Poteniometric sensor with status monitoring

Abstract

A potentiometric sensor for measuring a potentiometric variable of a medium comprises an ISFET whose gate region exhibits an ion-sensitive surface which can be exposed to the medium and which outputs an output signal that depends on the concentration of the ions at the ion-sensitive surface of the gate region. An evaluation circuit with a measuring input to which the output signal of the ISFET is applied is included, whereby the evaluation circuit is designed to output a measured value for the potentiometric variable, depending on the output signal. Also included is a measuring resistor which is arranged between the output of the ISFET and the input of the evaluation circuit, a monitoring circuit to determine the voltage drop over the measuring resistor, and a bridge section that is parallel to the measuring resistor to bridge the measuring resistor whereby the bridge section exhibits a switch with which the bridge section can be opened or closed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.