Information transduction in solid-state transducers: A general thermodynamic systems approach

Abstract In this paper we review the concept of information transduction, especially in the case of solid-state transducers. We conclude that in general, information transduction must be viewed as a coupling between the states of two systems. The physical concepts of state and coupling are discussed. We also briefly touch upon philosophical and semantic aspects of the concept of information. The above point of view is applied to a solid-state transducer system using general thermodynamic principles and applying the above point of view locally. Based on thermodynamics, we arrive at a unified set of thermodynamic state variables suitable for characterizing the process of information transduction in solid-state transducers. Moreover, the result of this approach strongly supports the ‘sensor-effect cube’ as proposed by S. Middelhoek and A. C. Hoogerwerf (Sensors and Actuators, 10 (1986) 1–8).