Humidity sensors using porous silicon layer with mesa structure

메사구조를 갖는 다공질 실리콘 습도 센서

A capacitance-type humidity sensors in which porous silicon layer is used as humidity-sensing material was developed. This sensors was fabricated monolithically to be compatible with the typical IC process technology except for the formation of porous silicon layer. As the sensors is made as a mesa structure, the correct measurement of capacitance is expected because it can remove the effect of the parasitic capacitance from the bottom layer and another junctions. To do this, the sensor was fabricated using process steps such as localized formation of porous silicon, oxidation of porous silicon layer and etching of oxidized porous silicon layer. From completed sensors, capacitance response was measured on the relative humidity of 25 to 95% at room temperature. As the result the measured capacitance showed the increase over 300% at the low frequency of 120Hz, and showed little dependence on the temperature between 10 to $40^{\circ}C$.