Threshold-crossing counting technique for damping factor determination of resonator sensors

The behavior of resonator-type sensors at resonance is characterized by two fundamental parameters: resonance frequency and damping factor (or Q-factor). Practical applications require accurate and efficient measurements of these two parameters. Using magnetoelastic resonant sensors as a test case earlier work [K. Zeng, K. G. Ong, C. Mungle, and C. A. Grimes, Rev. Sci. Instrum. 73, 4375 (2002)] demonstrated the ability to determine resonance frequency by counting the number of cycles in the transient response of a pulsewise excited sensor. Presented in this paper is a novel technique for measuring the damping factor of a resonant magnetoelastic sensor, or any resonator type sensor, using threshold-crossing counting of the transient response. The damping factor determination technique eliminates the need for a lock-in amplifier or FFT analysis as in the conventional method of quality factor estimation from spectrum analysis, significantly simplifying the electronic implementation as well as improving measurement speed and accuracy.