Wearable Impedance Analyzer Based on AD5933
Liviu Breniuc and Valeriu David
Dept. of Electrical Measurements and Electrotechnical
Materials
Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Iasi, Romania
e-mail: lbreniuc@ee.tuisi.ro
DRAFT
Abstract—In this paper a system for measuring impedance, based
on AD5933 circuit is presented. The impedance measuring range
is between 9 Ω and 18 MΩ for a 1 kHz ÷ 100 kHz frequency
range. Possibilities of expanding this range of measurement are
also presented in the paper. The system calibration is automatic
and the relative error of the impedance modulus measurement is
in the range ±2%. Measured impedance main parameters are
shown locally on an OLED display but can also be stored in an
SD memory card for further processing. The system is portable,
modular and adaptable to a large number of applications.
Keywords-component; AD5933; impedance analyzer;
microcontroller; medical applications;
I. INTRODUCTION
The Analog Devices AD5933 circuit contains all the
hardware and software resources required to realize a system
for measuring and characterizing impedance. Consequently, the
application of this circuit refers to the realization of complex
impedance measurement and measurement of non-electrical
quantities through impedance measurements.
An impedance measurement system based on AD5933
circuit is shown in [1]. The system is controlled by an AVR
ATmega128 microcontroller which allows displaying local
results and records them on an SD card. Measuring range of
impedances is 1 kΩ ÷ 5 MΩ for frequencies between 1 kHz
and 100 kHz, with the impedances parameters measurement
error of ±3.5%. Smaller errors for capacity and conductivity
measurement can be obtained with measuring system based on
AD5933 circuit presented in [2]. In this case, the increase in
accuracy is obtained by processing the measurement results in
MATLAB. A portable system for measuring the impedance is
presented in [3]. Measurement range of impedance is 10Ω ÷
10GΩ for frequencies between 0.01 Hz and 100 kHz with the
impedance parameters measurement error of ±2.5%. The
system uses two AD5933 circuits, one for the generation and
measurement of test voltage and the other for measurement of
the current that passes through the impedance. The system is
controlled by a microcontroller that generates also the clock
necessary for the AD5933 circuits.
In industry, AD5933 circuit is often used to characterize the
degree of metal corrosion, for example in the case of steel and
aluminum. This problem is solved by using electrochemical
impedance spectroscopy methods (EIS). Mathematically, the
corrosion of metals is modeled using RC network that consists
Cristian-Győző Haba
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Faculty of Electrical Engineering
Iasi, Romania
e-mail: cghaba@ee.tuisi.ro
of a resistor Rs in series with a parallel resistor Rp and capacitor
Cp. The impedance modulus of the network is in the range
100 kΩ ÷ 10 Ω. To obtain meaningful results it is necessary to
make measurements in the frequency range of 0.1 Hz to
100 kHz for test voltages of ±20 mV. Regarding metal
corrosion we also have the problem of characterization of
anticorrosion coatings. A mathematical model for complex RC
network characterizing anticorrosion coatings is presented in
[4] and the measuring system used is derived from the one
presented in [3]. Based on the same mathematical model works
the anticorrosion coating characterization system presented in
[5] which is also equipped with wireless communication.
One area where circuit AD5933 is often used is that of
medical applications. One of the application is to characterize
the properties of the blood, e.g. in virus strain content or the
degree of coagulation [6]. Another use refers to the
construction of electrical bioimpedance spectrometers (EBIS).
Specific problem in measuring electrical bioimpedance is
attaching a four-wire circuit for eliminating polarization
electrodes. The most commonly used mathematical model for
electrical bioimpedance is 2R1C. Several aspects regarding the
design and use of EBIS are presented in [7-11].
II. SYSTEM OVERVIEW
The Impedance Characterization System for Wearable
Applications (ICSWA) proposed in this paper was designed as
a portable and modular system with the following features:
impedance measurement in a large value range and extensive
range of frequencies, selection of measurement parameters,
display and local storage of the results. The ICSWA block
diagram is given in Fig. 1.
ICSWA is built around a microcontroller based-
microsystem. Microsystem role is to coordinate the overall
operation of all modules that compose ICSWA. The Impedance
Analyzer module is built around AD5933 circuit and is
controlled via the microsystem IIC interface. Digital sections of
the module are supplied with a 3.3 V voltage while the analog
sections are supplied with a 3 V voltage. The 3 V voltage is
achieved by stabilizing the 3.3 V voltage generated by the
microsystem. The stabilization circuit is based on Analog
Devices ADP150-3.0 chip. In order to obtain stable test
frequencies the system uses an external piloted CFPS-73 quartz
oscillator operating at 3.3 V. Test frequencies below 1 kHz are
generated using a Dallas DS1077 external oscillator. The
oscillator operates at 3.3 V, is controlled by IIC interface and
generates a programmable frequency in the range 8.13 kHz ÷
66.666 MHz. Input of measurement parameters is performed
using a rotary encoder and a graphic display. The same display
will be used for numeric and graphic display of measurement
results. Measurement results are stored into a SD memory card.
In the development of ICSWA system were used several
Digilent modules (Pmod type microsystem and peripherals).
Information about these modules can be found on
http://www.digilentinc.com site.
Microcontroller application was developed using the
Arduino development platform. Connection with PC to upload
the program and its debugging is done through the USB
interface. Data on the SD card are recorded in comma or tab
separated value format to be easily processed in mathematical
software, such as Microsoft Excel. The ICSWA system is
presented in Fig. 2.
SPI
SD card + SD slot Rotary Encoder
(PmodSD) (PmodENC)
III. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
In this paragraph the main components of ICSWA will be
briefly described.
A. The microsystem
The microsystem used is based on chipKIT Pro MX4
platform equipped with a powerful Microchip
PIC32MX460F512L 32-bit microcontroller. Microcontroller
performance assures all necessary resources to achieve a good
operation of ICSWA. Access to hardware resources is achieved
by means of the nine standard 2x6-pin female micro-
connectors. Peripheral modules (Pmod) are equipped with
standard 6-pin or 2x6 pins male connectors. This allows a
simple coupling of microsystem peripheral modules.
Microcontroller programming was done with the MPIDE
derived from the Arduino platform.
B. Impedance Analyzer
The schematic diagram of the Impedance Analyzer derived
from AD5933 application notes [12-16] is given in Fig. 3.

Parallel USB
Display Microsystem
(PmodOLED2) (chipKIT Pro MX4)
to PC

IIC 3.3V
Oscillator
DS1077LZ-66 Impedance Analyzer
MCLK (AD5933)
Oscillator 16 MHz
AVDD
(CFPS-73)
Zunknown

3V
Voltage Stabilizer Figure 3. Schematic diagram of the Impedance Analyzer.
(ADP150-3.0) 3.3V
Impedance meter is built around AD5933 circuit (the circuit
parameters and details of its use are given in [12-16]). The
Figure 1. ICSWA system block diagram.
AD5933 circuit consists of several main modules: Transmit
Stage, Receive Stage, DFT Engine, 16.776 MHz Oscillator and
IIC Interface. Generation of test voltage is done using
Transmitting Stage module using DDS (Direct Digital
Synthesizer) method. The 27-bit numerical samples are
generated on DDS Core block then converted into voltage by
Digital to Analog Converter block with a 12 bit resolution.
Final test voltage is attenuated in a programmable attenuator.
This results in four voltage ranges. Each range is characterized
by: the test voltage Vout, the DC voltage level (DC Bias) over
which is superimposed the voltage Vout and the output
resistance Rout of the output of the equivalent voltage generator.
For example, for the 3V analogue voltage Vcc, for range 1, Vout
is 1.8 Vpp, DC Bias is 1.35V and Rout is 200 Ω. Vout voltage and
DC Bias values depend on the Vcc voltage and selected range.
Rout resistor values depend on the selected range. Removing
resistor Rout effects is achieved by using the external Au voltage
amplifier based on AD8606 chip with unitary gain factor and
low output resistance (<1 Ω). Using an external power
amplifier has the effect of increasing the test current.
Equalization of DC Bias voltage value at Vcc/2 is achieved by
Figure 2. The ICSWA system.
using a high pass filter (HPF) and a voltage divisor (C1 = 47
nF, R1 = R2 = 49.9 kΩ). Corner frequency (fc) of the HPF is
about 68 Hz (fc = 1/2πRC) so far below the lower limit of
measurement frequency.
The unknown measured impedance Zu is connected
between terminals A and B. The Iout current flows through the
impedance and is converted into voltage with the amplifier Ai,
with conversion reaction resistor Rfb. In order to block the
appearance of a DC current through the impedance Zu, the non-
inverting input of the amplifier is pre polarized also to Vcc/2
with resistive divider formed by resistors R3 and R4. If the Ai
amplifier were not used its role would have been taken over by
the internal I/U amplifier part of Receive Stage module. In this
case, the I/U amplifier is connected in inverter configuration
with gain factor -1, the non inverting input being pre- polarized
with voltage Vcc/2. Next, the resulting voltage is amplified by
gain factor 1 or 5, filtered and analog to digital converted with
a 12-bit resolution.
DFT engine calculates the DFT (Discrete Fourier
Transform) of the response obtained from the ADC and stores
the result in Real Data and Imaginary Data registers. Data from
these registers contain information on overall system
impedance, including impedance Zu. To determine Zu
impedance modulus and phase, a system calibration must be
made in advance. This is done by connecting between
terminals C and D a calibration impedance, usually a
calibration resistor Rcal whose phase is 0. During calibration,
system gain is computed as it will be used to compute the
module of Zu impedance. In order to eliminate the need for
manual switching the Zu impedance and Rcal calibration resistor
a simple switching scheme can be implemented using an
analog multiplexer or a relay. In our case we used an ADG849
type analog multiplexer with channel resistance under 0.5Ω
(for selection input Sel = 0, the Rcal impedance is connected for
measurement while for Sel = 1, the Zu impedance is connected
for measurement).
Clock frequency fclk for AD5933 circuit blocks is obtained
from the internal 16.776 MHz oscillator. The clock applied to
DDS module is fclk/4, and the clock applied to ADC block is
fclk/16. In order to achieve stable excitation frequencies and/or
low frequency, an external clock signal can be input to pin
MCLK. The proposed system can use both options.
The AD5933 circuit includes a temperature sensor which
can be checked to determine the circuit temperature. This is
useful to implement circuit protection and for estimation of
effective frequency provided by the internal clock oscillator.
Programming and reading results from AD5933 circuit is
possible through a simple IIC interface. Circuit address is
0001101 (0x0D) and the maximum transfer rate is 400 kHz.
C. Rotary Encoder and Display
For ICSWA operation AD5933 circuit must initially be
configured. The configuration parameters are: the test voltage
range, the test frequency range (start frequency, frequency
increment, number of increments, number of cycles, sweep
mode), the gain of the Receive Stage, internal clock oscillator
or external clock etc. Some of these parameters are fixed in
software while other parameters can be input using a rotary
encoder which generates two quadrature digital outputs and
which also has a switch and a push button. The switch and
push button are used to select functions or variables (e.g.
range) and two digital outputs for setting variable values (e.g.
range 2). These outputs were connected to CN (Change
Notice) type interrupt inputs of the microcontroller.
Setting the configuration values is aided by a display
system that shows on a display the configuration parameter
values. For this purpose the system includes an OLED
(Organic LED) display. After the setup phase, the display will
show the results of measurements. The screen is divided into
two parts: on the left are displayed measured values of the
main parameters while on the right are displayed in graphic
mode, the impedance modulus and phase versus frequency.
Displaying the results in real time on the PC can also be done
through the USB interface.
IV. SYSTEM OPERATION
Depending on the impedance Zu characteristics we will
select: configuration parameters, Rcal calibration resistance and
Rfb conversion resistance. These should be chosen so that they
will not produce Ai amplifier saturation and of those in the
Receive Stage. Impedance Zu, Rcal and Rfb are connected to
corresponding terminals and the configuration parameters are
set using the rotary encoder and OLED display.
An example of system configuration is shown in Fig. 4.
Figure 4. Example for input of configuration parameters.
Figure 5. Input of Gain and Increment Frequency parameters.
Input data in the example are: Range (Vout=1.80 Vpp), Start
Frequency (40000 Hz, Increment Frequency 4500 Hz) Gain of
Receive Stage (1) and Rcal=986 Ω. The other configuration
parameters are set by software. Configuration data that have
small value set is inserted through the selection (Range, Gain)
while the others by setting each digit. In Fig. 5 is an example of
setting the Gain and Frequency Increment.
In next step, the measurement function is selected from
"Measure" menu shown in Fig. 4. During an initial phase
system calibration is performed. The software commands
calibration resistor to be automatically selected (Sel = 0) and
data taken from Real Data and Imaginary Data registers to be
stored. This data is used to calculate the System Gain and 1953 Ω resistance. After several tests it was concluded that the
System Phase for all generated measurement frequencies. measurement error for impedance modulus is less than ±2%.
Systems proceeds to the actual measurement of Zu impedance
by selection Sel=1. Data taken from the Real Data and
Imaginary Data are stored for all generated measurement
frequencies and computation of impedance module Zu(ω) and
phase φ(ω). Modulus and phase values are also recorded on the
local SD memory card.
The last step is allocated for results presentation on the
Calculated Measured
OLED Display. An example of result display is given in Fig. 6. Imped Imped
Phase
[degree]
Frq
[Hz]
RAD
[radian]
Rs
[Ω]
Xs
[Ω]
Qs Ls/Cs/R
[Ω] [Ω]
1793.08 1791 84.28 40000 1.47 178.50 1782.08 9.98 7.09E-03 H
1992.96 1991 84.59 44500 1.48 187.72 1982.13 10.56 7.09E-03 H
2192.99 2191 84.89 49000 1.48 195.15 2182.29 11.18 7.09E-03 H
2393.15 2391 85.17 53500 1.49 201.32 2382.51 11.83 7.09E-03 H
2593.39 2590 85.35 58000 1.49 209.97 2581.48 12.29 7.08E-03 H
2793.71 2786 85.52 62500 1.49 217.62 2777.49 12.76 7.07E-03 H
2994.09 2990 85.65 67000 1.49 226.79 2981.39 13.15 7.08E-03 H
3194.51 3194 85.77 71500 1.50 235.59 3185.30 13.52 7.09E-03 H
3394.97 3393 85.86 76000 1.50 244.95 3384.15 13.82 7.09E-03 H
3595.46 3596 85.92 80500 1.50 255.85 3586.89 14.02 7.09E-03 H
3795.98 3796 85.98 85000 1.50 266.12 3786.66 14.23 7.09E-03 H

Figure 6. Example of results presentation on the OLED display.

Left side of the display is dedicated to the presentation of

main Zu impedance parameters: initial and final phases
(φi=77.80, φf=-86.20), minimum and maximum values of
impedance (Zmn=3.048 kΩ, Zmx=24.955 kΩ), initial and final
test frequencies (fi=40.00 kHz, ff=85.00 kHz) and circuit
temperature (Temp=25.0 0C). Right side is reserved for graphical
display of module Zu(ω) (continuous line) and phase φ(ω)
(dotted line) of Zu impedance with respect to frequency.

V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
In order to estimate the range for impedance measurement
we must take in consideration the following: test voltage Vout is
maximum 1.80 Vpp and minimum 0.18 Vpp, test current Iout is in
the range 0.1 µA to 20 mA and test frequency can vary
between 1 kHz to 100 kHz. Thus, the system can measure
impedances in the range of 9 Ω to 18 MΩ. More exactly this
means that we can measure resistances R in the range [9 Ω÷18
MΩ], inductances L in the range [14 µH ÷ 3 kH] and
capacitances C in the range [1 pF ÷ 17 µF]. The measurement
range can be extended by lowering the test frequency bellow
1 kHz (using external oscillator DS1077), by increasing current
Iout beyond 20 mA and/or decreasing it bellow 0.1 µA. The Iout
current is generated by an AD8606 amplifier that can output a
30 mA current for a 2.7 V supply voltage. The bias current IB
of this amplifier is 1 pA.
Operation of the ICSWA system was tested by making
measurements of impedance module and phase for different
component types: resistive R, inductive L, capacitive C, series
and parallel combinations of these using various configuration
parameters. Data obtained from measurements were recorded
on SD card and processed in Microsoft Excel. After data
processing additional parameters were determined: impedance
resistance Rs, reactance Xs, capacity Cs or inductance Ls,
quality factor Qs. These parameters characterize the series
model of the impedance. In Fig. 7 are given the results for the
measurement of a 7.1 mH Coilcraft type 715. Calculated
impedance has been computed using datasheet typical
parameters, i.e. DC resistance 176 Ω and inductance 7.1 mH Figure 7. Measurement data for a 7.1 mH inductance.
[17]. In Fig. 8 are given the results for the measurement of
 impedance modulus was less than ±2%. The systems measures
directly impedance modulus and phase but with further
processing other parameters can also be determined.
Measurement results are displayed and stored locally into an
SD memory card for further processing. System configuration
can be done using a modern method for input data which uses
Calculated
Imped
Measured
Imped
Phase
[degr
Frq RAD Rs Xs
Qs Ls/Cs/R
a rotary encoder and an OLED Display. The same display is
[Ω] [Ω] ee]
[Hz] [radian] [Ω] [Ω]
used to present the measurement results in text and graphic
1953 1955 -0.2 40000 -0.00349 1954.99 -6.82 0.00 1.96E+03 Ω
1953 1957 -0.15 44500 -0.00262 1956.99 -5.12 0.00 1.96E+03 Ω mode. The calibration system is automatic which reduces
1953
1953
1956
1955
-0.19
-0.16
49000
53500
-0.00332
-0.00279
1955.99
1954.99
-6.49
-5.46
0.00
0.00
1.96E+03 Ω
1.96E+03 Ω
measurement time.
1953
1953
1956
1950
-0.19
-0.22
58000
62500
-0.00332
-0.00384
1955.99
1949.99
-6.49
-7.49
0.00
0.00
1.96E+03 Ω
1.95E+03 Ω
The system is small, portable with low power
1953 1954 -0.27 67000 -0.00471 1953.98 -9.21 0.00 1.95E+03 Ω consumption, modular and can be adapted to specific
1953
1953
1954
1954
-0.24
-0.25
71500
76000
-0.00419
-0.00436
1953.98
1953.98
-8.18
-8.53
0.00
0.00
1.95E+03 Ω
1.95E+03 Ω applications. Possible applications of the system include:
1953
1953
1953
1953
-0.23
-0.26
80500
85000
-0.00401
-0.00454
1952.98
1952.98
-7.84
-8.86
0.00
0.00
1.95E+03 Ω
1.95E+03 Ω
complex impedance measurement, impedance spectroscopy,
bioelectrical impedance analysis, electrochemical analysis,
nondestructive testing etc. For each type of application an
analysis must be done in order to determine the frequency
domain, test signal levels that establish the current which
passes through the unknown impedance. The analysis may
result in the change or adapting the schematic of the
impedance analyzer.
Further developments of the system include the design of
an algorithm for autoranging allowing automatic selection of
conversion and calibration resistance function of measured
impedance. Further work will seek to adapt the system to
specific applications.

Figure 8. Measurement data for a 1953 Ω resistance.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
The proposed ICSWA system allows measuring
impedances in the range 9 Ω to 18 MΩ for a frequency range
between 1 kHz and 100 kHz, measurement errors for
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