• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2010.06a
• /
• pp.51.3-51.3
• /
• 2010

Due to the recent public awareness of global warming and sustainable economic growth, there has been a growing interest in alternative clean energy sources. Hydrogen is considered as a clean fuel for the next generation. One of the technical challenges related to the use of hydrogen is safe monitoring of the hydrogen leak during separation, purification and transportation. For detecting various gases, chemiresistor-type gas sensors have been widely studied and used due to their well-established detection scheme and low cost. However, it is known that many of them have the limited sensitivity and slow response time, when used at low temperature conditions. In our work, a sensor based on Schottky barriers at the electrode/sensing material interface showed promising results that can be utilized for developing fast and highly sensitive gas sensors. Our hydrogen sensor was designed and fabricated based on indium oxide (In2O3)-doped tin oxide (SnO2) semiconductor nanoparticles with platinum (Pt) nanoclusters in combination with interdigitated electrodes. The sensor showed the sensitivity as high as $10^7%$ (Rair/Rgas) and the detection limit as low as 30 ppm. The sensor characteristics could be obtained via optimized materials synthesis route and sensor electrode design. Not only the contribution of electrical resistance from the film itself but also the interfacial effect was identified as an important factor that contribute significantly to the overall sensor characteristics. This promises the applicability of the developed sensor for monitoring hydrogen leak at room temperature.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.297-303
• /
• 2019

A triple-layered $PMMA/Ni_{64}Zr_{36}/PDMS$ hydrogen gas sensor using hydrogen permeable alloy and flexible polymer layers is fabricated through spin coating and DC-magnetron sputtering. PDMS(polydimethylsiloxane) is used as a flexible substrate and PMMA(polymethylmethacrylate) thin film is deposited onto the $Ni_{64}Zr_{36}$ alloy layer to give a high hydrogen-selectivity to the sensor. The measured hydrogen sensing ability and response time of the fabricated sensor at high hydrogen concentration of 99.9 % show a 20 % change in electrical resistance, which is superior to conventional Pd-based hydrogen sensors, which are difficult to use in high hydrogen concentration environments. At a hydrogen concentration of 5 %, the resistance of electricity is about 1.4 %, which is an electrical resistance similar to that of the $Pd_{77}Ag_{23}$ sensor. Despite using low cost $Ni_{64}Zr_{36}$ alloy as the main sensing element, performance similar to that of existing Pd sensors is obtained in a highly concentrated hydrogen atmosphere. By improving the sensitivity of the hydrogen detection through optimization including of the thickness of each layer and the composition of Ni-Zr alloy thin film, the proposed Ni-Zr-based hydrogen sensor can replace Pd-based hydrogen sensors.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2009.06a
• /
• pp.777-780
• /
• 2009

본 연구에서는 연료전지에의 응용을 위한 저가격의 무산소, 상온동작 가능한 센서구조를 설계, 제작하고 특성을 평가하였다. 연료전지의 수소 농도를 측정하기 위해서는 50ppm에서 5% 이상까지 넓은 범위를 감지할 수 있는 수소센서의 성능이 매우 중요하다. 이러한 특성과 상용화를 위해 가격 경쟁력을 갖는 수소센서로서, 수소흡착에 따른 Pd의 저항변화 특성을 이용한 센서 구조에 대하여 연구하였다. 높은 저항치를 갖는 Pd 후막 구조설계를 통하여 저항 감소형의 센서를 제작하여 특성평가를 하였다. 저가형으로 설계 제작된 Pd 수소센서는 50~20000ppm 범위에서 감지특성을 나타내었으며, 약 40sec의 응답속도를 보였다.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.18 no.3
• /
• pp.252-261
• /
• 1993

Nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) was used to study a feasibility test for the possibility to develop a moisture sensor applicable for agricultural products such as raw and powdered grain. Samples of wheat flour and brown rice were tested with a 200MHz hydrogen NMR. The samples were loaded into 5mm NMR glass tubes and $30^{\circ}$ pulses were supplied to get resonance signals. Hydrogen spectrum intensities of the samples were compared to moisture content measured by a drying oven method. High linear correlations were obtained between the hydrogen spectrum intensity and moisture content. Therefore, moisure contents of agricultural products could be measured nondestructively utilizing the NMR principle. A low-cost design concept of the moisture sensor with the NMR principle was proposed for a practical use.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.293-302
• /
• 2020

Food safety has emerged as a growing concern for human health in recent times. Consuming contaminated food may lead to serious health problems, and therefore, a system for monitoring food freshness that is both non-detrimental to the quality of food and highly accurate is required to ensure that only high-quality fresh food packages are provided to the customers. This paper proposes a method to monitor and detect food quality using a compact smart sensor tag. The smart tag is composed of three ultra-low-power sensors, which monitor four major indicators of food freshness: temperature, humidity, and the concentrations of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide gases. An RF energy scavenging circuit is integrated into the smart sensor tag to harvest energy from radio waves at a high frequency of 13.56 MHz to supply sufficient power to the tag. Experimental results show that the proposed energy harvester can efficiently obtain energy at a distance of approximately 40 cm from a 4 W reader. In addition, the proposed smart sensor tag can operate without any battery, thereby eliminating the requirement of frequent battery replacement and consequently decreasing the cost. Meanwhile, the freshness of preserved pork is continuously monitored under two conditions--room temperature and refrigerator temperature--both of which are the most common temperatures under which food is generally stored. The food-monitoring experiments are conducted over a period of one week using the proposed battery-less tag. Based on the experimental results, the food assessment is classified into four categories: fresh, normal, low, and spoiled.

• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
• /
• v.23 no.5
• /
• pp.342-348
• /
• 2014

This paper introduced a novel multi-gas sensor detector with simple signal processing algorithm. This device was evaluated by investigating the characteristics of combustible materials using fire-generated smell and smoke. Plural sensors including TGS821, TGS2442, and TGS260X were equipped to detect carbon monoxide, hydrogen gas, and gaseous air contaminants which exist in cigarette smoke, respectively. Signal processing algorithm based on the difference of response times in fire-generated gases was implemented with early and accurately fire detection from multiple gas sensing signals. All fire experiments were performed in a virtual fire chamber. The cigarette, cotton fiber, hair, polyester fiber, nylon fiber, paper, and bread were used as a combustible material. This analyzing software and sensor controlling algorithm were embedded into 8-bit micro-controller. Also the detected multiple gas sensor signals were simultaneously transferred to the personnel computer. The results showed that the air pollution detecting sensor could be used as an efficient sensor for a fire detector which showed high sensitivity in volatile organic compounds. The proposed detecting algorithm may give more information to us compared to the conventional method for determining a threshold value. A fire detecting device with a multi-sensor is likely to be a practical and commercial technology, which can be used for domestic and office environment as well as has a comparatively low cost and high efficiency compared to the conventional device.

• Journal of the Microelectronics and Packaging Society
• /
• v.14 no.2 s.43
• /
• pp.59-63
• /
• 2007

This paper presented a low-cost thick film gas sensor module, which was based on simple PCB (Printed Circuit Board) process. The proposed sensor module included a $NO_2/H_2$ gas sensor, a relative humidity sensor, and a heating element. The $NO_2/H_2$ gas and relative humidity sensors were realized by screen-printing $SnO_2,\;BaTiO_3$ nano-powders on IDTS (Interdigital Transducer) of a PCB substrate, respectively. At first 1% $H_2$ gas flowed into the sensor chamber. After 4 min, air filled the chamber while $H_2$ gas flow stopped. This experiment was performed repeatedly. The Identical procedure was used for the $NO_2$ detection. The result for sensing $H_2$ gas showed the increase of voltage from 0.8V to 3.5V due to the conductance increase and its reaction response time by hydrogen flow was 65 sec. $NO_2$ sensing results showed 2.7 V voltage drop due to the conductance decrease and its response time was 3 sec through a voltage monitoring.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.19 no.8
• /
• pp.427-431
• /
• 2009

ZnO wire-like thin films were synthesized through thermal oxidation of sputtered Zn metal films in dry air. Their nanostructure was confirmed by SEM, revealing a wire-like structure with a width of less than 100 nm and a length of several microns. The gas sensors using ZnO wire-like films were found to exhibit excellent $H_2$ gas sensing properties. In particular, the observed high sensitivity and fast response to $H_2$ gas at a comparatively low temperature of $200^{\circ}C$ would lead to a reduction in the optimal operating temperature of ZnO-based $H_2$ gas sensors. These features, together with the simple synthesis process, demonstrate that ZnO wire-like films are promising for fabrication of low-cost and high-performance $H_2$ gas sensors operable at low temperatures. The relationship between the sensor sensitivity and $H_2$ gas concentration suggests that the adsorbed oxygen species at the surface is $O^-$.

• Journal of IKEEE
• /
• v.26 no.2
• /
• pp.219-225
• /
• 2022

The textile industry in Korea, the dyeing sector is an energy-intensive sector and has low per-unit productivity due to its labor-intensive nature. If the defective rate of dyed fabrics is high, additional costs are incurred due to an increase in production cost due to re-dyeing. Therefore, the goal of the dyeing factory was to minimize the defect rate rather than to save energy. It was difficult to check the dyeing state of the fabric in real time due to the risk of accidents due to burns or pressure when dyeing in a high-temperature and high-pressure environment. In this paper, a complex sensor that can measure the exhaustion rate of dye solution in the dyeing machine using turbidity, pH, and conductivity sensors was proposed, and the experimental method and experimental results were analyzed.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2012.08a
• /
• pp.222-222
• /
• 2012

Metal oxide gas sensors based on semiconductor type have attracted a great deal of attention due to their low cost, flexible production and simple usability. However, most works have been focused on n-type oxides, while the characteristics of p-type oxide gas sensors have been barely studied. An investigation on p-type oxides is very important in that the use of them makes possible the novel sensors such as p-n diode and tandem devices. Monoclinic cupric oxide (CuO) is p-type semiconductor with narrow band gap (~1.2 eV). This is composed of abundant, nontoxic elements on earth, and thus low-cost, environment-friendly devices can be realized. However, gas sensing properties of neat CuO were rarely explored and the mechanism still remains unclear. In this work, the neat CuO layers with highly ordered mesoporous structures were prepared by a template-free, one-pot solution-based method using novel ink solutions, formulated with copper formate tetrahydrate, hexylamine and ethyl cellulose. The shear viscosity of the formulated solutions was 5.79 Pa s at a shear rate of 1 s-1. The solutions were coated on SiO2/Si substrates by spin-coating (ink) and calcined for 1 h at the temperature of $200{\sim}600^{\circ}C$ in air. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of the formed CuO layers were observed by a focused ion beam scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) and porosity was determined by image analysis using simple computer-programming. XRD analysis showed phase evolutions of the layers, depending on the calcination temperature, and thermal decompositions of the neat precursor and the formulated ink were investigated by TGA and DSC. As a result, the formation of the porous structures was attributed to the vaporization of ethyl cellulose contained in the solutions. Mesoporous CuO, formed with the ink solution, consisted of grains and pores with nano-meter size. All of them were strongly dependent on calcination temperature. Sensing properties toward H2 and C2H5OH gases were examined as a function of operating temperature. High and fast responses toward H2 and C2H5OH gases were discussed in terms of crystallinity, nonstoichiometry and morphological factors such as porosity, grain size and surface-to-volume ratio. To our knowledge, the responses toward H2 and C2H5OH gases of these CuO gas sensors are comparable to previously reported values.