Characterization of a MEMS-Based Humidity Sensor

Humidity sensors are very essential in many industrial processes and household
appliances. They enable system operators and control mangers to fully monitor their
processes in the industry. However, these sensors are miniaturized to be in micro-scale
units due the development of micromachining technology. As a consequence, the sizes
and the performance of the sensors have been drastically improved to be compatible with
various complex systems. Whereas, the cost of the sensors have become much lower.
Such devices are called Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). There are many
types of MEMS-Based humidity sensors such as capacitive humidity sensor and
Piezoresistive humidity sensor. This research work describes the performance of a
capacitive MEMS-Based humidity sensor that is fabricated using PolyMUMPS process
which is a three-layer surface micromachining process. Therefore, the key purpose of
this project is to mechanically and electrically characterize a MEMS-Based capacitive
humidity sensor that it is actuated using electromagnetic actuation method based on
Lorentz force principle. The designed integrated sensor encompasses of a sensing element
and a capacitive readout circuit.