Title :
Capacitive fringing field sensors in printed circuit board technology
Author :
Dean, Robert N. ; Rane, Aditi ; Baginski, Michael ; Hartzog, Zane ; Elton, David J.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Auburn Univ., Auburn, AL, USA
Abstract :
Capacitive fringing field sensors utilizing interdigitated electrode structures have been utilized in many applications. Printed circuit board technology is useful for realizing this type of sensor architecture by fabricating the interdigitated electrode structures in the patterned Cu foil. Furthermore, the solder mask coating is useful for insulating the electrodes to prevent shorting in the presence of water. Using this approach, prototype sensors were designed, simulated, fabricated and successfully evaluated. Applications include water detection and quantity measurement, and soil moisture content measurement.
Keywords :
capacitive sensors; copper; electrodes; moisture measurement; printed circuits; soil; soldering; Cu; capacitive fringing field sensor; interdigitated electrode; patterned copper foil; printed circuit board technology; soil moisture content measurement; solder mask coating; water detection; Capacitive sensors; Circuit simulation; Coatings; Electrodes; Insulation; Moisture measurement; Printed circuits; Soil measurements; Soil moisture; Virtual prototyping; fringing field capacitance; interdigitated electrodes; printed circuit board; sensor;
Conference_Titel :
Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC), 2010 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Austin, TX
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2832-8
Electronic_ISBN :
1091-5281
DOI :
10.1109/IMTC.2010.5488058
