Comparison of three humidity sensors for a pulmonary function diagnosis microsystem

Three capacitive humidity sensors developed for a portable clinical application are presented and compared. The first structures consist of interdigitated electrodes covered by a polyimide sensitive layer. The second structures have the same geometry but include a benzocyclobutene sensitive layer and a heating. resistor. The third structure has been developed with a new geometry, with the electrodes being stacked. Humidity measurement results are presented, in particular sensor response time in absorption that must be very small (less than 500 ms). The influence of the heating on the response time is described. In conclusion, the three sensors are compared and the most suitable structure for our application is indicated. Although polyimide has been widely used for realization of capacitive humidity sensors, we demonstrate here that it is not the best sensitive material for our application.