Full Scale Input and Output

A dynamic range of stimuli which may be converted by a sensor is called a span or an input full scale (FS). It represents the highest possible input value that can be applied to the sensor without causing an unacceptably large inaccuracy. For the sensors with a very broad and nonlinear response characteristic, a dynamic range of the input stimuli is often expressed in decibels, which is a logarithmic measure of ratios of either power or force (voltage). It should be emphasized that decibels do not measure absolute values, but a ratio of values only. A decibel scale represents signal magnitudes by much smaller numbers, which, in many cases, is far more convenient.

Being a nonlinear scale, it may represent low-level signals with high resolution while compressing the high-level numbers. In other words, the logarithmic scale for small objects works as a microscope, and for the large objects, it works as a telescope. By definition, decibels are equal to 10 times the log of the ratio of powers:

Full-Scale Output

Full-scale output (FSO) is the algebraic difference between the electrical output signals measured with maximum input stimulus and the lowest input stimulus applied. This must include all deviations from the ideal transfer function. For instance, the FSO output in figure below is represented by SFS.