates both an axial and a radial component. The axial compo nent overcomes the spring force, releasing the brake; while the radial component causes the rotor to turn. There is no additional brake control required. [edit] Synchronous electric motorMain article: Synchronous motor A synchronous electric motor is an AC motor distinguished by a rotor spinning wi th coils passing magnets at the same rate as the alternating current and resulti ng magnetic field which drives it. Another way of saying this is that it has zer o slip under usual operating conditions. Contrast this with an induction motor, which must slip to produce torque. One type of synchronous motor is like an indu ction motor except the rotor is excited by a DC field. Slip rings and brushes ar e used to conduct current to the rotor. The rotor poles connect to each other an d move at the same speed hence the name synchronous motor. Another type, for low load torque, has flats ground onto a conventional squirrel-cage rotor to create discrete poles. Yet another, such as made by Hammond for its pre-World War II c

locks, and in the older Hammond organs, has no rotor windings and discrete poles . It is not self-starting. The clock requires manual starting by a small knob on the back, while the older Hammond organs had an auxiliary starting motor connec ted by a spring-loaded manually operated switch. Finally, hysteresis synchronous motors typically are (essentially) two-phase mot ors with a phase-shifting capacitor for one phase. They start like induction mot ors, but when slip rate decreases sufficiently, the rotor (a smooth cylinder) be comes temporarily magnetized. Its distributed poles make it act like a permanent -magnet-rotor synchronous motor. The rotor material, like that of a common nail, will stay magnetized, but can also be demagnetized with little difficulty. Once running, the rotor poles stay in place; they do not drift. Low-power synchronous timing motors (such as those for traditional electric cloc ks) may have multi-pole permanent-magnet external cup rotors, and use shading co ils to provide starting torque. Telechron clock motors have shaded poles for sta rting torque, and a two-spoke ring rotor that performs like a discrete two-pole rotor. [edit] Induction motorMain article: Induction motor An induction motor is an asynchronous AC motor where power is transferred to the rotor by electromagnetic induction, much like transformer action. An induction motor resembles a rotating transformer, because the stator (stationary part) is essentially the primary side of the transformer and the rotor (rotating part) is the secondary side. Polyphase induction motors are widely used in industry. Induction motors may be further divided into squirrel-cage motors and wound-roto r motors. Squirrel-cage motors have a heavy winding made up of solid bars, usual ly aluminum or copper, joined by rings at the ends of the rotor. When one consid ers only the bars and rings as a whole, they are much like an animal's rotating exercise cage, hence the name. Currents induced into this winding provide the rotor magnetic field. The shape o f the rotor bars determines the speed-torque characteristics. At low speeds, the current induced in the squirrel cage is nearly at line frequency and tends to b e in the outer parts of the rotor cage. As the motor accelerates, the slip frequ ency becomes lower, and more current is in the interior of the winding. By shapi ng the bars to change the resistance of the winding portions in the interior and outer parts of the cage, effectively a variable resistance is inserted in the r otor circuit. However, the majority of such motors have uniform bars. In a wound-rotor motor, the rotor winding is made of many turns of insulated wir e and is connected to slip rings on the motor shaft. An external resistor or oth er control devices can be connected in the rotor circuit. Resistors allow contro l of the motor speed, although significant power is dissipated in the external r esistance. A converter can be fed from the rotor circuit and return the slip-fre quency power that would otherwise be wasted back into the power system through a n inverter or separate motor-generator. The wound-rotor induction motor is used primarily to start a high inertia load o r a load that requires a very high starting torque across the full speed range. By correctly selecting the resistors used in the secondary resistance or slip ri ng starter, the motor is able to produce maximum torque at a relatively low supp ly current from zero speed to full speed. This type of motor also offers control lable speed. Motor speed can be changed because the torque curve of the motor is effectively modified by the amount of resistance connected to the rotor circuit. Increasing the value of resistance will move the speed of maximum torque down. If the resis tance connected to the rotor is increased beyond the point where the maximum tor

que occurs at zero speed, the torque will be further reduced. When used with a load that has a torque curve that increases with speed, the mot or will operate at the speed where the torque developed by the motor is equal to the load torque. Reducing the load will cause the motor to speed up, and increa sing the load will cause the motor to slow down until the load and motor torque are equal. Operated in this manner, the slip losses are dissipated in the second ary resistors and can be very significant. The speed regulation and net efficien cy is also very poor. [edit] Doubly fed electric motorMain article: Doubly fed electric machine Doubly fed electric motors have two independent multiphase winding sets, which c ontribute active (i.e., working) power to the energy conversion process, with at least one of the winding sets electronically controlled for variable speed oper ation. Two independent multiphase winding sets (i.e., dual armature) are the max imum provided in a single package without topology duplication. Doubly fed elect ric motors are machines with an effective constant torque speed range that is tw ice synchronous speed for a given frequency of excitation. This is twice the con stant torque speed range as singly fed electric machines, which have only one ac tive winding set. A doubly fed motor allows for a smaller electronic converter but the cost of the rotor winding and slip rings may offset the saving in the power electronics com ponents. Difficulties with controlling speed near synchronous speed limit applic ations.[22] [edit] Singly fed electric motorMain article: Singly fed electric machine Most AC motors are singly fed. Singly fed electric motors have a single multipha se winding set that is connected to a power supply. Singly fed electric machines may be either induction or synchronous. The active winding set can be electroni cally controlled. Singly fed electric machines have an effective constant torque speed range up to synchronous speed for a given excitation frequency. [edit] Torque motorsA torque motor (also known as a limited torque motor) is a s pecialized form of induction motor which is capable of operating indefinitely wh ile stalled, that is, with the rotor blocked from turning, without incurring dam age. In this mode of operation, the motor will apply a steady torque to the load (hence the name). A common application of a torque motor would be the supply- and take-up reel mot ors in a tape drive. In this application, driven from a low voltage, the charact eristics of these motors allow a relatively constant light tension to be applied to the tape whether or not the capstan is feeding tape past the tape heads. Dri ven from a higher voltage, (and so delivering a higher torque), the torque motor s can also achieve fast-forward and rewind operation without requiring any addit ional mechanics such as gears or clutches. In the computer gaming world, torque motors are used in force feedback steering wheels. Another common application is the control of the throttle of an internal combust ion engine in conjunction with an electronic governor. In this usage, the motor works against a return spring to move the throttle in accordance with the output of the governor. The latter monitors engine speed by counting electrical pulses from the ignition system or from a magnetic pickup[23] and, depending on the sp eed, makes small adjustments to the amount of current applied to the motor. If t he engine starts to slow down relative to the desired speed, the current will be increased, the motor will develop more torque, pulling against the return sprin g and opening the throttle. Should the engine run too fast, the governor will re duce the current being applied to the motor, causing the return spring to pull b ack and close the throttle.

[edit] Stepper motorsMain article: Stepper motor Closely related in design to three-phase AC synchronous motors are stepper motor s, where an internal rotor containing permanent magnets or a magnetically soft r otor with salient poles is controlled by a set of external magnets that are swit ched electronically. A stepper motor may also be thought of as a cross between a DC electric motor and a rotary solenoid. As each coil is energized in turn, the rotor aligns itself with the magnetic field produced by the energized field win ding. Unlike a synchronous motor, in its application, the stepper motor may not rotate continuously; instead, it "steps"starts and then quickly stops againfrom on e position to the next as field windings are energized and de-energized in seque nce. Depending on the sequence, the rotor may turn forwards or backwards, and it may change direction, stop, speed up or slow down arbitrarily at any time. Simple stepper motor drivers entirely energize or entirely de-energize the field windings, leading the rotor to "cog" to a limited number of positions; more sop histicated drivers can proportionally control the power to the field windings, a llowing the rotors to position between the cog points and thereby rotate extreme ly smoothly. This mode of operation is often called microstepping. Computer cont rolled stepper motors are one of the most versatile forms of positioning systems , particularly when part of a digital servo-controlled system. Stepper motors can be rotated to a specific angle in discrete steps with ease, a nd hence stepper motors are used for read/write head positioning in computer flo ppy diskette drives. They were used for the same purpose in pre-gigabyte era com puter disk drives, where the precision and speed they offered was adequate for t he correct positioning of the read/write head of a hard disk drive. As drive den sity increased, the precision and speed limitations of stepper motors made them obsolete for hard drivesthe precision limitation made them unusable, and the spee d limitation made them uncompetitivethus newer hard disk drives use voice coil-ba sed head actuator systems. (The term "voice coil" in this connection is historic ; it refers to the structure in a typical (cone type) loudspeaker. This structur e was used for a while to position the heads. Modern drives have a pivoted coil mount; the coil swings back and forth, something like a blade of a rotating fan. Nevertheless, like a voice coil, modern actuator coil conductors (the magnet wi re) move perpendicular to the magnetic lines of force.) Stepper motors were and still are often used in computer printers, optical scann ers, and digital photocopiers to move the optical scanning element, the print he ad carriage (of dot matrix and inkjet printers), and the platen or feed rollers. Likewise, many computer plotters (which since the early 1990s have been replace d with large-format inkjet and laser printers) used rotary stepper motors for pe n and platen movement; the typical alternatives here were either linear stepper motors or servomotors with closed-loop analog control systems. So-called quartz analog wristwatches contain the smallest commonplace stepping m otors; they have one coil, draw very little power, and have a permanent-magnet r otor. The same kind of motor drives battery-powered quartz clocks. Some of these watches, such as chronographs, contain more than one stepping motor. Stepper motors were upscaled to be used in electric vehicles under the term SRM (Switched Reluctance Motor). [edit] ComparisonComparison of motor types[24] Type Advantages Disadvantages Typ ical Application Typical Drive AC polyphase induction squirrel-cage Low cost, long life, high efficiency, large ratings available (to 1 MW or more), large number of standardized types Starting inrush current can be high, speed control requires variable frequency source Pumps, fans, blowers, conveyors , compressors Poly-phase AC, variable frequency AC

Shaded-pole motor Low cost Long life Speed slightly below synchronous Low starting torque Small ratings low efficiency Fans, appliances, record players Single phase AC AC induction Squirrel cage, split-phase capacitor-start High power high starting torque Speed slightly below synchronous Starting switch or relay required Appliances Stationary Power Tools Single phase AC AC induction Squirrel cage, split-phase capacitor-run Moderate power High starting torque No starting switch Comparatively long life Speed slightly below synchronous Slightly more costly Industrial blowers Industrial machinery Single phase AC AC induction Squirrel cage motor, split-phase, auxiliary start winding Moderate power Low starting torque Speed slightly below synchronous Starting switch or relay required Appliances Stationary Power Tools Single phase AC Universal motor High starting torque, compact, high speed. Maintenance (brushes) Shorter lifespan Usually acoustically noisy Only small ratings are economic Handheld power tools, blenders, vacuum cleaners, insulation blowers Single phase AC or DC AC Synchronous Synchronous speed More costly Industrial motors Clocks Audio turntables Tape drives Single or Polyphase AC (Capacitor-run for single-phase) Stepper DC Precision positioning High holding torque Some can be costly Require a controller Positioning in printers and floppy disc drives; industrial machine tools DC Brushless DC Long lifespan Low maintenance High efficiency Higher initial cost Requires a controller Rigid ("hard") disk drives CD/DVD players Electric vehicles RC Vehicles UAVs DC or PWM Switched reluctance motor Long lifespan Low maintenance High efficiency No permanent magnets Low cost Simple construction Requires a controller Appliances Electric Vehicles Textile mills Aircraft applications DC or PWM Brushed DC Simple speed control Maintenance (brushes) Medium lifespan Costly commutator and brushes Steel mills Paper making machines Treadmill exercisers Automotive accessories Direct DC or PWM Pancake DC Compact design Simple speed control Medium cost

Medium lifespan Office Equip Fans/Pumps, fast industrial and military servos Direct DC or PWM [edit] Goodness factorMain article: Goodness factor Professor Eric Laithwaite proposed a metric to determine the 'goodness' of an el ectric motor:[25] Where: G is the goodness factor (factors above 1 are likely to be efficient) Am,Ae are the cross sections of the magnetic and electric circuit lm,le are the lengths of the magnetic and electric circuits is the permeability of the core is the angular frequency the motor is driven at From this he showed that the most efficient motors are likely to have relatively large magnetic poles. However, the equation only directly relates to non perman ent magnet motors. [edit] ElectrostaticMain article: Electrostatic motor [edit] Full sizeAn electrostatic motor is based on the attraction and repulsion of electric charge. Usually, electrostatic motors are the dual of conventional c oil-based motors. They typically require a high voltage power supply, although v ery small motors employ lower voltages. Conventional electric motors instead emp loy magnetic attraction and repulsion, and require high current at low voltages. In the 1750s, the first electrostatic motors were developed by Benjamin Frankli n and Andrew Gordon. Today the electrostatic motor finds frequent use in micro-m echanical (MEMS) systems where their drive voltages are below 100 volts, and whe re moving, charged plates are far easier to fabricate than coils and iron cores. Also, the molecular machinery which runs living cells is often based on linear and rotary electrostatic motors. [edit] Nanotube nanomotorMain article: Nanotube nanomotor Researchers at University of California, Berkeley, recently developed rotational bearings based upon multiwall carbon nanotubes. By attaching a gold plate (with dimensions of the order of 100 nm) to the outer shell of a suspended multiwall carbon nanotube (like nested carbon cylinders), they are able to electrostatical ly rotate the outer shell relative to the inner core. These bearings are very ro bust; devices have been oscillated thousands of times with no indication of wear . These nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) are the next step in miniaturizatio n and may find their way into commercial applications in the future. See also: Molecular motors Nanomotor Electrostatic motor [edit] PiezoelectricMain article: Piezoelectric motor A piezoelectric motor or piezo motor is a type of electric motor based upon the change in shape of a piezoelectric material when an electric field is applied. P iezoelectric motors make use of the converse piezoelectric effect whereby the ma terial produces acoustic or ultrasonic vibrations in order to produce a linear o r rotary motion. In one mechanism, the elongation in a single plane is used to m ake a series stretches and position holds, similar to the way a caterpillar move s. [edit] Use and stylesStandardized electric motors are often used in many modern machines but specific types of electric motors are designed for particular appli cations. [edit] RotaryUses include rotating machines such as fans, turbines, drills, the

wheels on electric cars, locomotives and conveyor belts. Also, in many vibrating or oscillating machines, an electric motor spins an unbalanced mass, causing th e motor (and its mounting structure) to vibrate. A familiar application is cell phone vibrating alerts used when the acoustic "ringer" is disabled by the user. Electric motors are also popular in robotics. They turn the wheels of vehicular robots, and servo motors operate arms in industrial robots; they also move arms and legs in humanoid robots. In flying robots, along with helicopters, a motor r otates a propeller, or aerodynamic rotor blades to create controllable amounts o f lift. Electric motors are replacing hydraulic cylinders in airplanes and military equi pment.[26][27] In industrial and manufacturing businesses, electric motors rotate saws and blad es in cutting and slicing processes; they rotate parts being turned in lathes an d other machine tools, and spin grinding wheels. Fast, precise servo motors posi tion tools and work in modern CNC machine tools. Motor-driven mixers are very co mmon in food manufacturing. Linear motors are often used to push products into c ontainers horizontally. Many kitchen appliances also use electric motors. Food processors and grinders s pin blades to chop and break up foods. Blenders use electric motors to mix liqui ds, and microwave ovens use motors to turn the tray food that sits on. Toaster o vens also use electric motors to turn a conveyor to move food over heating eleme nts. [edit] Servo motorMain article: Servo motor A servomotor is a motor, very often sold as a complete module, which is used wit hin a position-control or speed-control feedback control system. Servomotors are used in applications such as machine tools, pen plotters, and other control sys tems. Motors intended for use in a servomechanism must have well-documented char acteristics for speed, torque, and power. The speed vs. torque curve is quite im portant. Dynamic response characteristics such as winding inductance and rotor i nertia are also important; these factors limit the overall performance of the se rvomechanism loop. Large, powerful, but slow-responding servo loops may use conv entional AC or DC motors and drive systems with position or speed feedback on th e motor. As dynamic response requirements increase, more specialized motor desig ns such as coreless motors are used. A servo system differs from some stepper motor applications in that the position feedback is continuous while the motor is running; a stepper system relies on t he motor not to "miss steps" for short term accuracy, although a stepper system may include a "home" switch or other element to provide long-term stability of c ontrol.[28] For instance, when an ink-jet computer printer starts up, its contro ller makes the print head stepper motor drive to its left-hand limit, where a po sition sensor defines home position and stops stepping. As long as power is on, a bidirectional counter in the printer's microprocessor keeps track of print-hea d position. [edit] Linear motorMain article: Linear motor A linear motor is essentially any electric motor that has been "unrolled" so tha t, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a straight-line force a long its length. Linear motors are most commonly induction motors or stepper motors. Linear motor s are commonly found in many roller-coasters where the rapid motion of the motor less railcar is controlled by the rail. They are also used in maglev trains, whe re the train "flies" over the ground. On a smaller scale, at least one letter-si ze (8.5" x 11") computer graphics X-Y pen plotter made by Hewlett-Packard (in th

e late 1970s to mid-1980s) used two linear stepper motors to move the pen along the two orthogonal axes. [edit] Spacecraft propulsive motorsMain article: electrically powered spacecraft propulsion An electrically powered spacecraft propulsion system is any of a number of forms of electric motors which spacecraft can employ to gain mechanical energy in out er space. Most of these kinds of spacecraft propulsion work by electrically powe ring propellant to high speed, but electrodynamic tethers work by interacting wi th a planet's magnetosphere.[29] [edit] GeneratorMain article: electrical generator Many electric motors are used as generators, either part (such as regenerative b raking) or all of their operational life. When mechanically driven magnetic elec tric motors produce power due to their back EMF. [edit] Performance[edit] Specifying an electric motorWhen specifying what type o f electric motor is needed, the mechanical power available at the shaft is used. This means that users can predict the torque and speed of the motor without hav ing to know the mechanical losses associated with the motor. Example: 10 kW indu ction motor. [edit] Energy conversion by an electric motorUsing mathematical models in terms of a magnetic dipole, Ribari and uteri[30] consider how in the case of the synchronou s motor and induction motor an external source is supplying electrical energy to the stator so as to maintain its revolving magnetic field; this energy is then transmitted by the revolving magnetic field to the magnetic dipole of the rotor; there it is converted into mechanical energy, and transmitted mechanically by t he rotating shaft to an external user. On the other hand, in the case of a commu tator motor, the external source delivers electrical energy directly to the roto r magnetic dipole for conversion into mechanical energy. [edit] PowerThe power output of a rotary electric motor is: Where P is in horsepower, rpm is the shaft speed in revolutions per minute and T is the torque in foot pounds. And for a linear motor: Where P is the power in watts, and F is in Newtons and v is the speed in metres per second. [edit] EfficiencyTo calculate a motor's efficiency, the mechanical output power is divided by the electrical input power: , where is energy conversion efficienc y, Pe is electrical input power, and Pm is mechanical output power. In simplest case Pe = VI, and Pm = T, where V is input voltage, I is input curren t, T is output torque, and is output angular velocity. It is possible to derive analytically the point of maximum efficiency. It is typically at less than 1/2 t he stall torque. [edit] Torque capability of motor typesWhen optimally designed within a given co re saturation constraint and for a given active current (i.e., torque current), voltage, pole-pair number, excitation frequency (i.e., synchronous speed), and a ir-gap flux density, all categories of electric motors or generators will exhibi t virtually the same maximum continuous shaft torque (i.e., operating torque) wi thin a given air-gap area with winding slots and back-iron depth, which determin es the physical size of electromagnetic core. Some applications require bursts o

f torque beyond the maximum operating torque, such as short bursts of torque to accelerate an electric vehicle from standstill. Always limited by magnetic core saturation or safe operating temperature rise and voltage, the capacity for torq ue bursts beyond the maximum operating torque differs significantly between cate gories of electric motors or generators. Capacity for bursts of torque should not be confused with field weakening capabi lity inherent in fully electromagnetic electric machines (Permanent Magnet (PM) electric machine are excluded). Field weakening, which is not available with PM electric machines, allows an electric machine to operate beyond the designed fre quency of excitation. Electric machines without a transformer circuit topology, such as Field-Wound (i .e., electromagnet) or Permanent Magnet (PM) Synchronous electric machines canno t realize bursts of torque higher than the maximum designed torque without satur ating the magnetic core and rendering any increase in current as useless. Furthe rmore, the permanent magnet assembly of PM synchronous electric machines can be irreparably damaged, if bursts of torque exceeding the maximum operating torque rating are attempted. Electric machines with a transformer circuit topology, such as Induction (i.e., asynchronous) electric machines, Induction Doubly Fed electric machines, and Ind uction or Synchronous Wound-Rotor Doubly Fed (WRDF) electric machines, exhibit v ery high bursts of torque because the active current (i.e., Magneto-Motive-Force or the product of current and winding-turns) induced on either side of the tran sformer oppose each other and as a result, the active current contributes nothin g to the transformer coupled magnetic core flux density, which would otherwise l ead to core saturation. Electric machines that rely on Induction or Asynchronous principles short-circui t one port of the transformer circuit and as a result, the reactive impedance of the transformer circuit becomes dominant as slip increases, which limits the ma gnitude of active (i.e., real) current. Still, bursts of torque that are two to three times higher than the maximum design torque are realizable. The Synchronous WRDF electric machine is the only electric machine with a truly dual ported transformer circuit topology (i.e., both ports independently excited with no short-circuited port). The dual ported transformer circuit topology is known to be unstable and requires a multiphase slip-ring-brush assembly to propa gate limited power to the rotor winding set. If a precision means were available to instantaneously control torque angle and slip for synchronous operation duri ng motoring or generating while simultaneously providing brushless power to the rotor winding set (see Brushless wound-rotor doubly fed electric machine), the a ctive current of the Synchronous WRDF electric machine would be independent of t he reactive impedance of the transformer circuit and bursts of torque significan tly higher than the maximum operating torque and far beyond the practical capabi lity of any other type of electric machine would be realizable. Torque bursts gr eater than eight times operating torque have been calculated. [edit] Continuous torque densityThe continuous torque density of conventional el ectric machines is determined by the size of the air-gap area and the back-iron depth, which are determined by the power rating of the armature winding set, the speed of the machine, and the achievable air-gap flux density before core satur ation. Despite the high coercivity of neodymium or samarium-cobalt permanent mag nets, continuous torque density is virtually the same amongst electric machines with optimally designed armature winding sets. Continuous torque density should never be confused with peak torque density, which comes with the manufacturer's chosen method of cooling, which is available to all, or period of operation befo re destruction by overheating of windings or even permanent magnet damage.

[edit] Continuous power densityThe continuous power density is determined by the product of the continuous torque density and the constant torque speed range of the electric machine. LINEAR MOTOR : A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled" so that instead of producing a torque (rotation) it produces a linear force alo ng its length. The most common mode of operation is as a Lorentz-type actuator, in which the applied force is linearly proportional to the current and the magne tic field . Many designs have been put forward for linear motors, falling into two major cat egories, low-acceleration and high-acceleration linear motors. Low-acceleration linear motors are suitable for maglev trains and other ground-based transportati on applications. High-acceleration linear motors are normally rather short, and are designed to accelerate an object to a very high speed, for example see the r ailgun. They are usually used for studies of hypervelocity collisions, as weapons, or as mass drivers for spacecraft propulsion. The high-acceleration motors are usuall y of the AC linear induction motor (LIM) design with an active three-phase windi ng on one side of the air-gap and a passive conductor plate on the other side. H owever, the direct current homopolar linear motor railgun is another high accele ration linear motor design. The low-acceleration, high speed and high power moto rs are usually of the linear synchronous motor (LSM) design, with an active wind ing on one side of the air-gap and an array of alternate-pole magnets on the oth er side. These magnets can be permanent magnets or energized magnets. The Transr apid Shanghai motor is an LSM. Contents [hide] 1 Types 1.1 Induction motor 1.2 Synchronous motor 1.3 Homopolar 1.4 Piezo electric 2 History 2.1 Low acceleration 2.2 High acceleration 3 Usage 3.1 Train propulsion 3.1.1 Conventional rails 3.1.2 Monorail 3.1.3 Magnetic levitation 4 See also 5 References 6 External links [edit] Types A prototype of linear motor with visible separate coils[edit] Induction motorMai n article: linear induction motor In this design, the force is produced by a moving linear magnetic field acting o n conductors in the field. Any conductor, be it a loop, a coil or simply a piece of plate metal, that is placed in this field will have eddy currents induced in it thus creating an opposing magnetic field, in accordance with Lenz's law. The two opposing fields will repel each other, thus creating motion as the magnetic field sweeps through the metal. [edit] Synchronous motorIn this design the rate of movement of the magnetic fiel

d is controlled, usually electronically, to track the motion of the rotor. For c ost reasons synchronous linear motors rarely use commutators, so the rotor often contains permanent magnets, or soft iron. A linear motor for trains running Toei Oedo line[edit] HomopolarMain article: Ra ilgun In this design a large current is passed through a metal sabot across sliding co ntacts that are fed from two rails. The magnetic field this generates causes the metal to be projected along the rails. [edit] Piezo electricMain article: Piezoelectric_motor#Stepping_actions Piezoelectric drive is often used to drive small linear motors. [edit] History ART trains propel themselves using an aluminium induction strip placed between t he rails.[edit] Low accelerationThe history of linear electric motors can be tra ced back at least as far as the 1840s, to the work of Charles Wheatstone at King 's College in London,[1] but Wheatstone's model was too inefficient to be practi cal. A feasible linear induction motor is described in the US patent 782312 ( 19 05 - inventor Alfred Zehden of Frankfurt-am-Main ), for driving trains or lifts. The German engineer Hermann Kemper built a working model in 1935.[2] In the lat e 1940s, professor Eric Laithwaite of Imperial College in London developed the f irst full-size working model. In a single sided version the magnetic repulsion f orces the conductor away from the stator, levitating it, and carrying it along i n the direction of the moving magnetic field. He called the later versions of it magnetic river. Because of these properties, linear motors are often used in maglev propulsion, as in the Japanese Linimo magnetic levitation train line near Nagoya. However, l inear motors have been used independently of magnetic levitation, as in Bombardi er's Advanced Rapid Transit systems worldwide and a number of modern Japanese su bways, including Tokyo's Toei Oedo Line. Similar technology is also used in some roller coasters with modifications but, at present, is still impractical on street running trams, although this, in theo ry, could be done by burying it in a slotted conduit. Outside of public transportation, vertical linear motors have been proposed as l ifting mechanisms in deep mines, and the use of linear motors is growing in moti on control applications. They are also often used on sliding doors, such as thos e of low floor trams such as the Citadis and the Eurotram. Dual axis linear moto rs also exist. These specialized devices have been used to provide direct X-Y mo tion for precision laser cutting of cloth and sheet metal, automated drafting, a nd cable forming. Mostly used linear motors are LIM (linear induction motor), LS M (linear synchronous motor). Linear DC motors are not used as it includes more cost and linear SRM suffers from poor thrust. So for long run in traction LIM is mostly preferred and for short run LSM is mostly preferred. Close-up of the flat passive conductor surface of a motion control linear motor[ edit] High accelerationHigh-acceleration linear motors have been suggested for a number of uses. They have been considered for use as weapons, since current arm our-piercing ammunition tends to consist of small rounds with very high kinetic energy, for which just such motors are suitable. Many amusement park roller coas ters now use linear induction motors to propel the train at a high speed, as an alternative to using a lift hill. The United States Navy is also using linear in duction motors in the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System that will replace t raditional steam catapults on future aircraft carriers. They have also been sugg ested for use in spacecraft propulsion. In this context they are usually called

mass drivers. The simplest way to use mass drivers for spacecraft propulsion wou ld be to build a large mass driver that can accelerate cargo up to escape veloci ty, though RLV launch assist like StarTram to low earth orbit has also been inve stigated. High-acceleration linear motors are difficult to design for a number of reasons. They require large amounts of energy in very short periods of time. One rocket launcher design [3] calls for 300 GJ for each launch in the space of less than a second. Normal electrical generators are not designed for this kind of load, bu t short-term electrical energy storage methods can be used. Capacitors are bulky and expensive but can supply large amounts of energy quickly. Homopolar generat ors can be used to convert the kinetic energy of a flywheel into electric energy very rapidly. High-acceleration linear motors also require very strong magnetic fields; in fact, the magnetic fields are often too strong to permit the use of superconductors. However, with careful design, this need not be a major problem. Two different basic designs have been invented for high-acceleration linear moto rs: railguns and coilguns. Example : Maglev [edit] UsageLinear motors have been used for sliding doors and various similar a ctuators. Linear motors are sometimes used to create rotary motion, for example, they have been used at observatories to deal with the large radius of curvature. A linear motor has been used for accelerating cars for crash tests.[4] Guangzhou Metro L5 vehicle made by CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock and K awasaki Heavy Industries[edit] Train propulsion[edit] Conventional railsAll appl ications are in rapid transit. Guangzhou Metro L4 vehicle made by CSR Sifang Locomotive and Rolling Stock & Kaw asaki Heavy IndustriesBombardier ART: Airport Express in Beijing (opened 2008) AirTrain JFK in New York (opened 2003) Detroit People Mover in Detroit (opened 1987) EverLine Rapid Transit System in Yongin (under construction) Kelana Jaya Line in Kuala Lumpur (opened 1998) Scarborough RT in Toronto (using UTDC's (predecessor) ICTS technology - opened 1 985) SkyTrain in Vancouver (Expo Line (using ITCS) opened 1985 and Millennium Line op ened in 2002) Beijing Subway Capital Airport Track (opened 2008) Several subways in Japan and China, built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries: Limtrain in Saitama (short-lived demonstration track, 1988) Nagahori Tsurumi-ryokuchi Line in Osaka (opened 1990) Toei edo Line in Tokyo (opened 2000) Kaigan Line in Kobe (opened 2001) Nanakuma Line in Fukuoka (opened 2005) Imazatosuji Line in Osaka (opened 2006) Green Line in Yokohama (opened 2008) Tzai Line in Sendai (under construction) Line 4 of Guangzhou Metro in Guangzhou, China (opened 2005).[5] Line 5 of Guangzhou Metro in Guangzhou, China (open in December 2009). Line 6 of Guangzhou Metro in Guangzhou, China (under construction). Both the Kawasaki trains and Bombardier's ART have the active part of the motor

in the cars and use overhead wires (Japanese Subways[6][7]) or a third rail (ART [8]) to transfer power to the train. [edit] Monorail This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced ma terial may be challenged and removed. (July 2009) There is at least one known monorail system which is not magnetically levitated, but nonetheless uses linear motors. This is the Moscow Monorail. Originally, tr aditional motors and wheels were to be used. However, it was discovered during t est runs that the proposed motors and wheels would fail to provide adequate trac tion under some conditions, for example, when ice appeared on the rail. Hence, w heels are still used, but the trains use linear motors to accelerate and slow do wn. This is possibly the only use of such a combination, due to the lack of such requirements for other train systems. The TELMAGV is a prototype of a monorail system that is also not magnetically le vitated but uses linear motors. VIBRATON-POWERED GENERATOR : A vibration powered generator is a type of transducer that converts kinetic ener gy derived from ambient vibration to electrical energy. Magnets wobbling on a cantilever are sensitive to even small vibrations and gene rate microcurrents by moving relative to conductors due to Faraday's law of indu ction. By developing a miniature device of this kind in 2007, a team from the Un iversity of Southampton made possible the planting of such a device in environme nts that preclude having any electrical connection to the outside world. Sensors in inaccessible places can now generate their own power and transmit data to ou tside receivers.[1] Implants in heart muscles can use the heart's movement to generate sufficient vo ltage to act as a pacemaker, doing away with the necessity for regular battery r eplacements.[1] Sensors placed in remote parts of a space shuttle or airliner ca n transmit data to a central receiver, such as a black box, even in the event of a total power failure. The pressure and temperature of wheels on a trailer coul d be monitored by placing sensors on the inside of the tyre. Factories producing any type of merchandise will benefit from being able to place maintenance-free sensors at all critical points. Piezoelectric materials can also be used to harvest low levels of mechanical ene rgy into electrical energy suitable for powering wireless sensors, low power mic roprocessors or charging batteries.[2] POTENTIOMETER : A potentiometer ( /p tnimtr/), informally, a pot, is a three-terminal resistor with a ding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider.[1] If only two terminals are used (one side and the wiper), it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat. P otentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume con trols on audio equipment. Potentiometers operated by a mechanism can be used as position transducers, for example, in a joystick. Potentiometers are rarely used to directly control significant power (more than a watt), since the power dissipated in the potentiometer would be comparable to the power in the controlled load (see infinite switch). Instead they are used to adjust the level of analog signals (e.g. volume controls on audio equipment), a nd as control inputs for electronic circuits. For example, a light dimmer uses a potentiometer to control the switching of a TRIAC and so indirectly to control the brightness of lamps.

Contents [hide] 1 Potentiometer construction 1.1 Resistanceposition relationship: "taper" 1.1.1 Linear taper potentiometer 1.1.2 Logarithmic potentiometer 2 Rheostat 3 Digital potentiometer 4 Membrane Potentiometer 5 Potentiometer applications 5.1 Audio control 5.2 Television 5.3 Transducers 5.4 Computation 6 Theory of operation 7 Early patents 8 See also 9 References 10 External links [edit] Potentiometer constructionA potentiometer is constructed with a resistive element formed into an arc of a circle, and a sliding contact (wiper) travellin g over that arc. The resistive element, with a terminal at one or both ends, is flat or angled, and is commonly made of graphite, although other materials may b e used. The wiper is connected through another sliding contact to another termin al. On panel potentiometers, the wiper is usually the center terminal of three. For single-turn potentiometers, this wiper typically travels just under one revo lution around the contact. "Multiturn" potentiometers are usually constructed of a conventional resistive element wiped through a worm gear, although other type s exist with a helical resistive element and a wiper that turns through 10, 20, or more complete revolutions. Besides graphite, materials used to make the resis tive element include resistance wire, carbon particles in plastic, and a ceramic /metal mixture called cermet. A string potentiometer is a multi-turn potentiometer operated by an attached ree l of wire turning against a spring, enabling it to convert linear position to a variable resistance. In a linear slider potentiometer, a sliding control is provided instead of a dia l control. The resistive element is a rectangular strip, not semi-circular as in a rotary potentiometer. Due to the large opening slot for the wiper, this type of potentiometer has a greater potential for getting contaminated. Conductive track potentiometers use conductive polymer resistor pastes that cont ain hard-wearing resins and polymers, solvents, lubricant and carbon the constit uent that provides the conductive properties. The tracks are made by screen prin ting the paste onto a paper-based phenolic substrate and then curing it in an ov en. The curing process removes all solvents and allows the conductive polymer to polymerize and cross-link. This produces a durable track with stable electrical resistance throughout its working life.[citation needed] PCB mount trimmer potentiometers, or "trimpots", intended for infrequent adjustm ent.[edit] Resistanceposition relationship: "taper"The relation between slider po sition, known as the "taper" and resistance is generally either linear or logari thmic (aka "audio taper"). A letter code ("A" taper, "B" taper, etc.) may be use d to identify which taper is used, but the letter code definitions are variable over time and between manufacturers.

[edit] Linear taper potentiometerA linear taper potentiometer has a resistive el ement of constant cross-section, resulting in a device where the resistance betw een the contact (wiper) and one end terminal is proportional to the distance bet ween them. Linear describes the electrical characteristic of the device, not the geometry of the resistive element. Linear taper potentiometers are used when an approximately proportional relation is desired between shaft rotation (or slide r position) and the division ratio of the potentiometer; for example, controls u sed for adjusting the centering of (an analog) cathode-ray oscilloscope. [edit] Logarithmic potentiometerA logarithmic taper potentiometer has a resistiv e element that either 'tapers' in from one end to the other, or is made from a m aterial whose resistivity varies from one end to the other. This results in a de vice where output voltage is a logarithmic function of the mechanical angle of t he potentiometer. Most (cheaper) "log" potentiometers are actually not logarithmic, but use two re gions of different resistance (but constant resistivity) to approximate a logari thmic law. A logarithmic potentiometer can also be simulated (not very accuratel y) with a linear one and an external resistor. True logarithmic potentiometers a re significantly more expensive. Logarithmic taper potentiometers are often used in connection with audio amplifi ers as human perception of audio volume is logarithmic. A high power wirewound potentiometer. Any potentiometer may be connected as a rh eostat.[edit] RheostatSee also: Liquid rheostat The most common way to vary the resistance in a circuit is to use a rheostat,[2] a two-terminal variable resistor. Rheostats are usually designed to handle much higher voltage, current and power than potentiometers. Typically they are const ructed as a resistive wire wrapped to form a toroidal coil with the wiper moving over the upper surface of the toroid, sliding from one turn of the wire to the next. Sometimes a rheostat is made from resistance wire wound on a heat-resistin g cylinder, with the slider made from a number of metal fingers that grip lightl y onto a small portion of the turns of resistance wire. The "fingers" can be mov ed along the coil of resistance wire by a sliding knob thus changing the "tappin g" point. They are usually used as variable resistors rather than variable poten tial dividers. Any three-terminal potentiometer can be used as a two-terminal variable resistor by leaving one of the end terminals disconnected. However, it is common practic e to connect the wiper terminal to the unused end of the resistance track to red uce the amount of resistance variation caused by dirt on the track. [edit] Digital potentiometerMain article: Digital potentiometer A digital potentiometer is an electronic component that mimics the functions of analog potentiometers. Through digital input signals, the resistance between two terminals can be adjusted, just as in an analog potentiometer. [edit] Membrane PotentiometerA membrane potentiometer uses a conductive membrane that is deformed by a sliding element to contact a resistor voltage divider. Li nearity can range from 0.5% to 5% depending on the material, design and manufact uring process. The repeat accuracy is typically between 0.1mm and 1.0mm with a t heoretically infinite resolution. The service life of these types of potentiomet ers is typically 1 million to 20 million cycles depending on the materials used during manufacturing and the actuation method; contact and contactless (magnetic ) methods are available. Many different material variations are available such a s PET(foil), FR4, and Kapton. Membrane potentiometer manuafacturers offer linear , rotary, and application-specific variations. The linear versions can range fro m 9mm to 1000mm in length and the rotary versions range from 0 to 360(multi-turn),

with each having a height of 0.5mm. Membrane potentiometers can be used for pos ition sensing.[3] [edit] Potentiometer applicationsPotentiometers are widely used as user controls , and may control a very wide variety of equipment functions. The widespread use of potentiometers in consumer electronics declined in the 1990s, with digital c ontrols now more common. However they remain in many applications, such as volum e controls and as position sensors. [edit] Audio control Linear potentiometers ("faders")One of the most common uses for modern low-power potentiometers is as audio control devices. Both linear potentiometers and rota ry potentiometers are regularly used to adjust loudness, frequency attenuation a nd other characteristics of audio signals. The 'log pot' is used as the volume control in audio amplifiers, where it is als o called an "audio taper pot", because the amplitude response of the human ear i s also logarithmic. It ensures that, on a volume control marked 0 to 10, for exa mple, a setting of 5 sounds half as loud as a setting of 10. There is also an an ti-log pot or reverse audio taper which is simply the reverse of a logarithmic p otentiometer. It is almost always used in a ganged configuration with a logarith mic potentiometer, for instance, in an audio balance control. Potentiometers used in combination with filter networks act as tone controls or equalizers. [edit] TelevisionPotentiometers were formerly used to control picture brightness , contrast, and color response. A potentiometer was often used to adjust "vertic al hold", which affected the synchronization between the receiver's internal swe ep circuit (sometimes a multivibrator) and the received picture signal, along wi th other things such as audio-video carrier offset, tuning frequency (for push-b utton sets) and so on. [edit] TransducersPotentiometers are also very widely used as a part of displace ment transducers because of the simplicity of construction and because they can give a large output signal. [edit] ComputationIn analog computers, high precision potentiometers are used to scale intermediate results by desired constant factors, or to set initial condi tions for a calculation. A motor-driven potentiometer may be used as a function generator, using a non-linear resistance card to supply approximations to trigon ometric functions. For example, the shaft rotation might represent an angle, and the voltage division ratio can be made proportional to the cosine of the angle. [edit] Theory of operation A potentiometer with a resistive load, showing equivalent fixed resistors for cl arity.The potentiometer can be used as a voltage divider to obtain a manually ad justable output voltage at the slider (wiper) from a fixed input voltage applied across the two ends of the potentiometer. This is the most common use of them. The voltage across RL can be calculated by: If RL is large compared to the other resistances (like the input to an operation al amplifier), the output voltage can be approximated by the simpler equation: (dividing throughout by RL and cancelling terms with RL as denominator) As an example, assume

, , , and Since the load resistance is large compared to the other resistances, the output voltage VL will be approximately: Due to the load resistance, however, it will actually be slightly lower: 6.623 V . One of the advantages of the potential divider compared to a variable resistor i n series with the source is that, while variable resistors have a maximum resist ance where some current will always flow, dividers are able to vary the output v oltage from maximum (VS) to ground (zero volts) as the wiper moves from one end of the potentiometer to the other. There is, however, always a small amount of c ontact resistance. In addition, the load resistance is often not known and therefore simply placing a variable resistor in series with the load could have a negligible effect or a n excessive effect, depending on the load. ELECTROMETER : An electrometer is an electrical instrument for measuring electric charge or ele ctrical potential difference. There are many different types, ranging from histo rical hand-made mechanical instruments to high-precision electronic devices. Mod ern electrometers based on vacuum tube or solid-state technology can be used to make voltage and charge measurements with very low leakage currents, down to 1 f emtoampere. A simpler but related instrument, the electroscope, works on similar principles but only indicates the relative magnitudes of voltages or charges. Contents [hide] 1 Older electrometers and charge indicating devices 1.1 Gold-leaf electroscopes 1.2 Repulsion electrometers 1.3 Attraction electrometers 1.4 Quadrant electrometers 2 Modern electrometers 2.1 Vibrating reed electrometers 2.2 Valve electrometers 2.3 Solid-state electrometers 3 See also 4 References 5 External links [edit] Older electrometers and charge indicating devices Gold-leaf electroscope Lord Kelvin's Quadrant Electrometer[edit] Gold-leaf electroscopesThe gold-leaf e lectroscope was one of the first sensitive instruments used to indicate electric charge. It is still used for science demonstrations but has been superseded in most applications by electronic measuring instruments. The instrument consists o f two thin leaves of gold foil suspended from an electrode. When the electrode i s charged by induction or by contact, the leaves acquire similar electric charge s and repel each other due to the Coulomb force. Their separation is a direct in dication of the net charge stored on them. The leaves may be enclosed in a glass envelope to protect them from draughts, and the envelope may be evacuated to mi nimize charge leakage. A further cause of charge leakage is ionizing radiation, so to prevent this, the electrometer must be surrounded by lead shielding. This type of electroscope usually acts as an indicator and not a measuring device, al though it can be calibrated. The Braun electroscope replaced the gold-leaf elect

roscope for more accurate measurements. For many years a common radiation measurement device, which was widely used in t he nuclear industry, was the Quartz Fibre Electrometer (or QFE) personal dosimet er, which is actually a ruggedized, calibrated electroscope. It uses the leakage effect mentioned above to detect ionizing radiation. Though still in limited us e, the QFE has been superseded by much more accurate radiation measurement devic es. The Kearny Fallout Meter works the same way, though it uses aluminum foil rather than gold. The instrument was developed in the 18th century by several researchers, among t hem Abraham Bennet and Alessandro Volta. [edit] Repulsion electrometersBased on the same principle as the gold-leaf elect roscope, repulsion electrometers are more sensitive indicating devices using a f orm of torsion balance. The most well-known designs are named after their invent ors: Dellmann, Peltier, Bohenberger and others. The Peltier electrometer, develo ped by Jean Charles Peltier, uses a form of magnetic compass to measure deflecti on by balancing the electrostatic force with a magnetic needle. [edit] Attraction electrometersAlso known as Attracted Disk Electrometers, attra ction electrometers are sensitive balances measuring the attraction between char ged disks. William Snow Harris is credited with the invention of this instrument , which was further improved by Lord Kelvin. [edit] Quadrant electrometersDeveloped by Lord Kelvin, this is the most sensitiv e and accurate of all the mechanical electrometers. The original design uses a l ight aluminum sector suspended inside a drum cut into four segments. The segment s are insulated and connected diagonally in pairs. The charged aluminum sector i s attracted to one pair of segments and repelled from the other. The deflection is observed by a beam of light reflected from a small mirror attached to the sec tor, just as in a galvanometer. The engraving on the right shows a slightly diff erent form of this electrometer, using four flat plates rather than closed segme nts. The plates can be connected externally in the conventional diagonal way (as shown), or in a different order for specific applications. A more sensitive form of quadrant electrometer was developed by Frederick Lindem ann. It employs a metal-coated quartz fiber instead of an aluminum sector. The d eflection is measured by observing the movement of the fiber under a microscope. Initially used for measuring star light, it was employed for the infrared detec tion of airplanes in the early stages of World War II. Some mechanic electrometers were housed inside a cage often referred to as a bird cage. This is a form of Faraday Cage that protected the instrument from external electrostatic charges. [edit] Modern electrometersIn modern parlance, an electrometer is a highly sensi tive electronic voltmeter whose input impedance is so high that the current flow ing into it can be considered, for most practical purposes, to be zero. The actu al value of input resistance for modern electronic electrometers is around 1014, compared to around 1010 for nanovoltmeters.[1][2] Among other applications, electrometers are of use in nuclear physics as they ar e able to measure the tiny charges left in matter by the passage of ionizing rad iation. The most common use for modern electrometers is the measurement of radia tion with ionization chambers, in instruments such as geiger counters. [edit] Vibrating reed electrometersVibrating reed electrometers use a variable c

apacitor formed between a moving electrode (in the form of a vibrating reed) and a fixed input electrode. As the distance between the two electrodes varies, the capacitance also varies and electric charge is forced in and out of the capacit or. The alternating current signal produced by the flow of this charge is amplif ied and used as an analogue for the DC voltage applied to the capacitor. The inp ut resistance of the electrometer is determined solely by the leakage resistance of the capacitor (although its AC input impedance is clearly somewhat larger). For convenience of use, the vibrating reed assembly is often attached by a cable to the rest of the electrometer. This allows for a relatively small unit to be located near the charge to be measured while the much larger reed-driver and amp lifier unit can be located wherever it is convenient for the operator. [edit] Valve electrometersValve electrometers use a specialized vacuum tube (the rmionic valve) with a very high gain (transconductance) and input resistance. Th e input current is allowed to flow into the high impedance grid, and the voltage so generated is vastly amplified in the anode (plate) circuit. Valves designed for electrometer use have leakage currents as low as a few femtoamperes (1015 amp eres). Such valves must be handled with gloved hands as the salts left on the gl ass envelope can provide leakage paths for these tiny currents. [edit] Solid-state electrometersThe most modern electrometers consist of a solid state amplifier using one or more field-effect transistors, connections for ext ernal measurement devices, and usually a display and/or data-logging connections . The amplifier amplifies small currents so that they are more easily measured. The external connections are usually of a co-axial or tri-axial design, and allo w attachment of diodes or ionization chambers for radiation measurement. The dis play or data-logging connections allow the user to see the data or record it for later analysis. Electrometers designed for use with ionization chambers may inc lude a high-voltage power supply, which is used to power the ionization chamber. Solid-state electrometers are often multipurpose devices that can measure voltag e, charge, resistance and current. They measure voltage by means of "voltage bal ancing", in which the input voltage is compared with an internal reference volta ge source using an electronic circuit with a very high input impedance (of the o rder of 1014 ohms). A similar circuit modified to act as a current-to-voltage co nverter enables the instrument to measure currents as small as a few femtoampere s. Combined with an internal voltage source, the current measuring mode can be a dapted to measure very high resistances, of the order of 1017 ohms. Finally, by calculation from the known capacitance of the electrometer's input terminal, the instrument can measure very small electric charges, down to a small fraction of a picocoulomb. LIGHT EMITTING DIODES : A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor light source.[3] LEDs are used a s indicator lamps in many devices and are increasingly used for other lighting. Introduced as a practical electronic component in 1962,[4] early LEDs emitted lo w-intensity red light, but modern versions are available across the visible, ult raviolet, and infrared wavelengths, with very high brightness. When a light-emitting diode is forward-biased (switched on), electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence and the color of the ligh t (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy gap of the semiconductor. LEDs are often small in area (less than 1 mm2), and integrat ed optical components may be used to shape its radiation pattern.[5] LEDs presen t many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consump tion, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, and faster switching. LEDs powerful enough for room lighting are relatively expensive and require more

precise current and heat management than compact fluorescent lamp sources of co mparable output. Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse as replacements for av iation lighting, automotive lighting (in particular brake lamps, turn signals, a nd indicators) as well as in traffic signals. LEDs have allowed new text, video displays, and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are also useful in advanced communications technology. Infrared LEDs are also used in th e remote control units of many commercial products including televisions, DVD pl ayers, and other domestic appliances. Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Discoveries and early devices 1.2 Practical use 1.3 Continuing development 2 Technology 2.1 Physics 2.2 Refractive index 2.2.1 Transition coatings 2.3 Efficiency and operational parameters 2.4 Lifetime and failure 3 Colors and materials 3.1 Ultraviolet and blue LEDs 3.2 White light 3.2.1 RGB systems 3.2.2 Phosphor-based LEDs 3.2.3 Other white LEDs 3.3 Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) 3.4 Quantum dot LEDs (experimental) 4 Types 4.1 Miniature 4.2 Mid-range 4.3 High-power 4.4 Application-specific variations 5 Considerations for use 5.1 Power sources 5.2 Electrical polarity 5.3 Safety and health 5.4 Advantages 5.5 Disadvantages 6 Applications 6.1 Indicators and signs 6.2 Lighting 6.3 Smart lighting 6.4 Sustainable lighting 6.4.1 Energy consumption 6.4.2 Economically sustainable 6.5 Other applications 6.6 Light sources for machine vision systems 7 See also 8 References 8.1 Notes 8.2 Further reading 9 External links [edit] History[edit] Discoveries and early devices Green electroluminescence from a point contact on a crystal of SiC recreates H. J. Round's original experiment from 1907.Electroluminescence as a phenomenon was

discovered in 1907 by the British experimenter H. J. Round of Marconi Labs, usi ng a crystal of silicon carbide and a cat's-whisker detector.[6][7] Russian Oleg Vladimirovich Losev reported creation of the first LED in 1927.[8][9] His resea rch was distributed in Russian, German and British scientific journals, but no p ractical use was made of the discovery for several decades.[10][11] Rubin Brauns tein of the Radio Corporation of America reported on infrared emission from gall ium arsenide (GaAs) and other semiconductor alloys in 1955.[12] Braunstein obser ved infrared emission generated by simple diode structures using gallium antimon ide (GaSb), GaAs, indium phosphide (InP), and silicon-germanium (SiGe) alloys at room temperature and at 77 kelvin. In 1961 American experimenters Robert Biard and Gary Pittman, working at Texas I nstruments,[13] found that GaAs emitted infrared radiation when electric current was applied and received the patent for the infrared LED. The first practical visible-spectrum (red) LED was developed in 1962 by Nick Hol onyak Jr., while working at General Electric Company.[4] Holonyak is seen as the "father of the light-emitting diode".[14] M. George Craford,[15] a former gradu ate student of Holonyak, invented the first yellow LED and improved the brightne ss of red and red-orange LEDs by a factor of ten in 1972.[16] In 1976, T.P. Pear sall created the first high-brightness, high-efficiency LEDs for optical fiber t elecommunications by inventing new semiconductor materials specifically adapted to optical fiber transmission wavelengths.[17] Until 1968, visible and infrared LEDs were extremely costly, on the order of US $200 per unit, and so had little practical use.[2] The Monsanto Company was the first organization to mass-produce visible LEDs, using gallium arsenide phosphid e (GaAsP) in 1968 to produce red LEDs suitable for indicators.[2] Hewlett Packar d (HP) introduced LEDs in 1968, initially using GaAsP supplied by Monsanto. The technology proved to have major uses for alphanumeric displays and was integrate d into HP's early handheld calculators. In the 1970s commercially successful LED devices at less than five cents each were produced by Fairchild Optoelectronics . These devices employed compound semiconductor chips fabricated with the planar process invented by Dr. Jean Hoerni at Fairchild Semiconductor.[18] The combina tion of planar processing for chip fabrication and innovative packaging methods enabled the team at Fairchild led by optoelectronics pioneer Thomas Brandt to ac hieve the needed cost reductions. These methods continue to be used by LED produ cers.[19] [edit] Practical useThe first commercial LEDs were commonly used as replacements for incandescent and neon indicator lamps, and in seven-segment displays,[20] f irst in expensive equipment such as laboratory and electronics test equipment, t hen later in such appliances as TVs, radios, telephones, calculators, and even w atches (see list of signal uses). These red LEDs were bright enough only for use as indicators, as the light output was not enough to illuminate an area. Readou ts in calculators were so small that plastic lenses were built over each digit t o make them legible. Later, other colors grew widely available and also appeared in appliances and equipment. As LED materials technology grew more advanced, li ght output rose, while maintaining efficiency and reliability at acceptable leve ls. The invention and development of the high-power white-light LED led to use f or illumination, which is fast replacing incandescent and fluorescent lighting.[ 21][22] (see list of illumination applications). Most LEDs were made in the very common 5 mm T1 and 3 mm T1 packages, but with rising power output, it has grown increasingly necessary to shed excess heat to maintain reliability,[23] so more complex packages have been adapted for efficient heat dissipation. Packages for state-of-the-art high-power LEDs bear little resemblance to early LEDs. Illustration of Haitz's law. Light output per LED as a function of production ye ar; note the logarithmic scale on the vertical axis[edit] Continuing development

The first high-brightness blue LED was demonstrated by Shuji Nakamura of Nichia Corporation and was based on InGaN[24], borrowing on critical developments in Ga N nucleation on sapphire substrates and the demonstration of p-type doping of Ga N, which were developed by Isamu Akasaki and H. Amano in Nagoya.[citation needed ] In 1995, Alberto Barbieri at the Cardiff University Laboratory (GB) investigat ed the efficiency and reliability of high-brightness LEDs and demonstrated a ver y impressive result by using a transparent contact made of indium tin oxide (ITO ) on (AlGaInP/GaAs) LED. The existence of blue LEDs and high-efficiency LEDs qui ckly led to the development of the first white LED, which employed a Y3Al5O12:Ce , or "YAG", phosphor coating to mix yellow (down-converted) light with blue to p roduce light that appears white. Nakamura was awarded the 2006 Millennium Techno logy Prize for his invention.[25] The development of LED technology has caused their efficiency and light output t o rise exponentially, with a doubling occurring about every 36 months since the 1960s, in a way similar to Moore's law. The advances are in general attributed t o the parallel development of other semiconductor technologies and advances in o ptics and material science. This trend is called Haitz's law after Dr. Roland Ha itz.[26] In February 2008, a luminous efficacy of 300 lumens of visible light per watt of radiation (not per electrical watt) and warm-light emission was achieved by usi ng nanocrystals.[27] In 2001[28] and 2002[29], processes for growing gallium nitride (GaN) LEDs on si licon were successfully demonstrated, yielding high power LEDs reported in Janua ry 2012[30]. Epitaxy costs could be reduced by up to 90% using six-inch silicon wafers instead of two-inch sapphire wafers.[31] [edit] Technology The inner workings of an LED I-V diagram for a diode. An LED will begin to emit light when the on-voltage is exceeded. Typical on voltages are 23 volts.[edit] PhysicsThe LED consists of a ch ip of semiconducting material doped with impurities to create a p-n junction. As in other diodes, current flows easily from the p-side, or anode, to the n-side, or cathode, but not in the reverse direction. Charge-carrierselectrons and holesf low into the junction from electrodes with different voltages. When an electron meets a hole, it falls into a lower energy level, and releases energy in the for m of a photon. The wavelength of the light emitted, and thus its color depends on the band gap energy of the materials forming the p-n junction. In silicon or germanium diodes , the electrons and holes recombine by a non-radiative transition, which produce s no optical emission, because these are indirect band gap materials. The materi als used for the LED have a direct band gap with energies corresponding to nearinfrared, visible, or near-ultraviolet light. LED development began with infrared and red devices made with gallium arsenide. Advances in materials science have enabled making devices with ever-shorter wave lengths, emitting light in a variety of colors. LEDs are usually built on an n-type substrate, with an electrode attached to the p-type layer deposited on its surface. P-type substrates, while less common, oc cur as well. Many commercial LEDs, especially GaN/InGaN, also use sapphire subst rate. Most materials used for LED production have very high refractive indices. This m eans that much light will be reflected back into the material at the material/ai r surface interface. Thus, light extraction in LEDs is an important aspect of LE D production, subject to much research and development.

[edit] Refractive index Idealized example of light emission cones in a semiconductor, for a single point -source emission zone. The left illustration is for a fully translucent wafer, w hile the right illustration shows the half-cones formed when the bottom layer is fully opaque. The light is actually emitted equally in all directions from the point-source, so the areas between the cones shows the large amount of trapped l ight energy that is wasted as heat.[32] The light emission cones of a real LED wafer are far more complex than a single point-source light emission. The light emission zone is typically a two-dimensio nal plane between the wafers. Every atom across this plane has an individual set of emission cones. Drawing the billions of overlapping cones is impossible, so this is a simplified diagram showing the extents of all the emission cones combined. The larger side cones are clipped to show the interior features and reduce image complexity; th ey would extend to the opposite edges of the two-dimensional emission plane. Bare uncoated semiconductors such as silicon exhibit a very high refractive inde x relative to open air, which prevents passage of photons at sharp angles relati ve to the air-contacting surface of the semiconductor. This property affects bot h the light-emission efficiency of LEDs as well as the light-absorption efficien cy of photovoltaic cells. The refractive index of silicon is 4.24, while air is 1.0002926[33] In general, a flat-surface uncoated LED semiconductor chip will emit light only perpendicular to the semiconductor's surface, and a few degrees to the side, in a cone shape referred to as the light cone, cone of light,[34] or the escape con e.[35] The maximum angle of incidence is referred to as the critical angle. When this angle is exceeded, photons no longer penetrate the semiconductor but are i nstead reflected both internally inside the semiconductor crystal and externally off the surface of the crystal as if it were a mirror.[35] Internal reflections can escape through other crystalline faces, if the incidenc e angle is low enough and the crystal is sufficiently transparent to not re-abso rb the photon emission. But for a simple square LED with 90-degree angled surfac es on all sides, the faces all act as equal angle mirrors. In this case the ligh t can not escape and is lost as waste heat in the crystal.[35] A convoluted chip surface with angled facets similar to a jewel or fresnel lens can increase light output by allowing light to be emitted perpendicular to the c hip surface while far to the sides of the photon emission point.[36] The ideal shape of a semiconductor with maximum light output would be a microsph ere with the photon emission occurring at the exact center, with electrodes pene trating to the center to contact at the emission point. All light rays emanating from the center would be perpendicular to the entire surface of the sphere, res ulting in no internal reflections. A hemispherical semiconductor would also work , with the flat back-surface serving as a mirror to back-scattered photons.[37] [edit] Transition coatingsMany LED semiconductor chips are potted in clear or co lored molded plastic shells. The plastic shell has three purposes: 1.Mounting the semiconductor chip in devices is easier to accomplish. 2.The tiny fragile electrical wiring is physically supported and protected from damage. 3.The plastic acts as a refractive intermediary between the relatively high-inde x semiconductor and low-index open air.[38] The third feature helps to boost the light emission from the semiconductor by ac ting as a diffusing lens, allowing light to be emitted at a much higher angle of incidence from the light cone than the bare chip is able to emit alone.

[edit] Efficiency and operational parametersTypical indicator LEDs are designed to operate with no more than 3060 milliwatts (mW) of electrical power. Around 199 9, Philips Lumileds introduced power LEDs capable of continuous use at one watt. These LEDs used much larger semiconductor die sizes to handle the large power i nputs. Also, the semiconductor dies were mounted onto metal slugs to allow for h eat removal from the LED die. One of the key advantages of LED-based lighting sources is high luminous efficac y. White LEDs quickly matched and overtook the efficacy of standard incandescent lighting systems. In 2002, Lumileds made five-watt LEDs available with a lumino us efficacy of 1822 lumens per watt (lm/W). For comparison, a conventional incand escent light bulb of 60100 watts emits around 15 lm/W, and standard fluorescent l ights emit up to 100 lm/W. A recurring problem is that efficacy falls sharply wi th rising current. This effect is known as droop and effectively limits the ligh t output of a given LED, raising heating more than light output for higher curre nt.[39][40][41] In September 2003, a new type of blue LED was demonstrated by the company Cree I nc. to provide 24 mW at 20 milliamperes (mA). This produced a commercially packa ged white light giving 65 lm/W at 20 mA, becoming the brightest white LED commer cially available at the time, and more than four times as efficient as standard incandescents. In 2006, they demonstrated a prototype with a record white LED lu minous efficacy of 131 lm/W at 20 mA. Nichia Corporation has developed a white L ED with luminous efficacy of 150 lm/W at a forward current of 20 mA.[42] Cree's XLamp XM-L LEDs, commercially available in 2011, produce 100 lumens per watt at their full power of 10 watts, and up to 160 lumens/watt at around 2 watts input power. Practical general lighting needs high-power LEDs, of one watt or more. Typical o perating currents for such devices begin at 350 mA. Note that these efficiencies are for the LED chip only, held at low temperature in a lab. Lighting works at higher temperature and with drive circuit losses, so efficiencies are much lower. United States Department of Energy (DOE) testing o f commercial LED lamps designed to replace incandescent lamps or CFLs showed tha t average efficacy was still about 46 lm/W in 2009 (tested performance ranged fr om 17 lm/W to 79 lm/W).[43] Cree issued a press release on February 3, 2010 about a laboratory prototype LED achieving 208 lumens per watt at room temperature. The correlated color tempera ture was reported to be 4579 K.[44] [edit] Lifetime and failureMain article: List of LED failure modes Solid state devices such as LEDs are subject to very limited wear and tear if op erated at low currents and at low temperatures. Many of the LEDs made in the 197 0s and 1980s are still in service today. Typical lifetimes quoted are 25,000 to 100,000 hours, but heat and current settings can extend or shorten this time sig nificantly. [45] The most common symptom of LED (and diode laser) failure is the gradual lowering of light output and loss of efficiency. Sudden failures, although rare, can occ ur as well. Early red LEDs were notable for their short lifetime. With the devel opment of high-power LEDs the devices are subjected to higher junction temperatu res and higher current densities than traditional devices. This causes stress on the material and may cause early light-output degradation. To quantitatively cl assify lifetime in a standardized manner it has been suggested to use the terms L75 and L50, which is the time it will take a given LED to reach 75% and 50% lig ht output respectively.[46]

Like other lighting devices, LED performance is temperature dependent. Most manu facturers published ratings of LEDs are for an operating temperature of 25 C. LEDs used outdoors, such as traffic signals or in-pavement signal lights, and that a re utilized in climates where the temperature within the luminaire gets very hot , could result in low signal intensities or even failure.[47] LED light output rises at lower temperatures, leveling off depending on type at around 30C.[citation needed] Thus, LED technology may be a good replacement in us es such as supermarket freezer lighting[48][49][50] and will last longer than ot her technologies. Because LEDs emit less heat than incandescent bulbs, they are an energy-efficient technology for uses such as freezers. However, because they emit little heat, ice and snow may build up on the LED luminaire in colder clima tes.[47] This lack of waste heat generation has been observed to cause sometimes significant problems with street traffic signals and airport runway lighting in snow-prone areas, although some research has been done to try to develop heat s ink technologies to transfer heat to other areas of the luminaire.[51] [edit] Colors and materialsConventional LEDs are made from a variety of inorgani c semiconductor materials, the following table shows the available colors with w avelength range, voltage drop and material: Color Wavelength [nm] Voltage drop [V] Semiconductor material Infrared > 760 V < 1.9 Gallium arsenide (GaAs) Aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) Red 610 < < 760 1.63 < V < 2.03 Aluminium gallium arsenide (AlGaAs) Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP) Orange 590 < < 610 2.03 < V < 2.10 Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP) Yellow 570 < < 590 2.10 < V < 2.18 Gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP) Green 500 < < 570 1.9[52] < V < 4.0 Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) / Gallium(III ) nitride (GaN) Gallium(III) phosphide (GaP) Aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP) Aluminium gallium phosphide (AlGaP) Blue 450 < < 500 2.48 < V < 3.7 Zinc selenide (ZnSe) Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) Silicon carbide (SiC) as substrate Silicon (Si) as substrate (under development) Violet 400 < < 450 2.76 < V < 4.0 Indium gallium nitride (InGaN) Purple multiple types 2.48 < V < 3.7 Dual blue/red LEDs, blue with red phosphor, or white with purple plastic Ultraviolet < 400 3.1 < V < 4.4 Diamond (235 nm)[53] Boron nitride (215 nm)[54][55] Aluminium nitride (AlN) (210 nm)[56] Aluminium gallium nitride (AlGaN) Aluminium gallium indium nitride (AlGaInN) (down to 210 nm)[57] White Broad spectrum V = 3.5 Blue/UV diode with yellow phosphor [edit] Ultraviolet and blue LEDs Blue LEDsCurrent bright blue LEDs are based on the wide band gap semiconductors GaN (gallium nitride) and InGaN (indium gallium nitride). They can be added to e xisting red and green LEDs to produce the impression of white light, though whit e LEDs today rarely use this principle.

The first blue LEDs using gallium nitride were made in 1971 by Jacques Pankove a t RCA Laboratories.[58] These devices had too little light output to be of pract ical use and research into gallium nitride devices slowed. In August 1989, Cree Inc. introduced the first commercially available blue LED based on the indirect bandgap semiconductor, silicon carbide.[59] SiC LEDs had very low effiency, no m ore than about 0.03%, but did emit in the blue portion of the visible light spec trum. In the late 1980s, key breakthroughs in GaN epitaxial growth and p-type doping[6 0] ushered in the modern era of GaN-based optoelectronic devices. Building upon this foundation, in 1993 high-brightness blue LEDs were demonstrated. Efficiency (light energy produced vs. electrical energy used) reached 10%.[61] High-bright ness blue LEDs invented by Shuji Nakamura of Nichia Corporation using gallium ni tride revolutionized LED lighting, making high-power light sources practical. By the late 1990s, blue LEDs had become widely available. They have an active re gion consisting of one or more InGaN quantum wells sandwiched between thicker la yers of GaN, called cladding layers. By varying the relative InN-GaN fraction in the InGaN quantum wells, the light emission can be varied from violet to amber. AlGaN aluminium gallium nitride of varying AlN fraction can be used to manufact ure the cladding and quantum well layers for ultraviolet LEDs, but these devices have not yet reached the level of efficiency and technological maturity of the InGaN-GaN blue/green devices. If the active quantum well layers are GaN, instead of alloyed InGaN or AlGaN, the device will emit near-ultraviolet light with wav elengths around 350370 nm. Green LEDs manufactured from the InGaN-GaN system are far more efficient and brighter than green LEDs produced with non-nitride materi al systems. With nitrides containing aluminium, most often AlGaN and AlGaInN, even shorter w avelengths are achievable. Ultraviolet LEDs in a range of wavelengths are becomi ng available on the market. Near-UV emitters at wavelengths around 375395 nm are already cheap and often encountered, for example, as black light lamp replacemen ts for inspection of anti-counterfeiting UV watermarks in some documents and pap er currencies. Shorter-wavelength diodes, while substantially more expensive, ar e commercially available for wavelengths down to 247 nm.[62] As the photosensiti vity of microorganisms approximately matches the absorption spectrum of DNA, wit h a peak at about 260 nm, UV LED emitting at 250270 nm are to be expected in pros pective disinfection and sterilization devices. Recent research has shown that c ommercially available UVA LEDs (365 nm) are already effective disinfection and s terilization devices.[63] Deep-UV wavelengths were obtained in laboratories using aluminium nitride (210 n m),[56] boron nitride (215 nm)[54][55] and diamond (235 nm).[53] [edit] White lightThere are two primary ways of producing high-intensity white-l ight using LEDs. One is to use individual LEDs that emit three primary colors[64 ]red, green, and blueand then mix all the colors to form white light. The other is to use a phosphor material to convert monochromatic light from a blue or UV LED to broad-spectrum white light, much in the same way a fluorescent light bulb wo rks. Due to metamerism, it is possible to have quite different spectra that appear wh ite. [edit] RGB systems Combined spectral curves for blue, yellow-green, and high-brightness red solid-s tate semiconductor LEDs. FWHM spectral bandwidth is approximately 2427 nm for all three colors.White light can be formed by mixing differently colored lights; th e most common method is to use red, green, and blue (RGB). Hence the method is c alled multi-color white LEDs (sometimes referred to as RGB LEDs). Because these

need electronic circuits to control the blending and diffusion of different colo rs, and because the individual color LEDs typically have slightly different emis sion patterns (leading to variation of the color depending on direction) even if they are made as a single unit, these are seldom used to produce white lighting . Nevertheless, this method is particularly interesting in many uses because of the flexibility of mixing different colors,[65] and, in principle, this mechanis m also has higher quantum efficiency in producing white light. There are several types of multi-color white LEDs: di-, tri-, and tetrachromatic white LEDs. Several key factors that play among these different methods, includ e color stability, color rendering capability, and luminous efficacy. Often, hig her efficiency will mean lower color rendering, presenting a trade-off between t he luminous efficiency and color rendering. For example, the dichromatic white L EDs have the best luminous efficacy (120 lm/W), but the lowest color rendering c apability. However, although tetrachromatic white LEDs have excellent color rend ering capability, they often have poor luminous efficiency. Trichromatic white L EDs are in between, having both good luminous efficacy (>70 lm/W) and fair color rendering capability. Multi-color LEDs offer not merely another means to form white light but a new me ans to form light of different colors. Most perceivable colors can be formed by mixing different amounts of three primary colors. This allows precise dynamic co lor control. As more effort is devoted to investigating this method, multi-color LEDs should have profound influence on the fundamental method that we use to pr oduce and control light color. However, before this type of LED can play a role on the market, several technical problems need solving. These include that this type of LED's emission power decays exponentially with rising temperature,[66] r esulting in a substantial change in color stability. Such problems inhibit and m ay preclude industrial use. Thus, many new package designs aimed at solving this problem have been proposed and their results are now being reproduced by resear chers and scientists. [edit] Phosphor-based LEDs Spectrum of a white LED clearly showing blue light directly emitted by the GaN-bas ed LED (peak at about 465 nm) and the more broadband Stokes-shifted light emitte d by the Ce3+:YAG phosphor, which emits at roughly 500700 nm.This method involves coating LEDs of one color (mostly blue LEDs made of InGaN) with phosphor of dif ferent colors to form white light; the resultant LEDs are called phosphor-based white LEDs.[67] A fraction of the blue light undergoes the Stokes shift being tr ansformed from shorter wavelengths to longer. Depending on the color of the orig inal LED, phosphors of different colors can be employed. If several phosphor lay ers of distinct colors are applied, the emitted spectrum is broadened, effective ly raising the color rendering index (CRI) value of a given LED.[68] Phosphor-based LEDs efficiency losses are due to the heat loss from the Stokes s hift and also other phosphor-related degradation issues. Its efficiencies compar ed to normal LEDs are dependent on the spectral distribution of the resultant li ght output and the original wavelength of the LED itself. The efficiency of a ty pical YAG-based yellow phosphor converted white LED ranges from 3 to 5 times the efficiency of the original blue LED. Due to the simplicity of manufacturing the phosphor method is still the most popular method for making high-intensity whit e LEDs. The design and production of a light source or light fixture using a mon ochrome emitter with phosphor conversion is simpler and cheaper than a complex R GB system, and the majority of high-intensity white LEDs presently on the market are manufactured using phosphor light conversion. Among the challenges being faced to improve the efficiency of LED-based white li ght sources are the development of more efficient phosphors as well as the devel opment of more efficient green LEDs. The theoretical maximum for green LEDs is a t 683 lumens per watt but today few Green LEDs exceed even 100 lumens per watt.

Today the most efficient yellow phosphor is still the YAG phosphor, with less th an 10% Stoke shift loss. Losses attributable to internal optical losses due to r e-absorption in the LED chip and in the LED packaging itself account typically f or another 10% to 30% of efficiency loss. Currently, in the area of phosphor LED development, much effort is being spent on optimizing these devices to higher l ight output and higher operation temperatures. For instance, the efficiency can be raised by adapting better package design or by using a more suitable type of phosphor. Conformal coating process is frequently used to address the issue of v arying phosphor thickness. The phosphor-based white LEDs encapsulate InGaN blue LEDs inside phosphor coated epoxy. A common yellow phosphor material is cerium-doped yttrium aluminium garn et (Ce3+:YAG). White LEDs can also be made by coating near-ultraviolet (NUV) LEDs with a mixtur e of high-efficiency europium-based phosphors that emit red and blue, plus coppe r and aluminium-doped zinc sulfide (ZnS:Cu, Al) that emits green. This is a meth od analogous to the way fluorescent lamps work. This method is less efficient th an blue LEDs with YAG:Ce phosphor, as the Stokes shift is larger, so more energy is converted to heat, but yields light with better spectral characteristics, wh ich render color better. Due to the higher radiative output of the ultraviolet L EDs than of the blue ones, both methods offer comparable brightness. A concern i s that UV light may leak from a malfunctioning light source and cause harm to hu man eyes or skin. [edit] Other white LEDsAnother method used to produce experimental white light L EDs used no phosphors at all and was based on homoepitaxially grown zinc selenid e (ZnSe) on a ZnSe substrate that simultaneously emitted blue light from its act ive region and yellow light from the substrate.[69] [edit] Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs)Main article: Organic light-emitting diode Demonstration of a flexible OLED deviceIn an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) , the electroluminescent material comprising the emissive layer of the diode is an organic compound. The organic material is electrically conductive due to the delocalization of pi electrons caused by conjugation over all or part of the mol ecule, and the material therefore functions as an organic semiconductor.[70] The organic materials can be small organic molecules in a crystalline phase, or pol ymers. The potential advantages of OLEDs include thin, low-cost displays with a low dri ving voltage, wide viewing angle, and high contrast and color gamut.[71] Polymer LEDs have the added benefit of printable[72][73] and flexible[74] displays. OLE Ds have been used to make visual displays for portable electronic devices such a s cellphones, digital cameras, and MP3 players while possible future uses includ e lighting and televisions.[71] [edit] Quantum dot LEDs (experimental)Quantum dots (QD) are semiconductor nanocr ystals that possess unique optical properties.[75] Their emission color can be t uned from the visible throughout the infrared spectrum. This allows quantum dot LEDs to create almost any color on the CIE diagram. This provides more color opt ions and better color rendering than white LEDs.[citation needed] Quantum dot LE Ds are available in the same package types as traditional phosphor-based LEDs.[c itation needed] One example of this is a method developed by Michael Bowers, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, involving coating a blue LED with quantum do ts that glow white in response to the blue light from the LED. This method emits a warm, yellowish-white light similar to that made by incandescent bulbs.[76] Q uantum dots are also being considered for use in white light-emitting diodes in liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions.[77]

The major difficulty in using quantum dots-based LEDs is the insufficient stabil ity of QDs under prolonged irradiation.[citation needed] In February 2011 scient ists at PlasmaChem GmbH could synthesize quantum dots for LED applications and b uild a light converter on their basis, which could efficiently convert light fro m blue to any other color for many hundred hours.[citation needed] Such QDs can be used to emit visible or near infrared light of any wavelength being excited b y light with a shorter wavelength. [edit] Types LEDs are produced in a variety of shapes and sizes. The 5 mm cylindrical package (red, fifth from the left) is the most common, estimated at 80% of world produc tion.[citation needed] The color of the plastic lens is often the same as the ac tual color of light emitted, but not always. For instance, purple plastic is oft en used for infrared LEDs, and most blue devices have clear housings. There are also LEDs in surface-mount technology (SMT) packages, such as those found on bli nkies and on cell phone keypads (not shown).The main types of LEDs are miniature , high power devices and custom designs such as alphanumeric or multi-color.[78] Difference between 3528 and 5050 LED SMD chips[edit] Miniature Different sized LEDs. 8 mm, 5 mm and 3 mm, with a wooden match-stick for scaleTh ese are mostly single-die LEDs used as indicators, and they come in various size s from 2 mm to 8 mm, through-hole and surface mount packages. They usually do no t use a separate heat sink.[79] Typical current ratings ranges from around 1 mA to above 20 mA. The small size sets a natural upper boundary on power consumptio n due to heat caused by the high current density and need for a heat sink. A green surface-mount LED mounted on an Arduino circuit boardCommon package shap es include round, with a domed or flat top, rectangular with a flat top (as used in bar-graph displays), and triangular or square with a flat top. The encapsula tion may also be clear or tinted to improve contrast and viewing angle. There are three main categories of miniature single die LEDs: Low-current typically rated for 2 mA at around 2 V (approximately 4 mW consumpti on). Standard 20 mA LEDs at around 2 V (approximately 40 mW) for red, orange, yellow, and green, and 20 mA at 45 V (approximately 100 mW) for blue, violet, and white. Ultra-high-output 20 mA at approximately 2 V or 45 V, designed for viewing in dir ect sunlight. Five- and twelve-volt LEDs are ordinary miniature LEDs that incorporate a suitab le series resistor for direct connection to a 5 V or 12 V supply. [edit] Mid-rangeMedium-power LEDs are often through-hole-mounted and used when a n output of a few lumen is needed. They sometimes have the diode mounted to four leads (two cathode leads, two anode leads) for better heat conduction and carry an integrated lens. An example of this is the Superflux package, from Philips L umileds. These LEDs are most commonly used in light panels, emergency lighting, and automotive tail-lights. Due to the larger amount of metal in the LED, they a re able to handle higher currents (around 100 mA). The higher current allows for the higher light output required for tail-lights and emergency lighting. [edit] High-powerSee also: Solid-state lighting and LED lamp High-power light-emitting diodes (Luxeon, Lumileds)High-power LEDs (HPLED) can b e driven at currents from hundreds of mA to more than an ampere, compared with t he tens of mA for other LEDs. Some can emit over a thousand lumens.[80][81] Sinc e overheating is destructive, the HPLEDs must be mounted on a heat sink to allow

for heat dissipation. If the heat from a HPLED is not removed, the device will fail in seconds. One HPLED can often replace an incandescent bulb in a flashligh t, or be set in an array to form a powerful LED lamp. Some well-known HPLEDs in this category are the Lumileds Rebel Led, Osram Opto S emiconductors Golden Dragon, and Cree X-lamp. As of September 2009, some HPLEDs manufactured by Cree Inc. now exceed 105 lm/W [82] (e.g. the XLamp XP-G LED chip emitting Cool White light) and are being sold in lamps intended to replace inca ndescent, halogen, and even fluorescent lights, as LEDs grow more cost competiti ve. LEDs have been developed by Seoul Semiconductor that can operate on AC power wit hout the need for a DC converter. For each half-cycle, part of the LED emits lig ht and part is dark, and this is reversed during the next half-cycle. The effica cy of this type of HPLED is typically 40 lm/W.[83] A large number of LED element s in series may be able to operate directly from line voltage. In 2009, Seoul Se miconductor released a high DC voltage capable of being driven from AC power wit h a simple controlling circuit. The low-power dissipation of these LEDs affords them more flexibility than the original AC LED design.[84] [edit] Application-specific variationsFlashing LEDs are used as attention seekin g indicators without requiring external electronics. Flashing LEDs resemble stan dard LEDs but they contain an integrated multivibrator circuit that causes the L ED to flash with a typical period of one second. In diffused lens LEDs this is v isible as a small black dot. Most flashing LEDs emit light of one color, but mor e sophisticated devices can flash between multiple colors and even fade through a color sequence using RGB color mixing. Calculator LED display, 1970sBi-color LEDs are two different LEDs in one case. T hey consist of two dies connected to the same two leads antiparallel to each oth er. Current flow in one direction emits one color, and current in the opposite d irection emits the other color. Alternating the two colors with sufficient frequ ency causes the appearance of a blended third color. For example, a red/green LE D operated in this fashion will color-blend to emit a yellow appearance. Tri-color LEDs are two LEDs in one case, but the two LEDs are connected to separ ate leads so that the two LEDs can be controlled independently and lit simultane ously. A three-lead arrangement is typical with one common lead (anode or cathod e).[citation needed] RGB LEDs contain red, green, and blue emitters, in general using a four-wire con nection with one common lead (anode or cathode). These LEDs can have either comm on positive or common negative leads. Others however, have only two leads (posit ive and negative) and have a built in tiny electronic control unit. Alphanumeric LED displays are available in seven-segment and starburst format. S even-segment displays handle all numbers and a limited set of letters. Starburst displays can display all letters. Seven-segment LED displays were in widespread use in the 1970s and 1980s, but rising use of liquid crystal displays, with the ir lower power needs and greater display flexibility, has reduced the popularity of numeric and alphanumeric LED displays. [edit] Considerations for use[edit] Power sourcesMain article: LED power sources The current/voltage characteristic of an LED is similar to other diodes, in that the current is dependent exponentially on the voltage (see Shockley diode equat ion). This means that a small change in voltage can cause a large change in curr ent. If the maximum voltage rating is exceeded by a small amount, the current ra ting may be exceeded by a large amount, potentially damaging or destroying the L ED. The typical solution is to use constant-current power supplies, or driving t he LED at a voltage much below the maximum rating. Since most common power sourc es (batteries, mains) are not constant-current sources, most LED fixtures must i nclude a power converter. However, the I/V curve of nitride-based LEDs is quite steep above the knee and gives an If of a few milliamperes at a Vf of 3 V, makin g it possible to power a nitride-based LED from a 3 V battery such as a coin cel

l without the need for a current-limiting resistor. [edit] Electrical polarityMain article: Electrical polarity of LEDs As with all diodes, current flows easily from p-type to n-type material.[85] How ever, no current flows and no light is emitted if a small voltage is applied in the reverse direction. If the reverse voltage grows large enough to exceed the b reakdown voltage, a large current flows and the LED may be damaged. If the rever se current is sufficiently limited to avoid damage, the reverse-conducting LED i s a useful noise diode. [edit] Safety and healthThe vast majority of devices containing LEDs are "safe u nder all conditions of normal use", and so are classified as "Class 1 LED produc t"/"LED Klasse 1". At present, only a few LEDsextremely bright LEDs that also hav e a tightly focused viewing angle of 8 or lesscould, in theory, cause temporary bl indness, and so are classified as "Class 2".[86] In general, laser safety regula tionsand the "Class 1", "Class 2", etc. systemalso apply to LEDs.[87] While LEDs have the advantage over fluorescent lamps that they do not contain me rcury, they may contain other hazardous metals such as lead and arsenic. A study published in 2011 states: "According to federal standards, LEDs are not hazardo us except for low-intensity red LEDs, which leached Pb [lead] at levels exceedin g regulatory limits (186 mg/L; regulatory limit: 5). However, according to Calif ornia regulations, excessive levels of copper (up to 3892 mg/kg; limit: 2500), P b (up to 8103 mg/kg; limit: 1000), nickel (up to 4797 mg/kg; limit: 2000), or si lver (up to 721 mg/kg; limit: 500) render all except low-intensity yellow LEDs h azardous.".[88] [edit] AdvantagesEfficiency: LEDs emit more light per watt than incandescent lig ht bulbs.[89] Their efficiency is not affected by shape and size, unlike fluores cent light bulbs or tubes. Color: LEDs can emit light of an intended color without using any color filters as traditional lighting methods need. This is more efficient and can lower initi al costs. Size: LEDs can be very small (smaller than 2 mm2[90]) and are easily populated o nto printed circuit boards. On/Off time: LEDs light up very quickly. A typical red indicator LED will achiev e full brightness in under a microsecond.[91] LEDs used in communications device s can have even faster response times. Cycling: LEDs are ideal for uses subject to frequent on-off cycling, unlike fluo rescent lamps that fail faster when cycled often, or HID lamps that require a lo ng time before restarting. Dimming: LEDs can very easily be dimmed either by pulse-width modulation or lowe ring the forward current.[92] Cool light: In contrast to most light sources, LEDs radiate very little heat in the form of IR that can cause damage to sensitive objects or fabrics. Wasted ene rgy is dispersed as heat through the base of the LED. Slow failure: LEDs mostly fail by dimming over time, rather than the abrupt fail ure of incandescent bulbs.[93] Lifetime: LEDs can have a relatively long useful life. One report estimates 35,0 00 to 50,000 hours of useful life, though time to complete failure may be longer .[94] Fluorescent tubes typically are rated at about 10,000 to 15,000 hours, dep ending partly on the conditions of use, and incandescent light bulbs at 1,0002,00 0 hours. Shock resistance: LEDs, being solid state components, are difficult to damage wi th external shock, unlike fluorescent and incandescent bulbs, which are fragile. Focus: The solid package of the LED can be designed to focus its light. Incandes cent and fluorescent sources often require an external reflector to collect ligh t and direct it in a usable manner. [edit] DisadvantagesHigh initial price: LEDs are currently more expensive, price per lumen, on an initial capital cost basis, than most conventional lighting te

chnologies. As of 2010, the cost per thousand lumens (kilolumen) was about $18. The price is expected to reach $2/kilolumen by 2015.[95] The additional expense partially stems from the relatively low lumen output and the drive circuitry and power supplies needed. Temperature dependence: LED performance largely depends on the ambient temperatu re of the operating environment. Over-driving an LED in high ambient temperature s may result in overheating the LED package, eventually leading to device failur e. An adequate heat sink is needed to maintain long life. This is especially imp ortant in automotive, medical, and military uses where devices must operate over a wide range of temperatures, and need low failure rates. Voltage sensitivity: LEDs must be supplied with the voltage above the threshold and a current below the rating. This can involve series resistors or current-reg ulated power supplies.[96] Light quality: Most cool-white LEDs have spectra that differ significantly from a black body radiator like the sun or an incandescent light. The spike at 460 nm and dip at 500 nm can cause the color of objects to be perceived differently un der cool-white LED illumination than sunlight or incandescent sources, due to me tamerism,[97] red surfaces being rendered particularly badly by typical phosphor -based cool-white LEDs. However, the color rendering properties of common fluore scent lamps are often inferior to what is now available in state-of-art white LE Ds. Area light source: Single LEDs do not approximate a point source of light giving a spherical light distribution, but rather a lambertian distribution. So LEDs a re difficult to apply to uses needing a spherical light field. LEDs cannot provi de divergence below a few degrees. In contrast, lasers can emit beams with diver gences of 0.2 degrees or less.[98] Electrical Polarity: Unlike incandescent light bulbs, which illuminate regardles s of the electrical polarity, LEDs will only light with correct electrical polar ity. Blue hazard: There is a concern that blue LEDs and cool-white LEDs are now capab le of exceeding safe limits of the so-called blue-light hazard as defined in eye safety specifications such as ANSI/IESNA RP-27.105: Recommended Practice for Pho tobiological Safety for Lamp and Lamp Systems.[99][100] Blue pollution: Because cool-white LEDs (i.e., LEDs with high color temperature) emit proportionally more blue light than conventional outdoor light sources suc h as high-pressure sodium vapor lamps, the strong wavelength dependence of Rayle igh scattering means that cool-white LEDs can cause more light pollution than ot her light sources. The International Dark-Sky Association discourages using whit e light sources with correlated color temperature above 3,000 K.[101][not in cit ation given] Droop: The efficiency of LEDs tends to decrease as one increases current.[102][1 03][104][105] [edit] Applications Overhead LED lighting on a train, replacing the fluorescent bulbs used in the pa st A large LED display behind a disc jockey LED destination signs on buses, one with a colored route number LED digital display that can display four digits and points Traffic light using LED Western Australia Police car with LEDs used in its high-mounted brake light, its rear window and roof-mounted flashing Police vehicle lights and roof-mounted ro ad user information display LED daytime running lights of Audi A4 LED panel light source used in an experiment on plant growth. The findings of su ch experiments may be used to grow food in space on long duration missions. LED illumination LED lights reacting dynamically to video feed via AmBXIn general, all the LED pr oducts can be divided into two major parts, the public lighting and indoor light ing. LED uses fall into four major categories:

Visual signals where light goes more or less directly from the source to the hum an eye, to convey a message or meaning. Illumination where light is reflected from objects to give visual response of th ese objects. Measuring and interacting with processes involving no human vision.[106] Narrow band light sensors where LEDs operate in a reverse-bias mode and respond to incident light, instead of emitting light. For more than 70 years, until the LED, practically all lighting was incandescent and fluorescent with the first fluorescent light only being commercially availa ble after the 1939 World's Fair. [edit] Indicators and signsThe low energy consumption, low maintenance and small size of modern LEDs has led to uses as status indicators and displays on a vari ety of equipment and installations. Large-area LED displays are used as stadium displays and as dynamic decorative displays. Thin, lightweight message displays are used at airports and railway stations, and as destination displays for train s, buses, trams, and ferries. One-color light is well suited for traffic lights and signals, exit signs, emerg ency vehicle lighting, ships' navigation lights or lanterns (chromacity and lumi nance standards being set under the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972, Annex I and the CIE) and LED-based Christ mas lights. In cold climates, LED traffic lights may remain snow covered.[107] R ed or yellow LEDs are used in indicator and alphanumeric displays in environment s where night vision must be retained: aircraft cockpits, submarine and ship bri dges, astronomy observatories, and in the field, e.g. night time animal watching and military field use. Because of their long life and fast switching times, LEDs have been used in brak e lights for cars high-mounted brake lights, trucks, and buses, and in turn sign als for some time, but many vehicles now use LEDs for their rear light clusters. The use in brakes improves safety, due to a great reduction in the time needed to light fully, or faster rise time, up to 0.5 second faster than an incandescen t bulb. This gives drivers behind more time to react. It is reported that at nor mal highway speeds, this equals one car length equivalent in increased time to r eact. In a dual intensity circuit (i.e., rear markers and brakes) if the LEDs ar e not pulsed at a fast enough frequency, they can create a phantom array, where ghost images of the LED will appear if the eyes quickly scan across the array. W hite LED headlamps are starting to be used. Using LEDs has styling advantages be cause LEDs can form much thinner lights than incandescent lamps with parabolic r eflectors. Due to the relative cheapness of low output LEDs, they are also used in many tem porary uses such as glowsticks, throwies, and the photonic textile Lumalive. Art ists have also used LEDs for LED art. Weather/all-hazards radio receivers with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) h ave three LEDs: red for warnings, orange for watches, and yellow for advisories & statements whenever issued. [edit] LightingMain article: LED lamp With the development of high-efficiency and high-power LEDs, it has become possi ble to use LEDs in lighting and illumination. Replacement light bulbs have been made, as well as dedicated fixtures and LED lamps. LEDs are used as street light s and in other architectural lighting where color changing is used. The mechanic al robustness and long lifetime is used in automotive lighting on cars, motorcyc les, and bicycle lights. LED street lights are employed on poles and in parking garages. In 2007, the Ita lian village Torraca was the first place to convert its entire illumination syst

em to LEDs.[108] LEDs are used in aviation lighting. Airbus has used LED lighting in their Airbus A320 Enhanced since 2007, and Boeing plans its use in the 787. LEDs are also be ing used now in airport and heliport lighting. LED airport fixtures currently in clude medium-intensity runway lights, runway centerline lights, taxiway centerli ne and edge lights, guidance signs, and obstruction lighting. LEDs are also suitable for backlighting for LCD televisions and lightweight lapt op displays and light source for DLP projectors (See LED TV). RGB LEDs raise the color gamut by as much as 45%. Screens for TV and computer displays can be made thinner using LEDs for backlighting.[109] LEDs are used increasingly in aquarium lights. In particular for reef aquariums, LED lights provide an efficient light source with less heat output to help main tain optimal aquarium temperatures. LED-based aquarium fixtures also have the ad vantage of being manually adjustable to emit a specific color-spectrum for ideal coloration of corals, fish, and invertebrates while optimizing photosynthetical ly active radiation (PAR), which raises growth and sustainability of photosynthe tic life such as corals, anemones, clams, and macroalgae. These fixtures can be electronically programmed to simulate various lighting conditions throughout the day, reflecting phases of the sun and moon for a dynamic reef experience. LED f ixtures typically cost up to five times as much as similarly rated fluorescent o r high-intensity discharge lighting designed for reef aquariums and are not as h igh output to date. The lack of IR or heat radiation makes LEDs ideal for stage lights using banks o f RGB LEDs that can easily change color and decrease heating from traditional st age lighting, as well as medical lighting where IR-radiation can be harmful. In energy conservation, LEDs lower heat output also means air conditioning (cooling ) systems have less heat to dispose of, reducing carbon dioxide emissions. LEDs are small, durable and need little power, so they are used in hand held dev ices such as flashlights. LED strobe lights or camera flashes operate at a safe, low voltage, instead of the 250+ volts commonly found in xenon flashlamp-based lighting. This is especially useful in cameras on mobile phones, where space is at a premium and bulky voltage-raising circuitry is undesirable. LEDs are used for infrared illumination in night vision uses including security cameras. A ring of LEDs around a video camera, aimed forward into a retroreflect ive background, allows chroma keying in video productions. LEDs are now used commonly in all market areas from commercial to home use: stan dard lighting, AV, stage, theatrical, architectural, and public installations, a nd wherever artificial light is used. LEDs are increasingly finding uses in medical and educational applications, for example as mood enhancement[citation needed], and new technologies such as AmBX, exploiting LED versatility. NASA has even sponsored research for the use of LED s to promote health for astronauts.[110] [edit] Smart lightingLight can be used to transmit broadband data, which is alre ady implemented in IrDA standards using infrared LEDs. Because LEDs can cycle on and off millions of times per second, they can be wireless transmitters and acc ess points for data transport.[111] Lasers can also be modulated in this manner. [edit] Sustainable lightingEfficient lighting is needed for sustainable architec ture. In 2009, a typical 13-watt LED lamp emitted 450 to 650 lumens,[112] which is equivalent to a standard 40-watt incandescent bulb. In 2011, LEDs have become more efficient, so that a 6-watt LED can easily achieve the same results.[113]

A standard 40-watt incandescent bulb has an expected lifespan of 1,000 hours, wh ereas an LED can continue to operate with reduced efficiency for more than 50,00 0 hours, 50 times longer than the incandescent bulb. [edit] Energy consumptionOne kilowatt-hour of electricity will cause 1.34 pounds (610 g) of CO2 emission.[114] Assuming the average light bulb is on for 10 hour s a day, one 40-watt incandescent bulb will cause 196 pounds (89 kg) of CO2 emis sion per year. The 6-watt LED equivalent will only cause 30 pounds (14 kg) of CO 2 over the same time span. A buildings carbon footprint from lighting can be redu ced by 85% by exchanging all incandescent bulbs for new LEDs. [edit] Economically sustainableLED light bulbs could be a cost-effective option for lighting a home or office space because of their very long lifetimes. Consum er use of LEDs as a replacement for conventional lighting system is currently ha mpered by the high cost and low efficiency of available products. 2009 DOE testi ng results showed an average efficacy of 35 lm/W, below that of typical CFLs, an d as low as 9 lm/W, worse than standard incandescents.[112] However, as of 2011, there are LED bulbs available as efficient as 150 lm/W and even inexpensive low -end models typically exceed 50 lm/W. The high initial cost of the commercial LE D bulb is due to the expensive sapphire substrate, which is key to the productio n process. The sapphire apparatus must be coupled with a mirror-like collector t o reflect light that would otherwise be wasted. [edit] Other applicationsThe light from LEDs can be modulated very quickly so th ey are used extensively in optical fiber and Free Space Optics communications. T his include remote controls, such as for TVs, VCRs, and LED Computers, where inf rared LEDs are often used. Opto-isolators use an LED combined with a photodiode or phototransistor to provide a signal path with electrical isolation between tw o circuits. This is especially useful in medical equipment where the signals fro m a low-voltage sensor circuit (usually battery-powered) in contact with a livin g organism must be electrically isolated from any possible electrical failure in a recording or monitoring device operating at potentially dangerous voltages. A n optoisolator also allows information to be transferred between circuits not sh aring a common ground potential. Many sensor systems rely on light as the signal source. LEDs are often ideal as a light source due to the requirements of the sensors. LEDs are used as movement sensors, for example in optical computer mice. The Nintendo Wii's sensor bar us es infrared LEDs. Pulse oximeters use them for measuring oxygen saturation. Some flatbed scanners use arrays of RGB LEDs rather than the typical cold-cathode fl uorescent lamp as the light source. Having independent control of three illumina ted colors allows the scanner to calibrate itself for more accurate color balanc e, and there is no need for warm-up. Further, its sensors only need be monochrom atic, since at any one time the page being scanned is only lit by one color of l ight. Touch sensing: Since LEDs can also be used as photodiodes, they can be use d for both photo emission and detection. This could be used in for example a tou ch-sensing screen that register reflected light from a finger or stylus.[115] Many materials and biological systems are sensitive to or dependent on light. Gr ow lights use LEDs to increase photosynthesis in plants[116] and bacteria and vi ruses can be removed from water and other substances using UV LEDs for steriliza tion.[63] Other uses are as UV curing devices for some ink and coating methods, and in LED printers. Plant growers are interested in LEDs because they are more energy-efficient, emi t less heat (can damage plants close to hot lamps), and can provide the optimum light frequency for plant growth and bloom periods compared to currently used gr ow lights: HPS (high-pressure sodium), MH (metal halide) or CFL/low-energy. Howe ver, LEDs have not replaced these grow lights due to higher price. As mass produ ction and LED kits develop, the LED products will become cheaper.

LEDs have also been used as a medium-quality voltage reference in electronic cir cuits. The forward voltage drop (e.g., about 1.7 V for a normal red LED) can be used instead of a Zener diode in low-voltage regulators. Red LEDs have the flatt est I/V curve above the knee. Nitride-based LEDs have a fairly steep I/V curve a nd are useless for this purpose. Although LED forward voltage is far more curren t-dependent than a good Zener, Zener diodes are not widely available below volta ges of about 3 V. [edit] Light sources for machine vision systemsMachine vision systems often requ ire bright and homogeneous illumination, so features of interest are easier to p rocess. LEDs are often used for this purpose, and this is likely to remain one o f their major uses until price drops low enough to make signaling and illuminati on uses more widespread. Barcode scanners are the most common example of machine vision, and many low cost ones use red LEDs instead of lasers. Optical computer mice are also another example of LEDs in machine vision, as it is used to provi de an even light source on the surface for the miniature camera within the mouse . LEDs constitute a nearly ideal light source for machine vision systems for sev eral reasons: The size of the illuminated field is usually comparatively small and machine vis ion systems are often quite expensive, so the cost of the light source is usuall y a minor concern. However, it might not be easy to replace a broken light sourc e placed within complex machinery, and here the long service life of LEDs is a b enefit. LED elements tend to be small and can be placed with high density over flat or e ven-shaped substrates (PCBs etc.) so that bright and homogeneous sources that di rect light from tightly controlled directions on inspected parts can be designed . This can often be obtained with small, low-cost lenses and diffusers, helping to achieve high light densities with control over lighting levels and homogeneit y. LED sources can be shaped in several configurations (spot lights for reflecti ve illumination; ring lights for coaxial illumination; back lights for contour i llumination; linear assemblies; flat, large format panels; dome sources for diff used, omnidirectional illumination). LEDs can be easily strobed (in the microsecond range and below) and synchronized with imaging. High-power LEDs are available allowing well-lit images even with very short light pulses. This is often used to obtain crisp and sharp still images of quickly moving parts. LEDs come in several different colors and wavelengths, allowing easy use of the best color for each need, where different color may provide better visibility of features of interest. Having a precisely known spectrum allows tightly matched filters to be used to separate informative bandwidth or to reduce disturbing eff ects of ambient light. LEDs usually operate at comparatively low working tempera tures, simplifying heat management and dissipation. This allows using plastic le nses, filters, and diffusers. Waterproof units can also easily be designed, allo wing use in harsh or wet environments (food, beverage, oil industries). TYPES OF TRANSDUCERS : Ultrasonic transducers are manufactured for a variety of applications and can be custom fabricated when necessary. Careful attention must be paid to selecting t he proper transducer for the application. A previous section on Acoustic Wavelen gth and Defect Detection gave a brief overview of factors that affect defect det ectability. From this material, we know that it is important to choose transduce rs that have the desired frequency, bandwidth, and focusing to optimize inspecti on capability. Most often the transducer is chosen either to enhance the sensiti vity or resolution of the system.

Transducers are classified into groups according to the application. Contact transducers are used for direct contact inspections, and are generally h and manipulated. They have elements protected in a rugged casing to withstand sl iding contact with a variety of materials. These transducers have an ergonomic d esign so that they are easy to grip and move along a surface. They often have re placeable wear plates to lengthen their useful life. Coupling materials of water , grease, oils, or commercial materials are used to remove the air gap between t he transducer and the component being inspected. Immersion transducers do not contact the component. These transducers are design ed to operate in a liquid environment and all connections are watertight. Immers ion transducers usually have an impedance matching layer that helps to get more sound energy into the water and, in turn, into the component being inspected. Im mersion transducers can be purchased with a planer, cylindrically focused or sph erically focused lens. A focused transducer can improve the sensitivity and axia l resolution by concentrating the sound energy to a smaller area. Immersion tran sducers are typically used inside a water tank or as part of a squirter or bubbl er system in scanning applications. More on Contact Transducers. Contact transducers are available in a variety of configurations to improve thei r usefulness for a variety of applications. The flat contact transducer shown ab ove is used in normal beam inspections of relatively flat surfaces, and where ne ar surface resolution is not critical. If the surface is curved, a shoe that mat ches the curvature of the part may need to be added to the face of the transduce r. If near surface resolution is important or if an angle beam inspection is nee ded, one of the special contact transducers described below might be used. Dual element transducers contain two independently operated elements in a single housing. One of the elements transmits and the other receives the ultrasonic si gnal. Active elements can be chosen for their sending and receiving capabilities to provide a transducer with a cleaner signal, and transducers for special appl ications, such as the inspection of course grained material. Dual element transd ucers are especially well suited for making measurements in applications where r eflectors are very near the transducer since this design eliminates the ring dow n effect that single-element transducers experience (when single-element transdu cers are operating in pulse echo mode, the element cannot start receiving reflec ted signals until the element has stopped ringing from its transmit function). D ual element transducers are very useful when making thickness measurements of th in materials and when inspecting for near surface defects. The two elements are angled towards each other to create a crossed-beam sound path in the test materi al. Delay line transducers provide versatility with a variety of replaceable options . Removable delay line, surface conforming membrane, and protective wear cap opt ions can make a single transducer effective for a wide range of applications. As the name implies, the primary function of a delay line transducer is to introdu ce a time delay between the generation of the sound wave and the arrival of any reflected waves. This allows the transducer to complete its "sending" function b efore it starts its "listening" function so that near surface resolution is impr oved. They are designed for use in applications such as high precision thickness gauging of thin materials and delamination checks in composite materials. They are also useful in high-temperature measurement applications since the delay lin e provides some insulation to the piezoelectric element from the heat. Angle beam transducers and wedges are typically used to introduce a refracted sh ear wave into the test material. Transducers can be purchased in a variety of fi

xed angles or in adjustable versions where the user determines the angles of inc idence and refraction. In the fixed angle versions, the angle of refraction that is marked on the transducer is only accurate for a particular material, which i s usually steel. The angled sound path allows the sound beam to be reflected fro m the backwall to improve detectability of flaws in and around welded areas. The y are also used to generate surface waves for use in detecting defects on the su rface of a component. Normal incidence shear wave transducers are unique because they allow the introd uction of shear waves directly into a test piece without the use of an angle bea m wedge. Careful design has enabled manufacturing of transducers with minimal lo ngitudinal wave contamination. The ratio of the longitudinal to shear wave compo nents is generally below -30dB. Paint brush transducers are used to scan wide areas. These long and narrow trans ducers are made up of an array of small crystals that are carefully matched to m inimize variations in performance and maintain uniform sensitivity over the enti re area of the transducer. Paint brush transducers make it possible to scan a la rger area more rapidly for discontinuities. Smaller and more sensitive transduce rs are often then required to further define the details of a discontinuity. TRANSDUCER TESTING : Some transducer manufacturers have lead in the development of transducer charact erization techniques and have participated in developing the AIUM Standard Metho ds for Testing Single-Element Pulse-Echo Ultrasonic Transducers as well as ASTME 1065 Standard Guide for Evaluating Characteristics of Ultrasonic Search Units. Additionally, some manufacturers perform characterizations according to AWS, ESI , and many other industrial and military standards. Often, equipment in test lab s is maintained in compliance with MIL-C-45662A Calibration System Requirements. As part of the documentation process, an extensive database containing records of the waveform and spectrum of each transducer is maintained and can be accesse d for comparative or statistical studies of transducer characteristics. Manufacturers often provide time and frequency domain plots for each transducer. The signals below were generated by a spiked pulser. The waveform image on the left shows the test response signal in the time domain (amplitude versus time). The spectrum image on the right shows the same signal in the frequency domain (a mplitude versus frequency). The signal path is usually a reflection from the bac k wall (fused silica) with the reflection in the far field of the transducer.

Other tests may include the following: Electrical Impedance Plots provide important information about the design and co nstruction of a transducer and can allow users to obtain electrically similar tr ansducers from multiple sources. Beam Alignment Measurements provide data on the degree of alignment between the sound beam axis and the transducer housing. This information is particularly use ful in applications that require a high degree of certainty regarding beam posit ioning with respect to a mechanical reference surface. Beam Profiles provide valuable information about transducer sound field characte ristics. Transverse beam profiles are created by scanning the transducer across a target (usually either a steel ball or rod) at a given distance from the trans ducer face and are used to determine focal spot size and beam symmetry. Axial be am profiles are created by recording the pulse-echo amplitude of the sound field as a function of distance from the transducer face and provide data on depth of

field and focal length. TRANSDUCER MODELING : In high-technology manufacturing, part design and simulation of part inspection is done in the virtual world of the computer. Transducer modeling is necessary t o make accurate predictions of how a part or component might be inspected, prior to the actual building of that part. Computer modeling is also used to design u ltrasonic transducers. As noted in the previous section, an ultrasonic transducer may be characterized by detailed measurements of its electrical and sound radiation properties. Such measurements can completely determine the response of any one individual transdu cer. There is ongoing research to develop general models that relate electrical input s (voltage, current) to mechanical outputs (force, velocity) and vice-versa. The se models can be very robust in giving accurate prediction of transducer respons e, but suffer from a lack of accurate modeling of physical variables inherent in transducer manufacturing. These electrical-mechanical response models must take into account the physical and electrical components in the figure below.

The Thompson-Gray Measurement Model, which makes very accurate predictions of ul trasonic scattering measurements made through liquid-solid interfaces, does not attempt to model transducer electrical-mechanical response. The Thompson-Gray Me asurement Model approach makes use of reference data taken with the same transdu cer(s) to deconvolve electro-physical characteristics specific to individual tra nsducers. See Section 5.4 Thompson-Gray Measurement Model. The long term goal in ultrasonic modeling is to incorporate accurate models of t he transducers themselves as well as accurate models of pulser-receivers, cables , and other components that completely describe any given inspection setup and a llow the accurate prediction of inspection signals.