Fabrication and Characterization of PolyanilinePVA Humidity Microsensors.docVIP

Sensors 2011, 11, 8143-8151; doi:10.3390/s110808143 OPEN ACCESS sensors ISSN 1424-8220 /journal/sensors Article Fabrication and Characterization of Polyaniline/PVA Humidity Microsensors Ming-Zhi Yang, Ching-Liang Dai * and Wei-Yi Lin Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 402, Taiwan; E-Mails: d099061005@.tw (M.-Z.Y.); g9861019@.tw (W.-Y.L.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: cldai@.tw; Tel.: +886-4-2284-0433; Fax: +886-4-2287-7170. Received: 27 June 2011; in revised form: 27 July 2011 / Accepted: 18 August 2011 / Published: 19 August 2011 Abstract: This study presents the fabrication and characterization of a humidity microsensor that consists of interdigitated electrodes and a sensitive film. The area of the humidity microsensor is about 2 mm2. The sensitive film is polyaniline doping polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) that is prepared by the sol-gel method, and the film has nanofiber and porous structures that help increase the sensing reaction. The commercial 0.35μm Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) process is used to fabricate the humidity microsensor. The sensor needs a post-CMOS process to etch the sacrificial layer and to coat the sensitive film on the interdigitated electrodes. The sensor produces a change in resistance as the polyaniline/PVA film absorbs or desorbs vapor. Experimental results show that the sensitivity of the humidity sensor is about 12.6 kΩ/%RH at 25°C. Keywords: humidity microsensors; polyaniline; polyvinyl alcohol; MEMS 1. Introduction Humidity sensors are important devices that can be used to measure and monitor environmental humidity. Recently, various microsensors have been manufactured using microelectromechanical system (MEMS) technology [1-4]. Humidity sensors fabricated by this technology have the benefits of small size, low cost, high performance and easy mass