d e v e l o p m e n t a c t u a l i t y o f h u m i d i t y s e n s o r i s s u m m a r i z e d a n d a l l k i n d s o f o p t i c a l
m e a s u r i n g m e t h o d s w h i c h h a v e d e v e l o p e d r a p i d l y i n r e c e n t y e a r s a r e i n t r o d u c e d
e s p e c i a l l y t h e n . L a s t l y w e b r i n g f o r w a r d r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t d i r e c t i o n s o f
humidity sensor for the future.
A novel composite model is put forward for semiconductor humidity-sensitive
c e r a m i c m a t e r i a l b a s e d o n M a x w e l l - G a r n e t t a n d e f f e c t i v e m e d i u m t h e o r y , a n d
a n a l y t i c a l e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n e f f e c t i v e r e f r a c t i v e i n d e x a n d r e l a t i v e
h u m i d i t y i s s h o w e d w i t h d i f f e r e n t a b s o r p t i o n f a c t o r s a n d p o r o s i t i e s . T h e l a g e r t h e
absorption factor is, the higher the refractive index is. Refractive index of humidity-
s e n s i t i v e f i l m S i O
2 d e c r e a s e s w i t h t h e i n c r e a s e o f c e r a m i c m a t e r i a l p o r o s i t y . T h e
s e n s i t i v i t y o f o p t i c a l h u m i d i t y s e n o r i s a v a i l a b l e t o m a g n i t u d e o f
1 0
- 3
. I n c o n t r a s t t o t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l h u m i d i t y - s e n s i n g c u r v e u s i n g p- p o l a r i z e d
reflectance and the analysis of mechanism, theoretical simulation is in agreement with
experimental results. So this composite model is proved to be reasonable which lays new
theoretical foundation in further research on optical humidity sensor.
TiO
2/SnO
2 composite films were prepared on K9 optical glass substrates by sol-gel
processing and dip-drawing method. The influences of TiO
2、T i O
2/ S n O
2、doped
TiO2/SnO2 with PEG and the thickness of film on adsorption by AFM and contact angle
meter were discussed. The results indicate that PEG doped TiO2/SnO2 could effectively
improve the adsorption of TiO
2/ S n O
2. T h e o p t i m a l S n O
2 concentration for adsorption
is 6% and larger film thickness is helpful to reduce the contact angle of the composite
films.
TiO2/SnO2 film was prepared by sol-gel processing as humidity-sensitive material.
The influences of TiO
2、TiO2/SnO2、doped TiO
2/SnO2 with PEG and the thickness of
f i l m o n a d s o r p t i o n b y A F M a n d c o n t a c t a n g l e m e t e r w e r e d i s c u s s e d . T h e o p t i m a l
SnO
2 concentration for adsorption is 6% and larger film thickness is helpful to reduce
the contact angle of the composite films. In various humidity, the optical constants of
the thin film were obtained using p-polarized reflectance. The optical humidity sensor
makes the use of refractive index to measure humidity. It’s an excellent humidity sensor
with a high sensitivity by p-polarized reflectance.
K e y w o r d s : S e n s o r s ; h u m i d i t y - s e n s i t i v e f i l m ; p- p o l a r i z e d
reflectance; refractive index