Measurement 29 (2001) 287–292

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Compact and accurate digital thermometer based on Anderson’s

loop and Pt-100 sensor
C. Svelto*, G. Galzerano, E. Bava
INFM, Dipartimento di Elettronica e Informazione, Politecnico di Milano and CNR-CSTS, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano,
Italy
Received 17 February 2000; received in revised form 2 June 2000; accepted 12 June 2000

Abstract

A simple and practical digital thermometer with an accuracy better than 0.18C over a near-room-temperature (from
2 108C to 508C) measurement range has been developed. The instrument is compact and battery operated and provides for
both digital and analog outputs. A four-lead platinum thermal sensor, driven by a constant current loop, allows for accurate
temperature readings with high immunity to the contact resistances and to their variations. A low-noise electronics allows for
temperature measurements with a 1 mK resolution. By experimentally characterizing the non-linearity of the adopted Pt-100
sensor, a suitable readout correction table has been calculated in order to compensate for the sensor non-linear behavior. This
compensating procedure allows for a wider (from 2 508C to 1 2008C) and higher accuracy ( | 0.058C) measurement range.
The ultimate accuracy was essentially limited by the accuracy of the temperature standard used for calibration.  2001
Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

Keywords: Temperature instrumentation; Temperature measurement; Low noise electronics; Current loop; Platinum thermal sensor;
Resistance measurement

1. Introduction al resistances arising from the lead wires and contact

Temperature measurements characterized by the
best accuracy levels use platinum sensors to trans-
duce the thermal signal into an electric one [1]. The
low thermal coefficient (a 5 1 /R ? dR / dT(0.385% /
8C for standard commercial probes [2]) and the
relatively low ohmic value of these sensors push
toward the need for high-resolution measurements of
the variation in the sensor resistance. Such measure-
ments require a careful consideration of the addition-
*Corresponding author. Tel.: 139-02-2399-3610; fax: 139-02-
2399-3413.
E-mail address: cesare.svelto@polimi.it (C. Svelto).
weldings and from the associated thermal drifts. For
this reason, the most accurate resistance measure-
ments need four-wire probes [3]. With a four-wire
resistor the voltage difference between the high-
impedance voltmetric terminals can be read, essen-
tially without spurious resistance effects, when a
constant current is flowing through the other am-
perometric wires and terminals. A particular and
quite recent application of this concept is exploited
in the Anderson’s loop circuit [4]. This current-loop
topology is now increasingly used for temperature
measurements using resistive sensors. When com-
pared to a standard bridge circuit, the Anderson’s
loop also presents the clear advantage of generating

0263-2241 / 01 / $ – see front matter  2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.

PII: S0263-2241( 00 )00052-X
288 C. Svelto et al. / Measurement 29 (2001) 287 – 292
an output voltage which varies linearly with the
sensor resistance. If a perfectly linear and calibrated
electronic circuit is developed, the remaining mea-
surement uncertainties only arise from the sensor
non-linearity and from aging of both the sensor and
the electronic circuit.
In this paper the design and performance of a
compact and accurate digital thermometer, with a 4 ]12
digit display, is described. The thermometer uses a
four-lead Pt-100 commercial temperature transducer
sensed by a doubly differential subtraction circuit in
an Anderson’s loop configuration. The combination
of low-noise electronics and careful instrument cali-
bration allows for accurate temperature measure-
ments in a 62008C interval within the operating
range of the sensor.
2. Digital thermometer design
The thermometer design is based on a current loop
excitation acting on a resistive thermal sensor where-
as active doubly differential subtraction is used to
read the voltage difference across the sensing resist-
ance. Both a digital readout and an analog voltage
outputs are available for temperature readings by this
instrument. The block diagram of the digital ther-
mometer, showing the sensor, the main electronic
sections, and both outputs, is depicted in Fig. 1. The
detailed schematic of the measurement electronic
circuit is indicated in Fig. 2. The constant excitation
current is obtained by means of a precise 5 V voltage
reference (Linear Technology, LT1236), an ultra low
noise operational amplifier (Analog Device, OP177),
and a reference resistor R 2 5 10060.1 V with
Fig. 1. Block diagram of the digital thermometer.
3 ppm / 8C thermal drift. We note that the uncertainty
of this reference resistor to the measurment uncer-
tainty disappears with the thermometer calibration
and hence the relatively high (0.1 V) resistance
uncertainty is not propagated to the uncertainty of
the measured temperature. The doubly differential
subtraction section is made of two instrumentation
amplifiers (Burr Brown, INA118) and of another
OP177 operational amplifier. As a temperature sen-
sor, a four-wire Pt-100 commercial and low cost
resistor (RS, 237-1657) has been used. This sensor,
in compliance with BS1904:1984 class B quality, is
characterized by a nominal resistance value of
R 0 5 10060.1 V at a reference temperature
T 0 5 08C and by a nominal temperature coefficient
a 5 (39362) 3 10 25 8C 21 . With an excitation current
of 373 mA and a total differential subtraction gain of
68.2 V/ V, a sensitivity of 10 mV/ mK has been
obtained at the measurement circuit output (voltage
Vtherm in Figs. 1 and 2). The output voltage from the
measurement circuit of Fig. 2 is sent to an A / D
converter (Harris, ICL7129) driving a liquid crystal
display (Varitronix, BD503DP) with 4 ]12 digits. An
analog voltage is also available at a BNC output
connector on the back panel of the thermometer. Due
to the specifics of the A / D converter and display that
have been adopted, the theoretical resolution of the
digital measurements is 1 mK or 10 mK in the
temperature intervals of 6208C or 62008C, respec-
tively. The desired measurement range can be select-
ed by a manual switch acting on the A / D converter
and on the display dynamic (6200 mV or 62 V,
respectively). Calibration of the instrument offset
and gain is made possible by means of the R w1 and
R w2 potentiometers (see Fig. 2), respectively. The
 C. Svelto et al. / Measurement 29 (2001) 287 – 292
Fig. 2. Schematics of the measurement electronic circuit.
power supply consists of two 9 V batteries series
connected. Owing to the low power consumption of
the adopted electronic circuit, the power supply
allows for continuous operation of the thermometer
for a time interval period much longer than 100 h.
A picture of the entire instrument and sensor is
shown in Fig. 3. This thermometer has been de-
veloped mostly for near room temperature operation
Fig. 3. Photograph of the digital thermometer. The open case
shows the internal electronics. The 1-m-long shielded wire
connects the Pt-100 sensor (white bulb) to the instrument.
289
and it is specifically designed for thermoelectronic
control loops aimed at the temperature stabilization
of small optical or mechanical parts even outside of
the laboratory environment. Henceforth, the device is
portable (size 85 3 70 3 140 mm 3 and weight 350 g)
and battery operated.
3. Uncertainty calculation
With an adequate calibration procedure, all the
systematic effects due to electrical components toler-
ances can be removed from the temperature measure-
ment. In particular, assuming a linear characteristic
of the thermal sensor, the offset error in the elec-
tronic circuitry and the reference resistor can be
suppressed by imposing (through the offset regula-
tion potentiometer R w1 ) a zero output when the
sensor is in contact with a mixture of ice and water
at thermal equilibrium. Likewise, the gain error can
be suppressed by setting (through the gain-regulation
potentiometer R w2 ) a prescribed output voltage at
another reference temperature. The main residual
sources of uncertainty for the thermometer are then
related to the non-linearity of the platinum sensor
(having measured a negligible contribution due to
the electronic circuitry non-linearity) and to the
290 C. Svelto et al. / Measurement 29 (2001) 287 – 292

stability of both the electronics and the sensor itself Table 1

Resistance values and associated thermal variations for the
(e.g. long-term mechanical stability and aging).
different resistors of Fig. 2
Resistor Resistance value Thermal variation
3.1. Sensor non-linearity [kV] [V / 8C]
R1 13.3 kV?(1115 ppm / 8C) 0.1995
Although platinum sensors are the most linear R2, R3, R4 100 V?(113 ppm / 8C) 0.0003
temperature transducers so far available, they still R5 4.12 kV?(1115 ppm / 8C) 0.0618
show a residual non-linear dependence on tempera- R w1 880 V?(11100 ppm / 8C) 0.0880
ture. In a sufficiently small temperature interval R g1 1 kV?(1150 ppm / 8C) 0.0500
around 08C, the platinum resistance R as a function R w2 50 kV?(11100 ppm / 8C) 5.0000
R g2 100 kV?(1150 ppm / 8C) 5.0000
of the temperature u, expressed in Celsius degrees, R INA 50 kV?(1125 ppm / 8C) 1.2500
can be written as

R(u ) 5 R 0 [1 1 Au 1 Bu 2 ] (1)
where R 0 is the sensor resistance at 08C and A and B
are suitable constants. For an optimum employment
of these sensors in high accuracy electronic ther-
mometers, it is therefore necessary to precisely
characterize the sensor parameters in order to correct
the instrument readings from the non-linear behavior
of the probe. Obviously, the uncertainty of this
non-linear model will ultimately limit the total
accuracy of the thermometer.
3.2. Thermal drifts
Even after a proper calibration procedure, sys-
tematic errors are still present due to thermal drifts of
the electrical components in the sensing circuit. If we
assume that an instrument calibration has been
performed at a given room temperature for the
thermometer case and internal electronics, e.g.
ucase 5238C, one can then calculate the inaccuracy
caused by operating the thermometer in a sufficiently
small temperature range around room temperature,
e.g. ucase 523658C, once the temperature variations
of all electronic components are known.
With reference to the components shown in Fig. 2,
the thermal drift of the operational amplifier OP177
is given by (DVOP /Du )5100 nV/ 8C while the drift of
the instrumentation amplifier INA118 can be written
as (DVINA /Du )5[0.21(5 /GINA )] mV/ 8C where GINA
is the particular gain of the amplifier. Its value is
given by GINA 5(11R INA /R g ) where R INA is an
internal resistance (R INA 550 kV) not shown in
Fig. 2, and R g is the external gain resistance.
The reference voltage of the LT1236 supply is
Vr 5560.0025 V with a 2 ppm / 8C thermal drift. This
gives a (DVr /Du )510 mV/ 8C thermal drift, while the
drift of the A / D converter, referred to its input, is
(DVICL7129 /Du )50.5 mV/ 8C. Finally, the values of
the resistors, all chosen for low thermal drifts, and
the corresponding temperature induced variations are
then shown in Table 1.
By both numerical and approximated analytical
calculations, a linear overall thermal drift has been
obtained for Vtherm , with a temperature coefficient
of 12 mV/ 8C over an extremely wide (61008C)
operating temperature interval. This corresponds
to a thermal drift of the readout temperature of
10.2 mK / 8C and hence an overall readout error of
61 mK when the instrument operating temperature
varies in the range ucase 523658C. Furthermore it
should be noted that, if necessary, this linear thermal
drift of the measurement readout could be even
further reduced by using an additional buffer am-
plifier with a precisely opposite thermal drift.
4. Noise measurements and instrument
calibration
To evaluate the contribution of the electronic
noise, the doubly-differential output has been re-
corded by means of a low-noise 16-bit digital
acquisition system. In these measurements a low
thermal drift 100 V resistor, kept at a constant
temperature, was connected to the instrument in
place of the Pt-100 sensor. With a sampling rate of
100 Sa / s and for observation times as long as 5 min,
a temperature-converted rms value of 0.2 mK in a
 C. Svelto et al. / Measurement 29 (2001) 287 – 292 291

bandwidth of 3 Hz has been obtained. When this Table 2

Calculated thermometer readout values at different measurement
noisy thermal voltage signal is fed to the A / D
temperatures between 250 and 12008C and readout corrections
converter, however, the 20 ms integration time for the sensor non-linearity
provides for enough electronic noise suppression that
Temperature Sensor resistance Thermometer Correction
the displayed values do not show any fluctuation [8C] [V] readout [8C] [8C]
even at the mK resolution level. Changes in the wire
250 80.315 250.85 0.85
resistances up to 100 V were also applied without
240 84.275 240.60 0.60
noticing readout variations (DVtherm ,10 mV). This is 230 88.224 230.39 0.39
due to the current-loop topology of the measurement 220 92.161 220.22 0.22
circuit and to the high Common Mode Rejection 215 94.125 215.154 0.154
Ratio of the doubly-differential subtraction used. In 210 96.086 210.093 0.093
29 96.478 29.082 0.082
agreement with the theoretical result obtained in the
28 96.870 28.071 0.071
previous section, the measured system thermal drift 27 97.262 27.061 0.061
proved to be below 61 mK for environment tem- 26 97.653 26.051 0.051
peratures, uenv ;ucase , varying in the interval of 25 98.045 25.042 0.042
23658C. 24 98.436 24.033 0.033
23 98.827 23.024 0.024
Calibration of the thermometer has been obtained
22 99.218 22.016 0.016
by means of a stable bath temperature (Ethafrigo, 21 99.609 21.007 0.007
KB22 with a 61 mK temperature stability), whose 0 100 0 0
temperature was measured by a high-accuracy sec- 1 100.391 1.007 20.007
ondary temperature standard (65 mK accuracy and 2 100.782 2.014 20.014
3 101.172 3.020 20.020
0.25 mK readout resolution) at two or three specific
4 101.562 4.026 20.026
temperature points. Regulations of the voltage offset 5 101.953 5.032 20.032
and gain of the measurement circuit have been 6 102.343 6.037 20.037
performed at the bath temperatures of 0.0008C and 7 102.733 7.042 20.042
40.6568C, respectively. Without correction for the 8 103.123 8.047 20.047
9 103.513 9.051 20.051
non-linear behavior of the specific Pt-100 sensor
10 103.902 10.055 20.055
used, the estimated thermometer accuracy turns out 15 105.849 15.068 20.068
to be better than 0.18C over the temperature range 20 107.793 20.07 20.07
from 210 to 1508C. To extend this range of 30 111.672 30.05 20.05
accurate measurement and to achieve an even better 40 115.539 39.99 0.01
50 119.395 49.89 0.11
accuracy, a correction for the sensor non-linearity
100 138.500 98.83 1.17
becomes necessary. Of course, this correction de- 150 157.315 146.81 3.19
pends on the particular sensor being used, i.e. on its 200 175.839 193.83 6.17
quality class, on its mechanical design and on
materials aging. To estimate the non-linearity of our
Pt-100 sensor (quality class B), a third measurement, and B95 21.91(8)?10 26 V/ 8C 2 . Upon dividing
at 60.4338C, was performed. From the measured these coefficient values by the resistance-
error of 20.258C, of our thermometer at this tem- to-voltage, R(u )→Vtherm , gain of the instrument,
perature, and upon assuming that the non-linear GR →V ((68.2 V/ V)?(373 mA)(25.44 mV/ mV, we
relation between the measured temperature and the can deduce the sensor coefficients of Eq.
actual values, as due to the sensor, can be described (1) as R 0 ? A53.960(2)?10 21 V / 8C and
by a non-linear model of the second order of the R 0 ?B5 27.5(3)?10 25 V / 8C 2 . Upon calculating the
form shown in Eq. (1), a readout correction for the sensor resistance by Eq. (1), one then obtains the
measured temperature values has been deduced values of this resistance, also shown in Table 2,
(see Table 2). The corresponding linear and quad- which vary non-linearly with the sensor temperature.
ratic coefficients of Vtherm vs. the actual temper- In particular, the maximum correction applied in the
ature turn out to be A9510.074(5)?10 23 V/ 8C 210 to 1508C temperature range is 0.118C while in
292 C. Svelto et al. / Measurement 29 (2001) 287 – 292
the full measurement range the error limit, before
correction, is of 26.178C at the maximum tempera-
ture of 12008C. We note that the temperature values
of Table 2 are taken from the 2508C operating range
of this digital thermometer, i.e. from 2508C (limited
by the sensor minimum operating temperature) to
12008C (limited by the converter / display dynamic).
By using the correction values reported in Table 2,
calculated from the above three-point calibration, the
thermometer allows for high-accuracy measurements
in this wide temperature range.
Measurements of the instrument repeatability have
also been performed using a 10060.1 V 3 ppm / 8C
resistor in place of the Pt-100 sensor. By this test it
was verified that the stability of the readings was
within 1 mK when switching on and off the ther-
mometer during different days over a 2-month
observation period.
5. Conclusions
A portable digital thermometer has been de-
veloped performing accurate temperature measure-
ments in the temperature range from 2508C to
12008C and allowing for both digital readout and
analog output. The resolution of the digital measure-
ment can be selected to be either 10 mK, over a
62008C interval, or 1 mK, over a 6208C interval.
Even with a Pt-100 sensor of modest quality, the
thermometer accuracy over a measurement range
from 210 to 1508C is better than 0.18C, with a
two-point calibration. This accuracy is essentially
limited by the uncorrected non-linear characteristic
of the platinum sensor vs. temperature while the
errors produced by thermal drifts and noise in the
electronic circuit are below the resolution limit set by
the digital display. Upon using a suitably calculated
readout correction table, based on a three-point
calibration, the accuracy of the thermometer goes to
0.058C over the entire measurement range.
To maintain a 1 mK readout stability, the ther-
mometer needs to be operated within a 658C range
around the temperature which was used during the
instrument calibration. Repeated comparisons with a
secondary temperature standard, to be performed in
an official calibration center, will be performed in
order to assess the long-term stability and confirm
the overall accuracy of this inexpensive but precise
and versatile measurement device.
Acknowledgements
The authors are indebted to Mr. Antimo Silvestre,
of the center of the calibration service in Italy (SIT)
of the Politecnico di Milano, for his helpful technical
assistance during the instrument calibration.
References
[1] W. Gopel, J. Hesse, J.N. Zemel, in: T. Ricolfi, J. Sholz
(Eds.), Sensors, A Comprehensive Survey, Thermal Sensors,
Vol. 4, WCH, Weinheim, 1964.
[2] J. Fraden, Handbook of Modern Sensors, AIP, 1996, Chapter
4.
[3] F.K. Harris, Electrical Measurements, Wiley and Sons, 1952,
Chapter 7.
[4] K.F. Anderson, The new current loop: an instrumentation
and measurement circuit topology, IEEE Trans. IM46 (1)
(1997) 1061–1067.