Design and modelling of a microsensor for atmospheric electric field measurement

Author

Cui, Zheng ; Gong, Chao ; Xia, Shanhong

Author_Institution

Rutherford Appleton Lab., Chilton, UK

fYear

2003

fDate

5-7 May 2003

Firstpage

154

Lastpage

158

Abstract

A new type of electrical field sensor has been investigated for application in atmospheric electrical field measurement. The sensing principal is based on deflection of electrons under an external electrical field. Computer simulation of electron deflection has been carried out using a boundary integral method. It is demonstrated that electron deflection is linearly dependent on external field but inversely proportional to the collector voltage. By controlling the collector voltage, it is possible to dynamically control the sensitivity of the field sensor or the measurement range. An experimental sensor has been made. Preliminary experiment has revealed some practical issues in the sensor and further investigation is needed.

Keywords

electric field measurement; electric sensing devices; microsensors; atmospheric electric field measurement; boundary integral method; collector voltage; computer simulation; electrical field sensor; electron deflection; microsensor; Atmospheric measurements; Atmospheric modeling; Cathodes; Electric variables measurement; Electrons; Laboratories; Microsensors; Optical noise; Pollution measurement; Seismic measurements;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Design, Test, Integration and Packaging of MEMS/MOEMS 2003. Symposium on

Print_ISBN

0-7803-7066-X

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/DTIP.2003.1287027

Filename

1287027