Sensor devices of the type already mentioned are known from the state of the art and are familiar to the person skilled in the art.
In EP 1 021 704 B1 a sensor device is disclosed in which a metal coating is applied to a substrate layer. The metal coating is in turn present in the form of interdigital electrodes which form a capacitor, a temperature-dependent resistance, which is at the same time used as a temperature sensor and heating element, being integrated in the capacitor. Moreover, a passivation layer is applied to the metal coating. The passivation layer consists of two layers, namely a lower hydrophobic layer and a hydrophilic layer arranged on top of it. The hydrophilic layer is in turn provided with condensation cores, thus ensuring that a detectable water film, which generates a signal that can be evaluated, is formed when the sensor device cools down by only a few degrees Kelvin before attaining the dew point. The upper and lower layer are in this case applied directly to the capacitor formed by the interdigital electrodes. The protective layers may be polymer layers.
A further sensor device of the type already mentioned is disclosed in DE 37 20 189 C1. DE 37 20 189 C1 describes a dew point sensor for a dew point meter for measuring the water vapour dew point in gases with a sensor surface exposed to the gas to be measured, on which surface water vapour condenses when it cools to the dew point temperature, and with two interdigital electrodes installed on the sensor surface with electrode sections which are arranged uniformly spaced and parallel to each, and which are covered with a moisture-insensitive insulating layer, the attainment of the dew point temperature being established by measuring the impedance or capacitance between the two interdigital electrodes. Here the interdigital electrodes are coated with the moisture-insensitive insulating layer, which completely covers all the free surfaces of the teeth of the interdigital electrodes. The insulating layer consists of a chemically stable, electrically insulating, completely moisture-insensitive material. A suitable metal oxide may also be considered for this purpose. The dew point detection is based on the fact that the total impedance changes when the dew point temperature is reached. This is because condensation droplets begin to form on the sensor surface. A separate condensation droplet layer is therefore formed on the sensor surface, the interdigital electrodes coated with an insulating layer still being present on the sensor surface.
For the functionality of the sensor devices of prior art it is therefore necessary for the sensor devices to have a plurality of layers, including a condensation core layer.
In principle a hydrophilic surface is used for the effective change of signal of the sensor.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds