Home // ALLSENSORS 2023, The Eighth International Conference on Advances in Sensors, Actuators, Metering and Sensing // View article

Printed Humidity Sensors and Their Application

Authors:
Zhiyi Zhang
Mickey Chen
Salima Alem
Ye Tao
Ta-Ya Chu
Gaozhi Xiao
Chundra Ramful
Ryan Griffin

Keywords: humidity sensors; printing; filed application.

Abstract:
We have developed a new type of printed capacitive humidity sensors with stacked parallel-plate electrodes. A polymer sensing material with extremely low hysteresis and a grid top electrode design that ensures the sensor’s rapid response to humidity changes were used in the sensors. Screen printing, flexo printing and inkjet printing were used to print the sensors with a capacitance value of 400-2730 pF and a sensitivity of 1.2-11.4 pF/%RH obtained, depending on the printing methods. The sensitivity of the printed sensors were found to decrease with a raised temperature, and the temperature effects were attributed to the water sorption in the sensing polymer and its relationship with temperature. A method of calibrating the temperature of the sensors was thus proposed and implemented. With the obtained capacitance value over 400 pF, low-cost electronic circuit PCB boards were designed and fabricated to attach the printed sensors, resulting in standalone and functional humidity sensing units. Each of the humidity sensing units is equipped with light energy harvesting, capacitance measurement, and wireless data transmission, as well as the calibration capability for converting measured capacitance to relative humidity. The units were successfully applied in the building management of commercial office buildings.

Pages: 45 to 47

Copyright: Copyright (c) The Government of Canada, 2023. Used by permission to IARIA.

Publication date: April 24, 2023

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2519-836X

ISBN: 978-1-68558-083-4

Location: Venice, Italy

Dates: from April 24, 2023 to April 28, 2023