Sensor assembly and method of measuring the proximity of a machine component to an emitter

1. A microwave sensor assembly comprising:

at least one probe comprising an emitter having at least one resonant frequency within a microwave frequency range, said emitter configured to:

generate an electromagnetic field from at least one microwave signal at said at least one resonant frequency;

change the at least one resonant frequency in response to a change in relative position of an object within said electromagnetic field; and

generate at least one loading signal representative of a loading induced within said emitter by said change in relative position of said object within the electromagnetic field; and

a signal processing device coupled to said at least one probe, said signal processing device comprising a linearizer including a feedback loop amplifier, said linearizer configured to generate a substantially linear output signal based on the at least one loading signal and an amplified feedback loop signal.

2. A microwave sensor assembly in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said signal processing device is configured to generate a substantially linear output representative of a proximity of the object to said emitter when said emitter is energized by the at least one microwave signal.

3. A microwave sensor assembly in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said linearizer comprises a transfer function programmed within a processor.

4. A microwave sensor assembly in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said linearizer comprises at least one operational amplifier.

5. A microwave sensor assembly in accordance with claim 1 , further comprising a first power detector that detects an amount of power contained in the at least one microwave signal.

6. A microwave sensor assembly in accordance with claim 5 , further comprising a second power detector that detects an amount of power contained in the at least one loading signal.

7. A microwave sensor assembly in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said signal processing device is configured to calculate a proximity of the object to said emitter based on a difference between an amount of power contained in the at least one microwave signal and an amount of power contained in the at least one loading signal.

8. A power system comprising:

a machine; and

a microwave sensor assembly positioned proximate said machine, said microwave sensor assembly comprising:

at least one probe comprising an emitter having at least one resonant frequency within a microwave frequency range, said emitter configured to:

generate an electromagnetic field from at least one microwave signal at said at least one resonant frequency, wherein a loading is induced within said emitter when at least one component of said machine changes its relative position within the electromagnetic field; and

generate at least one loading signal representative of the induced loading; and

a signal processing device coupled to said at least one probe, said signal processing device comprising a linearizer including a feedback loop amplifier, said linearizer configured to generate a substantially linear output signal based on the at least one loading signal and an amplified feedback loop signal.

9. A power system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said signal processing device is configured to generate a substantially linear output representative of a proximity of the at least one component to said emitter when said emitter is energized by the at least one microwave signal.

10. A power system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said signal processing device comprises a processor, and wherein said linearizer comprises a transfer function programmed within said processor.

11. A power system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said linearizer comprises at least one operational amplifier.

12. A power system in accordance with claim 8 , further comprising a first power detector that detects an amount of power contained in the at least one microwave signal.

13. A power system in accordance with claim 12 , further comprising a second power detector that detects an amount of power contained in the at least one loading signal.

14. A power system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said signal processing device is configured to calculate a proximity of the at least one component to said emitter based on a difference between an amount of power contained in the at least one microwave signal and an amount of power contained in the at least one loading signal.

15. A method for measuring a proximity of a machine component relative to an emitter having at least one resonant frequency within a microwave frequency range, said method comprising:

generating an electromagnetic field based on at least one microwave signal transmitted to the emitter at said at least one resonant frequency;

generating at least one loading signal representative of a loading induced within the emitter by an interaction of the machine component with the electromagnetic field;

generating a substantially linear proximity measurement of the machine component to the emitter based on the at least one loading signal and an amplified feedback loop signal; and

outputting the proximity measurement to a user.

16. A method in accordance with claim 15 , wherein generating a substantially linear proximity measurement comprises programming a processor with a transfer function to generate the substantially linear proximity measurement of the machine component to the emitter based on the at least one loading signal.

17. A method in accordance with claim 15 , wherein generating a substantially linear proximity measurement comprises configuring at least one operational amplifier to generate the substantially linear proximity measurement of the machine component to the emitter based on the at least one loading signal.

18. A method in accordance with claim 15 , further comprising detecting an amount of power contained in the at least one microwave signal.

19. A method in accordance with claim 15 , further comprising detecting an amount of power contained in the at least one loading signal.

20. A method in accordance with claim 15 , further comprising determining a proximity of the machine component to the emitter based on a difference between an amount of power contained in the at least one microwave signal and an amount of power contained in the at least one loading signal.