A Humidity Sensing Organic-Inorganic Composite for Environmental Monitoring

Sensors

Zubair Ahmad¹  Qayyum Zafar¹  Khaulah Sulaiman¹  Rizwan Akram² 

[1] Low Dimensional Materials Research Centre, Department of Physics, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia; E-Mail:;Department of Electrical Engineering, College of Engineering, Qassim University, P.O. Box 6688 Qassim 51452, Saudi Arabia; E-Mail:

关键词: composite film;    humidity sensor;    physical vapor deposition;    scanning electron micrograph;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s130303615

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

In this paper, we present the effect of varying humidity levels on the electrical parameters and the multi frequency response of the electrical parameters of an organic-inorganic composite (PEPC+NiPc+Cu₂O)-based humidity sensor. Silver thin films (thickness ∼200 nm) were primarily deposited on plasma cleaned glass substrates by the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique. A pair of rectangular silver electrodes was formed by patterning silver film through standard optical lithography technique. An active layer of organic-inorganic composite for humidity sensing was later spun coated to cover the separation between the silver electrodes. The electrical characterization of the sensor was performed as a function of relative humidity levels and frequency of the AC input signal. The sensor showed reversible changes in its capacitance with variations in humidity level. The maximum sensitivity ∼31.6 pF/%RH at 100 Hz in capacitive mode of operation has been attained. The aim of this study was to increase the sensitivity of the previously reported humidity sensors using PEPC and NiPc, which has been successfully achieved.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.