A Digital temperature meter using an LM35 temperature sensor

Introduction

A digital thermometer is a good choice of project for beginners who just stepped in to the world of microcontrollers because it provides an opportunity to learn using sensors to measure the real world signals that are analog in nature. This article describes a similar project based on a PIC16F688 microcontroller and an LM35 temperature sensor. LM35 is an analog sensor that converts the surrounding temperature to a proportional analog voltage. The output from the sensor is connected to one of the ADC channel inputs of the PIC16F688 microcontroller to derive the equivalent temperature value in digital format. The computed temperature is displayed in a 16×2 character LCD, in both °C and °F scales.

Theory

The LM35 series of temperature sensors are produced by National Semiconductor Corporation and are rated to operate over a -55 °C to 150°C temperature range. These sensors do not require any external calibration and the  output voltage is proportional to the temperature. The scale factor for temperature to voltage conversion is 10 mV per °C. The LM35 series sensors come in different packages. The one I used is in a hermatic TO-46 transistor package where the metal case is connected to the negative pin (Gnd).

The measurement of negative temperatures (below 0°C) requires a negative voltage source. However, this project does not use any negative voltage source, and therefore will demonstrate the use of sensor for measuring temperatures above 0°C (up to 100°C).

The output voltage from the sensor is converted to a 10-bit digital number using the internal ADC of the PIC16F688. Since the voltage to be measured by the ADC ranges from 0 to 1.0V (that corresponds to maximum temperature range, 100 °C), the ADC requires a lower reference voltage (instead of the supply voltage Vdd = 5V) for A/D conversion in order to get better accuracy. The lower reference voltage can be provided using a Zener diode,  a resistor network, or sometime just simple diodes. You can derive an approximate 1.2V reference voltage by connecting two diodes and a resistor in series across the supply voltage, as shown below. As a demonstration, I am going to use this circuit in this project. I measured the output voltage across the two diodes as 1.196 V. The resistor R I used is of 3.6K, but you can use 1K too. The important thing is to measure the voltage across the two diodes as accurate as possible.

We need do some math for A/D conversion. Our Vref is 1.196 V, and the ADC is 10-bit. So, any input voltage from 0-1.196 will be mapped to a digital number between 0-1023. The resolution of ADC is 1.196/1024 = 0.001168 V/Count. Therefore, the digital output corresponding to any input voltage Vin = Vin/0.001168. Now, lets see how to get the temperature back from this whole process of converting sensor’s output to 10-bit digital number.

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Ibrar Ayyub

I am an experienced technical writer holding a Master's degree in computer science from BZU Multan, Pakistan University. With a background spanning various industries, particularly in home automation and engineering, I have honed my skills in crafting clear and concise content. Proficient in leveraging infographics and diagrams, I strive to simplify complex concepts for readers. My strength lies in thorough...