A humidity fiber optic sensor based on phase-shifted (PS) Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) is demonstrated. Compared to the standard FBG sensors, the peak of the PS-FBG slips into 2 narrow peaks and forms a sharp dip in the middle. As a result, the resolution of the measurement will be higher. The sensors used in the experiments were fabricated by coating the PS-FBG surface with a moisture-sensitive polyimide and is based on the strain effect caused by the swelling of the coating after moisture absorption. The same trend seen in a standard FBG sensor can be achieved, but with higher measurement resolution in environments differing by humidity and temperature. This thesis presents simulation and measurement results, including sensitivity and response time, of the PS-FBG sensor approach for humidity sensing, as compared to the standard FBG sensors. Stability and hysteresis are also discussed.

Fukt i byggnader är svårt att upptäcka och är ett vanligt problem i dag.Att i ett tidigt skede kunna se hur fuktigt det är kan bespara dyrakostnader. En ny produkt som företaget Sensible Solutions har tagitfram är en fuktsensor som kan placeras innanför väggar i till exempelbadrum. Fuktsensorn består av två RFID-taggar där en av taggarna äromsluten i ett fuktabsorberande material. När det fuktabsorberandematerialet drar åt sig fukt kommer den taggen bli svårare att läsa av,vilket indikerar att fukt förekommer. Avläsningen av fuktsensorn skergenom en handhållen RFID-läsare. En marknadsundersökning hargenomförts med hjälp av en litteraturstudie av skriftliga och webbaseradekällor samt intervjuer med potentiella kunder och en befintligkund. Undersökningen fokuserar på byggföretag i Sverige för att ta redapå vilken marknad Sensible Solutions fuktsensor passar in samt vemslutkund är. Marknadsundersökningen innefattar potentiell marknad,en konkurrentanalys, en SWOT-analys samt en kundundersökning.Granskningen har visat att ett intresse för RFID-teknik samt fuktsensornfinns, men ytterligare information är efterfrågad. Produkterna tillrespektive konkurrent har sina för- och nackdelar men Sensible Solutionsprodukt anses vara unik. En möjlighet som SWOT-analysen visarär bland annat att en vidareutveckling av den befintliga produkten samtav nya produkter finns. Sensible Solutions befintliga kund använder idag fuktsensorn i ett pilotprojekt och pekade på fördelen med fuktsensornatt fuktigheten kunde mätas både under och efter byggtid. Enslutsats är att byggföretag är en rimlig marknad för Sensible Solutionsatt inrikta sig på då den tekniska kompetensen finns och likaså intressetför RFID-teknik och fuktsensorer. / Humidity in buildings is a problem that is difficult to detect and is thusa common problem in present day construction. The ability to detecthumidity at an early stage can be of assistance in the prevention ofexpensive costs. A new product developed by the Sensible Solutionscompany is a humidity sensor that can be placed inside walls, in, forexample, bathrooms. The humidity sensor consists of two RFID tags,one of which is enclosed in a moisture-absorbing material and whenmoisture is absorbed the enclosed tag becomes more difficult to read,which indicates that the humidity is higher than an expected value. Thehumidity sensor is read using an RFID handheld mobile computer.Market research has been conducted by collecting of data from writtensources and the Internet and by conducting interviews with existing andpotential customers; the target group for the research is constructioncompanies. The goal for this market research is to find a prospectivemarket for the Sensible Solutions humidity sensor based on theexpectations of the users. The market research dealt with the potentialmarket, a competitor analysis, a SWOT analysis and a customer survey.The audit revealed that an interest in RFID technology and the humiditysensor did exist, but that more information was required. Each of thecompetitors products have their pros and cons but the SensibleSolutions product is considered to be unique. One possibility shown upby the SWOT analysis is that further development of the existingproducts and new products is possible. The humidity sensor is currentlybeing used by a Sensible Solutions customer in a project, to ensure thequality of the construction during and after implementation. Inconclusion, the construction company market is a reasonable one forSensible Solutions to focus on as these companies possess the technicalcompetence and also the necessary interest in RFID technology andhumidity sensors.

Humidity sensors are one of the most widely used sensors in commercial and industrial applications for environmental monitoring and controlling. Although related technology have been studied intensively, humidity sensing in harsh environments still remains a challenge. The inability of current humidity sensors to operate in high temperature environments is generally due to the degradation of the sensing films caused by high temperature, high humidity level, and/or contamination. Our goal is the design and fabrication of a humidity sensor that is capable of working under high temperatures and in a condensing environment. The targeted application of this sensor is in the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell, where humidity control is crucial for performance optimization. In this work, ordered macroporous silicon is thoroughly studied as a humidity sensing layer. In addition to the advantages of traditional porous silicon for gas sensing (high resistance to high temperature and good compatibility with current IC fabrication process), the ordered macroporous silicon used in these experiment has uniform pore size, pore shape and distribution. All the vertical aligned pores can be opened to the environment at both ends, which can significantly increase the efficiency of gas diffusion and adsorption. Moreover, this special structure opens the door to uniform surface modifications for sensing enhancement. Both ordered macroporous silicon based heterostructure and self-supporting membrane are fabricated and investigated as a humidity sensor. Heterostructure sensors with different thin film surface coatings including bare Si, thermally grown SiO2, atom layer deposited ZnO, HfO2, and Ta2O5 are characterized. Post micro-fabrication is achieved on this ordered porous structure without affecting the material and its sensing properties. It has been proven that the ordered macroporous silicon with Ta2O5 surface coating shows the best sensing property due to its ultra-hydrophilic surface. The sensor shows high sensitivity, fast response times, small hysteresis, and extraordinary stability and repeatability under high temperatures and in condensing environment. It demonstrates great potential and advantages over existing commercial humidity sensors in the fuel cell application field. In addition to ordered macroporous silicon, well aligned 1D ZnO nanorods/nanowires -another widely used nanostructure in gas sensing- is also investigated as humidity sensing materials. Both vertically and laterally aligned nanorods/nanowires are fabricated and tested against humidity changes. The sensors shows increasing resistance to increasing relative humidity, which is contrary to most published works so far. Possible mechanisms have been proposed in this thesis and future work has been suggested for further study. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to use ordered macroporous silicon and well aligned 1D ZnO nanorods/nanowires for humidity sensing.

This study presents a simple process for producing resistance-based humidity sensors utilizing dopamine (DA) coated gold nano-particles (AuNPs) as the sensing material. The sensing material for typical humidity sensors are solid state metal oxides, graft-polymers or salt-doped polymers. However, these humidity sensors may suffer from low sensing response or slow time response since water molecules have to diffuse into the sensing materials to induce the electrical property changes. Alternatively, AuNPs have large surface area for water molecule absorption and can be potentially for high performance humidity sensing. Nevertheless, the surface property of AuNPs is hydrophobic and needs to be modified. In this regards, this work uses a highly hydrophilic molecule of dopamine to modify the surface of AuNP into hydrophilic to enhance the humidity sensing performance. Highly hydrophilic bio-molecule of dopamine is physically bonded onto 4-6 nm AuNPs to enhance the humidity sensing performance. Results show that the DA coated AuNPs have nice humidity sensing responses in the measuring range of 20-90%RH. The measured resistance response shows >1500 times greater than the sensor using the same AuNPs without DA coating. The developed humidity sensor shows rapid time responses for water absorption (13 s) and desorption (30 s), respectively. Moreover, a 3-day long-term measurement at low, medium and high humidity ranges also shows the good stability of the developed sensor. The method developed in this study provides a simple and low-cost method to produce high-performance humidity sensors with DA-coated AuNPs.

Humidity sensors are one of the most widely used sensors in commercial and industrial applications for environmental monitoring and controlling. Although related technology have been studied intensively, humidity sensing in harsh environments still remains a challenge. The inability of current humidity sensors to operate in high temperature environments is generally due to the degradation of the sensing films caused by high temperature, high humidity level, and/or contamination. Our goal is the design and fabrication of a humidity sensor that is capable of working under high temperatures and in a condensing environment. The targeted application of this sensor is in the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell, where humidity control is crucial for performance optimization. In this work, ordered macroporous silicon is thoroughly studied as a humidity sensing layer. In addition to the advantages of traditional porous silicon for gas sensing (high resistance to high temperature and good compatibility with current IC fabrication process), the ordered macroporous silicon used in these experiment has uniform pore size, pore shape and distribution. All the vertical aligned pores can be opened to the environment at both ends, which can significantly increase the efficiency of gas diffusion and adsorption. Moreover, this special structure opens the door to uniform surface modifications for sensing enhancement. Both ordered macroporous silicon based heterostructure and self-supporting membrane are fabricated and investigated as a humidity sensor. Heterostructure sensors with different thin film surface coatings including bare Si, thermally grown SiO2, atom layer deposited ZnO, HfO2, and Ta2O5 are characterized. Post micro-fabrication is achieved on this ordered porous structure without affecting the material and its sensing properties. It has been proven that the ordered macroporous silicon with Ta2O5 surface coating shows the best sensing property due to its ultra-hydrophilic surface. The sensor shows high sensitivity, fast response times, small hysteresis, and extraordinary stability and repeatability under high temperatures and in condensing environment. It demonstrates great potential and advantages over existing commercial humidity sensors in the fuel cell application field. In addition to ordered macroporous silicon, well aligned 1D ZnO nanorods/nanowires -another widely used nanostructure in gas sensing- is also investigated as humidity sensing materials. Both vertically and laterally aligned nanorods/nanowires are fabricated and tested against humidity changes. The sensors shows increasing resistance to increasing relative humidity, which is contrary to most published works so far. Possible mechanisms have been proposed in this thesis and future work has been suggested for further study. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to use ordered macroporous silicon and well aligned 1D ZnO nanorods/nanowires for humidity sensing.

A humidity fiber optic sensor based on phase-shifted (PS) Fiber Bragg gratings (FBG) is demonstrated. Compared to the standard FBG sensors, the peak of the PS-FBG slips into 2 narrow peaks and forms a sharp dip in the middle. As a result, the resolution of the measurement will be higher. The sensors used in the experiments were fabricated by coating the PS-FBG surface with a moisture-sensitive polyimide and is based on the strain effect caused by the swelling of the coating after moisture absorption. The same trend seen in a standard FBG sensor can be achieved, but with higher measurement resolution in environments differing by humidity and temperature. This thesis presents simulation and measurement results, including sensitivity and response time, of the PS-FBG sensor approach for humidity sensing, as compared to the standard FBG sensors. Stability and hysteresis are also discussed.

Moore's law has defined the semiconductor industry for the past 50 years. Devices continue to become smaller and increasingly integrated into the world around us. Beginning with personal computers, devices have become integrated into watches, phones, cars, clothing and tablets among other things. These devices have expanded in their functionality as well as their ability to communicate with each other through the internet. Further, devices have increasingly been required to have diverse of functionality. This combination of smaller devices coupled with diversification of device functionality has become known as more than Moore. In this thesis, more than Moore applications of graphene are explored in-depth. Graphene was discovered experimentally in 2004 and since then has fueled tremendous research into its various potential applications. Graphene is a desirable candidate for many applications because of its impressive electronic and mechanical properties. It is stronger than steel, the thinnest known material, and has high electrical conductivity and mobility. In this thesis, the potentials of graphene are examined for pressure sensors, humidity sensors and transistors. Through the course of this work, high sensitivity graphene pressure sensors are developed. These sensors are orders of magnitude more sensitive than competing technologies such as silicon nanowires and carbon nanotubes. Further, these devices are small and can be scaled aggressively. Research into these pressure sensors is then expanded to an exploration of graphene's gas sensing properties -- culminating in a comprehensive investigation of graphene-based humidity sensors. These sensors have rapid response and recovery times over a wide humidity range. Further, these devices can be integrated into CMOS processes back end of the line. In addition to CMOS Integration of these devices, a wafer scale fabrication process flow is established. Both humidity sensors and graphene-based transistors are successfully fabricated on wafer scale in a CMOS compatible process. This is an important step toward both industrialization of graphene as well as heterogeneous integration of graphene devices with diverse functionality. Furthermore, fabrication of graphene transistors on wafer scale provides a framework for the development of statistical analysis software tailored to graphene devices. In summary, graphene-based pressure sensors, humidity sensors, and transistors are developed for potential more than Moore applications. Further, a wafer scale fabrication process flow is established which can incorporate graphene devices into CMOS compatible process flows back end of the line. / <p>QC 20160610</p>

Low dimensional nanostructures of zinc oxide (ZnO), cupric oxide (CuO), and their composite nanostructures possess remarkable physical and chemical properties. Fundamental understanding and manipulation of these unique properties are crucial for all potential applications. Integration of nanostructured ZnO and CuO and their hybrid composites may play a significant role in the existing technology while paving the way for new exciting areas. Solution based low temperature synthesis of ZnO and CuO nanostructures have attracted extensive research efforts during the last decade. These efforts resulted in a plenteous number of nanostructures ranging from quantum dots into very complex three dimensional nanomaterials. Among the various low temperature synthesis methods the hydrothermal technique became one of the most popular approaches. The use of hydrothermal approach enabled the synthesis of diversity of nanomaterials on conventional and nonconventional substrates such as metals, glass, plastic and paper etc. The primary objectives of this thesis are to study and understand the characteristics of nanostructured ZnO, CuO, and their hybrid composites synthesized at low temperature. Likewise, the hybrid composites were successfully utilized to fabricate light emitting diodes and sensors. This thesis is organized into three major parts. In the beginning the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured ZnO, CuO, and their composite nanostructures are elaborated. Efforts have been made to understand the selective assembly of hierarchical CuO nanostructures on ZnO nanorods and to correlate it to the observed unique properties of the CuO/ZnO composite nanostructures. In the second part of the thesis fabrication, characterization, and device application of ZnO/p-polymer hybrid light emitting diode (HyLEDs) on flexible substrates are presented. In particular single and blended p-type light emissive polymers were controllably developed for potential greener and cheaper white light emitters. It was found that the HyLEDs exhibited rectifying diode characteristics together with white light emission covering the entire visible range. In the third part, pH and relative humidity sensing applications of CuO nanoflowers, and CuO/ZnO nanocorals, respectively, are described. A pH sensor based on CuO nanoflowers demonstrated good sensitivity and reproducibility over a wide range of pH. By taking the advantages of the selective growth of CuO nanostructures on ZnO nanorods and their naturally formed p-n heterojunction the realization of high sensitivity humidity sensor was achieved. The humidity sensor fabricated from the CuO/ZnO nanocorals displayed the highest sensitivity factor reported so far for its constituent materials; along with reasonably fast dynamic responses. A brief outlook into future challenges and opportunities are also presented in the last part of the thesis. / Nanophotonics

No presente trabalho propomos a utilização de uma técnica refratométrica baseada na determinação do ângulo crítico para o desenvolvimento de um sensor de umidade relativa e, no mesmo escopo de aplicação, um medidor de vácuo primário. A técnica proposta tira vantagem da diferença de fase adquirida pelas componentes paralela e perpendicular de um feixe luminoso, linearmente polarizado, passando por reflexão interna, para produzir um laser de HeNe sintonizável, um polarizador, um prisma semicilíndrico de índice de refração conhecido fabricado em vidro tipo flint, um analisador, um mínimo de intensidade, facilmente detectável no perfil refletido correspondendo à posição do ângulo crítico. Desenvolvemos um estudo acerca dos principais aspectos teóricos envolvidos no fenômeno da reflexão total interna, onde realizamos algumas simulações buscando avaliar as variações da posição angular do ângulo crítico a partir de alterações no índice de refração. A montagem básica utilizada nos experimentos consiste de um CCD linear e de um computador, onde as informações coletadas pelo CCD foram tratadas por meio de um programa de aquisição de dados desenvolvido na plataforma LabVIEWTM. O programa empregado permite o acompanhamento das variações do perfil refletido da base do prisma ponto a ponto, ou seja, é possível acompanhar toda a dinâmica de evolução do índice de refração da amostra analisada em tempo real. Para confirmação da efetividade da técnica, realizamos medidas da variação do índice de refração de amostras gasosas em função da umidade relativa e da pressão. O sistema demonstrou sensibilidade suficiente para acompanhar mudanças da ordem de 10-5em unidades do índice de refração. / In the present work we propose the use of a refractometric technique based on the determination of the critical angle for the development of a relative humidity sensor and, in the same application scope, a primary vacuum gauge. The proposed technique takes advantage of the phase difference acquired by the parallel and perpendicular components of a, linearly polarized, light beam undergoing internal reflection, to produce an easily detectable intensity minimum in the reflected profile corresponding to the position of the critical angle. We develop a study about the main theoretical aspects involved in the total internal reflection phenomenon, where we perform some simulations aiming to evaluate the variations of the critical angle angular position from changes on the refractive index. The basic set up used in the experiments consist of a HeNe tunable laser, a polarizer, a semi-cylindrical prism with known refractive index made of flint glass type, a analyzer, a linear CCD and a computer, where the information collected by de CCD were treated by means of a data acquisition program developed on the LabVIEWTM platform. The used program allows the point-by-point monitoring of the changes of the profile reflected from the prism base, in other words, one can monitor all the evolution dynamics of the refractive index of the analyzed sample in real time. To confirm the effectiveness of the technique, we perform measurements of changes of the refractive index of gaseous samples as function of the relative humidity and the pressure. The system has shown enough sensitivity to track changes of the order of 10-5 in units of the index of refraction.

Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die phänomenologische Untersuchung der Feuchteempfindlichkeit der elektrischen Eigenschaften dünner Polymerschichten. Diese Untersuchungen stellen gleichzeitig Vorarbeiten zur Entwicklung von Prototypen von zwei polymeren Dünnschicht-Feuchtesensoren dar, die sich durch die spezielle Auswahl der feuchtesensitiven Materialien jeweils durch eine besondere Eigenschaft gegenüber kommerziellen Massenprodukten auszeichnen. Ziel der Entwicklungsarbeiten für den ersten Prototypen war die Konstruktion eines schnellen Feuchtesensors, der plötzliche und sprunghafte Feuchteänderungen in der umgebenden Atmosphäre möglichst rasch detektieren kann. Dafür wurden dünne Schichten von Poly-DADMAC auf Interdigitalstrukturen aufgebracht, die einen möglichst direkten Kontakt zwischen feuchtesensitiver Schicht und umgebender, feuchter Atmosphäre gewährleisten. Als Messgrößen dienten die Wechselstromgrößen Widerstand und Kapazität der Schichten. Die Feuchtekennlinien der Schichten zeigen gute Konstanz und hohe Reproduzierbarkeit. Der Widerstand der Schichten ändert sich durch den Einfluss von Feuchte je nach Schichtdicke um 3 bis 5 Größenordnungen und eignet sich als Messgröße für die Feuchtigkeit im gesamten Feuchtebereich. Die Hysterese der Filme konnte auf kleiner als 2,5% r.F. bestimmt werden, die Reproduzierbarkeit auf besser als 1% r.F. Die Ansprechzeit der Schichten lässt sich schichtdickenabhängig zu 1 bis 10 Sekunden bestimmen. Hierbei zeigen besonders die dünnen Schichten kurze Ansprechzeiten. Zielstellung für den zweiten Feuchtesensor war die Entwicklung eines Prototypen, dessen sensitive Schicht sich biostatisch und biozid verhält, so dass er in biotischen Umgebungen eingesetzt werden kann. Es wurden fünf Polysulfobetaine synthetisiert, deren Biozidität und Biostatik mit dem Kontakttest nach Rönnpagel, dem ISO846-Test und Abbautests bestimmt wurde. Zwei Polymere – Poly-DMMAAPS (BT2) und Poly-[MSA-Styren-Sulfobetain] (BT5) – erwiesen sich als ausreichend biozid und biostatisch. Schichten dieser Polymere wurden auf Interdigitalstrukturen aufgezogen, anschließend wurden die Kennlinien dieser Proben aufgenommen. Die Messwerte zeigen für beide Polymere gute Konstanz und eine hohe Reproduzierbarkeit. BT2-Proben sind zwischen 20% und 80% r.F. besonders empfindlich und zeigen über einen Monat keine Langzeitdrift. Vernetzte Proben zeigen bis 50°C keinen temperaturbedingten Abfall der Feuchteempfindlichkeit. Der Einsatz vernetzter BT5-Schichten als kapazitiver Feuchtesensor ist bis etwa 70°C möglich, die Schichten sind selbst nach Lagerung im Hochvakuum und mehrfacher Betauung stabil. Damit liegen zwei funktionsfähige Prototypen von Feuchtesensoren vor, für die die meisten Kennwerte denen von vergleichbaren kommerziellen Feuchtesensoren entsprechen. Gleichzeitig zeichnen sie sich aber durch eine sehr niedrige Ansprechzeit bzw. eine ausreichende Lebensdauer unter biotischen Bedingungen aus. / The topic of this work is the phenomenological investigation of the humidity sensitivity of the electrical properties of thin polymer films. These investigations also act as preparatory work for the development of prototypes of two polymer thin film humidity sensors, which by the choice of the humidity sensitive materials stand out by one special property each compared with commercial mass products. The aim of the development work for the first prototype was the construction of a fast humidity sensor, which can rapidly detect sudden and erratic humidity changes in the surrounding atmosphere. Thin films of poly-DADMAC were prepared on interdigitated structures that allow for undisturbed contact between the sensitive layer and the surrounding humid atmosphere. Measured variables were the ac resistance and capacity of the films. The humidity characteristics of the films show good stability and high reproducibility. Under the influence of humidity the resistance of the films changes by 3 to 5 orders of magnitude, depending on the film thickness, and is suitable to measure the humidity in the entire humidity range. The hysteresis of the films is lower than 2.5% r.h., the reproducibility better than 1% r.h. The response time of the layers can be determined to 1 to 10 seconds, depending on their thickness. The thin films, specifically, show very short response times. The aim for the second humidity sensor was the development of a prototype, where the sensitive film is biostatic and biocide, so that it can be used to measure the humidity in biotic environments. Five polysulfobetaines were synthesized and their biocidity and biostatics were tested with the contact test according to Rönnpagel, the ISO846 test and degradation tests. Two of the polymers - poly-DMMAAPS (BT2) and poly-[MSA-styrene-sulfobetaine] (BT5) - showed sufficient biocidity and biostatics. Films of these polymers were prepared on interdigitated structures, then their humidity characteristics were recorded. The measured values show good stability and high reproducibility for both polymers. Samples of BT2 are highly sensitive between 20% and 80% r.h. and show no long-term drift after one month. Cross-linked samples show no decrease of the humidity sensitivity in temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius. Cross-linked films of BT5 can be used as a capacitive humidity sensor up to 70 degrees Celsius, and the samples are stable even after storage in high vacuum and multiple dew cycles. These two functional prototypes of humidity sensors show characteristic data comparable to those of commercial sensors. However, they stand out, respectively, with a very short response time and a sufficient life time in biotic environments.