and the National Bureau of Standard coefficients in Table 14.3. A look-up table in a programable read-only memory(PROM) is also a popular method of converting a digitized signal from a thermocouple to a digitized temperature scale. The analog-to-digital converters that convert the thermocouple voltages to digital signals must have a resolution of 1 microvolt in order to obtain a sensitivity of 0.1 c
Another serious handicap of is require a reference to a known temperature for that they that is, the circuitry use in absolute temperature measurements must compare the output of the"signal" thermocouple with"refer ence" that of a similar Of course, the latter must be held at a known temperature.
Providing such a suitable temperature reference and minimizing of un wanted the references thermocouples can prove challenging. Techniques include physical(ice-point cells at which are accurate and easy to build but cumbersome to main- tain); ambient-temperature reference junction(acceptable as long as the temperature variation in the vicinity of the reference junction is smaller than the desired resolution of the temperature being measured); and electronic cold-junction compensators, which provide an artificial reference level and compensate for ambient-temperature varia tions in the vicinity of the reference junction.That is, an offsetting circuit measures the ambient temperature at the reference junction and adds a voltage to the thermocouple output equal to the voltage expected to be developed by the reference, but of opposite polarity. This is easily done by using a temperature-compensated low-voltage reference diode such as the LMi13(which has highly predictable properties) or by using mono lithic temperature sensor such as the LT1025 manufactured by Linear Technology(Figure 14.21), which is specifically designed for cold junction compensation. The net output of the thermocouple circuit when used with either of these devices in a voltage whose value is equivalent to the voltage that would be produced if the reference junc tion were at 0 C.