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Quantum Tunneling Hygrometer with Temperature Stabilized Nanometer Gap.

A Banerjee¹, R Likhite¹, H Kim¹

¹University of Utah, 201 Presidents Cir, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, United States of America.

Scientific Reports

|March 12, 2020

Summary

This study introduces a novel humidity sensor utilizing electrical tunneling across nanometer gaps. It achieves a large resistance change with minimal power, unaffected by temperature variations.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Nanotechnology
Sensor Technology

Background:

Humidity sensors are crucial for environmental monitoring and industrial processes.
Existing sensors often suffer from temperature sensitivity and high power consumption.
Developing stable, low-power humidity sensors is an ongoing challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

To design and fabricate a novel humidity sensor.
To investigate the sensor's response to humidity changes.
To ensure temperature stability and low power consumption.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of a sensor with stacked metal electrodes separated by a nanometer air gap.
Utilizing polyimide patches with differential swelling characteristics for humidity detection.

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Employing a water-vapor diffusion barrier (Al2O3) for temperature stabilization.

Measuring electrical tunneling current response to humidity variations.

Main Results:

The sensor demonstrated an unassisted reversible resistance change of approximately 10^5 (Rmax/Rmin) over a 20-90% relative humidity range.
Standby DC power consumption was remarkably low, around 0.4 pW.
Temperature fluctuations (25-60°C at 24% RH) caused negligible resistance change (0.0025% of full range).

Conclusions:

The developed humidity sensor offers high sensitivity and stability.
Its temperature-insensitivity and ultra-low power consumption make it suitable for various applications.
This design represents a significant advancement in humidity sensing technology.