An electronic interface for an integrated wind-sensor is described. The sensor is based on a heated silicon chip that is cooled asymmetrically by the wind. The interface maintains the entire chip at a constant temperature above that of the airflow by dynamically regulating the power dissipated in four on-chip resistors used as heaters. The voltages required to drive these resistors are bit-streams generated using thermal Sigma Delta (ΣΔ) modulation techniques. These bit-streams can be directly connected to an external microprocessor, where they are decimated to obtain digital words representing the power dissipated in each heater. An explicit analog-to-digital (A/D) converter in the interface electronics is, thus, not required. It is shown that wind speed and direction may be accurately determined from the measured power dissipated in the heaters.
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