Millivolt Output Pressure Transducers

This guide will help you select a millivolt output pressure transducer and explain the advantages of using this type of pressure sensor in certain applications.

The majority of millivolt output pressure transducers have passive electronic signal conditioning meaning that they are no amplifiers, filters, transistors or any other active component that might affect the natural performance of the transducer sensing element. Millivolt output pressure transducers offer the highest frequency response and the lowest power consumption of all the different types of strain gauge based pressure transducers available.

Contents

Products

Choose a millivolt output pressure transducer from the list below to view product specification details and request a price quotation.

TPS Strain Gauge Pressure Sensor - Strain gauge pressure sensor with a millivolt output direct from a four arm wheatstone bridge strain gauge circuit in pressure ranges from 10 up to 1000 bar gauge.
IMP Low Cost Pressure Sensor - Versatile low price pressure sensor with a wide selection of electrical and mechanical options for customisation.
Chemical Resistant Pressure Sensor Elements for Electronic Devices & Embedded Product Design & Development - Pressure sensor elements with sensing diaphragms made from alumina ceramic (Al2O3) for electronic & mechanical oem integration into measurement & control instrumentation designs.
IMP Ceramic Strain Gauge Pressure Transducer - Ceramic strain gauge pressure transducer with a 2mV/V or 10mV/V output signal in pressure ranges from 1 bar up to 700 bar gauge or absolute.
TPF Flush Diaphragm Strain Gauge Pressure Sensor - Flush diaphragm piezo-resistive pressure sensor for food processing and plastic injection moulding applications with a millivolt output signal in pressure ranges from 10 up to 1000 barg.
SSPT Subsea Wet-Mateable Electrical Connector Pressure Sensor - This stainless steel ceramic sensing diaphragm based subsea connector pressure sensor provides a unamplified ratiometric millivolt output or an amplified analogue output signal corresponding to ranges from 0…1 bar (14.50 psi) up to 400 bar ( 5800 psi).
AS Autosport Pressure Transducer - Motorsport pressure transducer with 21mm diameter and and 24mm body length for pressure ranges from 0.5 up to 600 bar gauge or absolute. Available with millivolt and amplified voltage output signals.
TM Silicon Strain Gauge Pressure Transducer - Passive compensated pressure transducer with a four arm semiconductor Wheatstone bridge circuit which produces a 100 millivolt with a 10 volt excitation.
TPH Strain Gauge Ultra High Pressure Sensor - Very high range pressure sensor with a millivolt output signal for pressure ranges from 1000 up to 5000 bar gauge.
ASM 13mm Diameter Miniature Pressure Transducer - Miniature size 1/2 inch diameter stainless steel pressure sensor with an amplified 0.5 to 4.5 Vdc output. Pressure ranges start from 10 up to 400 bar.

Description

The mV output is the least conditioned out of pressure transducer outputs, and is ideal for low power consumption and high dynamic response applications.

If you have an unlimited power supply you will be free to select any output signal without having to be concerned about power consumption. However if it is a battery powered application where measurements are to be made over a long period of time, power consumption of the output signal is going to be a significant deciding factor.

The millivolt output signal tends to have the lowest power consumption especially those with high input impedance. Also millivolt output pressure transducers have very few active components and therefore there is negligible warm up time allowing the sensor to be pulsed at regular intervals to further reduce power consumption. This makes the millivolt output pressure transducer ideal for incorporating into field instruments such as water level data loggers which have to operate in locations which are remote and often without power.

If you are trying to measure dynamic pressures which are changing very quickly you will need a pressure sensor that has an output signal with a frequency response that is ideally an order of magnitude higher in frequency than the process variable being measured. Although many output amplifiers now have frequency responses in the kHz range this may still not be enough for some applications. Millivolt output pressure transducers provide the highest frequency response for any given pressure sensor technology because there is typically no signal conditioning electronics fitted. Therefore the response of a millivolt output signal is only limited by the natural frequency of the sensing diaphragm and not by any other components.

Millivolt output levels vary depending on the core sensing technology or more specifically the gauge factors of the strain gauges that make up the wheatstone bridge circuit which most mV output pressure transducers use to convert the mechanical movement of the diaphragm into an electrical signal.

Pressure transducer technologies such as bonded foil or thick film strain gauge have relatively low mV outputs typically 20-30 mV at full scale pressure whereas silicon and thin film strain gauges have typically 100 mV output at full scale pressure.

The majority of mV output signals are ratiometric to supply voltage. There will be a limit on the range of supply voltage which can be used so that self heating effects and diminishing signal to noise ratios do not impact on the pressure transducers performance.

Due to the low voltage level of millivolt output signals they are not generally the best solution over long distances and therefore are mainly used on test rigs or inside an instrument where the cable lengths are relatively short between the signal conditioner and the pressure transducer.

Select a millivolt output pressure transducer for your application

Strain gauge bridge output pressure sensors for gauge, absolute and differential pressure sensing with high dynamic response, low power consumption and minimal active electronic components. These sensors have low voltage output signals which are proportional to the input supply voltage and typically have a 20 mV, 30 mV, 33 mV or 100 mV when supplied by 10Vdc.

If you would like us to select a millivolt output pressure transducer for you, then please use this form to specify your requirements.

General Purpose

General purpose mV/V sensitivity pressure transducer for general pneumatic and hydraulic applications which require low level signal outputs. Since there is no amplifier circuitry in these sensors the measured signal response is only restricted by the mechanical natural frequency of the sensing element.

OEM

OEM pressure transducer with strain gauge bridge output signal for incorporating into OEM instrumentation design for easy adaption into your own custom mechanical configuration and electrical interface.

High range pressure

High pressure transducers with millivolt output signal for testing hydraulic pressures. This sensor has a robust diaphragm technology to withstand the harsh pressure changes that occur regularly in dynamic hydraulic test systems.

Miniature size

Small size 4 wire ratiometric pressure transducer with mV output proportional to input supply voltage. Ideal for research and testing applications where small dimensions, low weight and high frequency response are required.

Flush diaphragm

Exposed flush face diaphragm pressure sensor with millivolt output signals for measuring the pressures of high viscosity liquids or where the internal volume of the pressure connection needs to be eliminated.

Help

50m cable effect on signal

I want to use a sensors with a mV output, but the distance to the acquisition device is about 50 meters. Do you think I will still get a good signal or would the voltage drop be too big?

It should not be too bad, it is possible to use a longer length cable with mV output signal. We would recommend calibrating the sensor with the cable attached to the device, then you can compensate for any change in the output when connecting to the instrumentation.