The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 03, 2002
Filed:
Jan. 14, 2002
Inao Toyoda, Okazaki, JP;
Hajime Matsuhashi, Nagoya, JP;
Denso Corporation, Kariya, JP;
Abstract
A capacitive moisture sensor is made from an SOI, i.e., silicon-on-insulator, substrate. Two electrodes, between which moisture-sensitive material is interposed, are formed from a thick silicon layer of the SOI substrate by separating the layer with a trench vertically reaching an insulator layer of the SOI substrate. Two substantially vertical sidewalls defining the trench make up a capacitor for moisture sensing. Therefore, by using deep trench, i.e., thick silicon layer, capacitance sensitivity to moisture is readily increased without horizontally widening the electrode or using horizontal surface of the electrode, that is, without enlarging sensor size or complicating fabrication process. In addition, the electrodes are made of silicon, so that corrosion resistivity against moisture is significantly.