University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Optimization and Application of Silicon Based MEMs Moisture Sensor

Ren, Yukun

This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/47613

Description

Title
Optimization and Application of Silicon Based MEMs Moisture Sensor
Author(s)
Ren, Yukun
Contributor(s)
Liu, Gang Logan
Issue Date
2013-05
Keyword(s)
  • MEMS
  • bioMEMS
  • nanotechnology
  • sensor
  • biology
  • moisture sensing techniques
Abstract
Compared to traditional resistive moisture sensing technique, nano-pillar based capacitive moisture sensing improves the versatility and sensing accuracy, by taking a more direct approach of measuring capacitance change due to moisture accumulation is preferred. By using a densely distributed nanopillared structure on silicon substrate, moisture from the environment can be trapped between the vacant spaces between nano-pillar structures near the surface of the device substrate. The direct measurement of surface capacitance is possible due to the significant difference between electromagnetic permittivity seen in water and air. To further enhance the performance of silicon only nano-pillar moisture sensor which was previously proposed, this project optimizes the previous design by depositing a layer of SiO2 onto the silicon nano-pillars to insulate the doped silicon thus preventing possible short circuit when conductive ions are present. From preliminary testing results, this effort has resulted in both decreased response time as well as increased precision of the sensor.
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/47613

Owning Collections

Senior Theses - Electrical and Computer Engineering PRIMARY
The best of ECE undergraduate research