Combined Humidity- and Temperature sensor on the same chip

The newly developed sensor combined a humidity sensor and a temperature sensor on the same chip. The capacitive humidity sensor consists of a moisture-sensitive polymer, which is surrounded from two electrodes. The temperature sensor consists of a Pt100 or Pt1000 platinum temperature sensor. Beside an exact temperature measurement the advantage is the use of the Pt100-sensor as heater for the humidity sensor. Hence, it is possible to heat the humidity sensor and carry out a re-calibration, prevent condensation and the baking respectively out gassing of the humidity sensor. The structure and function mode of the several sensors are explained in the following pages. Furthermore the advantages of heating are illustrated with more details.