Author: Paul W. Chapman
Publisher: ISA
ISBN: 1-55617-987-1
Page count: 174
ISA publishes Independent Learning Modules (ILMs), materials designed primarily for independent self-study. This book is one of these ILMs and is intended to provide a broad understanding of sensors (in terms of what you need to measure and what devices exist to do so) coupled with information on how to choose wisely.
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The book is divided into ten units: Introduction and Overview; Sensors and Sensing: History and Definitions; Sensor Technologies; Sensor Manufacturing (focusing on silicon-based sensors and how they are manufactured); Smart Sensing: "Adding Value" to the Sensing Circuit; Control Partitioning: Should the "Smarts" Be in the Sensor or the System; Sensors+Artificial Intelligence: The "High End" of Sensor Partitioning; Sensor Packaging: Pulling It All Together; Bus-based Sensing Systems: Combining Controls, Communication, and Diagnostic Capabilities; and Is There Life After Silicon? (a discussion on possible future avenues of sensor development).
Each unit ends with a set of exercises; the answers are listed in one of the appendices. The text is clear and there are many photographs and diagrams to illustrate the concepts discussed. I'll also point out that Appendix B contains a long list of suggested reading and study materials, divided up by general topic—a nice addition to a very helpful book.