Porous Humidity Sensor Structure for Low-RH Button Sensing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical resistance type humidity sensors suffer from reduced sensitivity and reactivity at low relative humidity levels, limiting their effectiveness in measuring humidity accurately.
Innovation Solution
A humidity sensor design featuring a porous structure with through-holes on a substrate, where the porous structure includes materials like graphene or transition metal chalcogenides, enhancing the specific surface area for improved moisture absorption and sensitivity, and a button device incorporating this sensor for non-contact operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If electrical resistance type humidity sensor uses simple structure and mass production capability, then manufacturing ease is improved, but sensitivity and reactivity at low relative humidity are deteriorated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a porous structure as the sensing element that absorbs water vapor from the air. The porous material provides a large surface area for water vapor absorption, enabling high sensitivity measurements even at low relative humidity levels while maintaining compatibility with mass production techniques
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses composite material structures combining porous layers with conductive materials to create a sensing element that maintains electrical resistance properties while providing enhanced water vapor absorption capacity, thereby achieving both manufacturing ease and improved sensitivity
2Measurement precision
If humidity sensor uses porous structure with through-holes to improve sensitivity, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The porous structure is segmented into multiple through-holes that pass through the sensing element, allowing water vapor to access the porous material from both sides. This segmentation increases the effective surface area for humidity sensing while maintaining a relatively simple overall device structure
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates through-holes that extend in the thickness direction of the porous structure, adding a vertical dimension to water vapor access. This dimensional approach increases the sensing surface area without significantly increasing the planar footprint or overall device complexity
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The sensor exhibits improved sensitivity and rapid response times, capable of accurately measuring humidity changes within seconds, even at low relative humidity levels, and is integrated into a button device for high-accuracy, non-contact operation.
Implementation Method 1
a material capable of absorbing water vapor in the air is disposed between a pair of electrodes to measure a resistance value of the material that varies according to the degree of absorption of the water vapor
Implementation Method 2
measure a resistance value of the material that varies according to the degree of absorption of the water vapor, thereby calculating relative humidity
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a button device including a humidity sensor. The button device includes a substrate having a plurality of sensing regions, a housing on the substrate, the housing separating a first sensing region of the plurality of sensing regions from other sensing regions, a porous structure within the housing, the porous structure having through-holes, a first electrode on the porous structure, a second electrode on the porous structure, the second electrode being electrically connected to the first electrode through the porous structure, and a temperature sensor disposed adjacent to the first sensing region to sense a temperature of the first sensing region, The porous structure includes a body having an outer surface defining the through-holes, the body having an air gap therein.