Abstract – In this paper development of
ARM-7 microcontroller based potentiostat for
the electrochemical laboratory is described.
Its operation is based on the three electrode
potentiostat. The use of microcontroller allows;
generation of excitation potential, acquisition of
sensed analog current, processing and storage
of data. The developed system is used for the
identification and quantification of analyte with
the use of computer program.
Keywords :
potentiostat, ARM-7, microcontroller,
electrochemical laboratory.
I. Introduction
Electrochemical sensors are widely used
in the laboratory for the detection of physical
signals in various processes, such as pH
measurement [1], glucose detection [2], and
nucleic acid identification [3]. Measurement
based on electrochemical sensors is much more
economical and convenient than chromatographic
and spectroscopic techniques [4]. The reason is
electrochemical sensors do not need expensive
optical set-ups. The electrochemical sensors are
passive type sensors. The physical parameters
sensed by the sensors is converted into
electrical signal with the use of transducer and
DC power source. A potentiostat is commonly
used transducer in the electrochemical sensing
system. It converts the sensors output into the
analog signal. Many scientists have developed
the potentiostat required for sensing system.
For instance, Frey developed potentiostat for
biosensor chips [5], Turner investigated a CMOS
potentiostat [6], Bandopdhyaya [7] developed a
multichannel potentiostat.