A high-speed capacitive humidity sensor with on-chip thermal reset

This paper reports a high-speed capacitive humidity sensor integrated on a polysilicon heater. A response time of 1.0 s and a sensitivity of 30.0 fF/%RH have been obtained. High speed is achieved using multiple polyimide columns having diameters of a few microns and allowing moisture to diffuse into them circumferentially. Using structures that eliminate the air-gap capacitance between the columns, the simulated sensor output drifts by only 1% when the relative dielectric constant in the air region changes from 1 to 10. A polysilicon heater is used to measure relative humidity levels >80% RH. An accuracy of ±3% RH has been obtained using this method, with measurement errors of ±0.5°C and ±2% RH in temperature and relative humidity, respectively. The heater also reduces the recovery time after wetting, enables the sensor to recover from contamination and aging, and allows the sensing film to be reset on demand during self-test protocols