ACCircuitTheoryandRepresentationofComplex-PIRG.docVIP

EIS – INTRODUCTION AND BASIC CONCEPTS Impedance definition: concept of complex impedance Almost everyone knows about the concept of electrical resistance. It is the ability of a circuit element to resist the flow of electrical current. Ohms law defines resistance in terms of the ratio between voltage E and current I. R = E / I While this is a well known relationship, its use is limited to only one circuit element -- the ideal resistor. An ideal resistor has several simplifying properties: · It follows Ohms Law at all current and voltage levels. · Its resistance value is independent of frequency. · AC current and voltage signals keep in phase with each other. The real world contains circuit elements that exhibit much more complex behavior. These elements force us to abandon the simple concept of resistance. In its place we use impedance, which is a more general circuit parameter. Like resistance, impedance is a measure of the ability of a circuit to resist the flow of electrical current. Unlike resistance, impedance is not limited by the simplifying properties listed above. Electrochemical impedance is usually measured by applying an AC potential to an electrochemical cell and measuring the current through the cell. Suppose that we apply a sinusoidal potential excitation. The response to this potential is an AC current signal, containing the excitation frequency and its harmonics. Electrochemical Impedance is normally measured using a small excitation signal of 10 to 50 mV. In a linear (or pseudo-linear) system, the current response to a sinusoidal potential will be a sinusoid at the same frequency but shifted in phase. Figure 1 Sinusoidal Current Response in a Linear System The excitation signal, expressed as a function of time, has the form E(t) is the potential at time tr Eo is the amplitude of the signal, and w is the radial frequency. The relationship between radial frequency ω(expressed in radians/second) and f