Ngk Spark Plug Company, Limited

Kouichi Ikawa

Takafumi Oshima

Takio Kojima

Yoshihiko Kohmura

Yoshinori Tsujimura

Masatoshi Ueki

A mass flow sensor includes a semiconductor substrate , an insulating thin film , heaters and , temperature measurement resistors and , and a protective layer . The heaters and are formed on the surface of the insulating thin film , and are provided adjacently such that the heater is provided upstream the heater and the heater is provided downstream the heater . A cavity is formed below the heaters and , and the heaters are thermally insulated from the remaining portion of the semiconductor substrate. The temperature measurement resistors and are formed on the top surface of the insulating thin film , and are provided at opposite sides of the heaters and , such that the resistors are aligned with respect to the flow passage of a fluid. In the mass flow sensor and the mass flowmeter including the sensor, the flow rate and flow direction of a fluid can be detected by means of merely the heaters and , which are active elements. Therefore, the sensor and the flowmeter exhibits high-speed response with respect to change in the flow rate of the fluid.

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Gifu, Japan

Kouichi Ikawa