A Conductivity-Based MEMS Detector for Helium

IF 3.1 3区工程技术 Q2 ENGINEERING, ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONIC

Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems Pub Date : 2025-07-31 DOI:10.1109/JMEMS.2025.3592153

Hasan Albatayneh;Mohammad I. Younis

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

There is a critical need to sense the inert gas helium (He) and to inform of its leakage in critical applications such as monitoring the integrity of dry cask nuclear storage systems. This work presents a new method for the sensing and detection of helium. The concept relies on conductivity-based cooling of a heated MEMS resonant bistable structure and exploits the snap-through and pull-in instabilities to realize a sensitive sensor and a threshold electrical switch. We show that the microbeam acts as a switch and generates binary direct voltage signals for simplified readout at desired helium thresholds. Additionally, experimental data demonstrate the potential of the microdevice as a resonant sensor, with a maximum sensitivity of 6.43%/%He. The device is demonstrated to exhibit minimal sensitivity to humidity and interference from other gases such as

$\text{CO}_{\mathbf {2}}$

. Furthermore, calibration curves for the temperature variation are generated to compensate for its effect. The proposed approach is promising for the sensitive detection of inert gases based on physical principles and for simplifying warning systems through combining sensing and actuation into a single MEMS device.

查看原文本刊更多论文

基于电导率的MEMS氦探测器

在诸如监测干桶核储存系统的完整性等关键应用中，迫切需要检测惰性气体氦（He）并通知其泄漏情况。本文提出了一种新的氦传感和检测方法。该概念依赖于基于电导率的加热MEMS谐振双稳态结构的冷却，并利用卡通和拉入不稳定性来实现敏感传感器和阈值电气开关。我们表明，微束作为一个开关，并产生二进制直接电压信号，简化读出所需的氦阈值。此外，实验数据表明该微器件具有作为谐振传感器的潜力，其最大灵敏度为6.43%/%He。该装置被证明对湿度和其他气体（如$\text{CO}_{\mathbf{2}}$）的干扰具有最小的灵敏度。此外，还生成了温度变化的校准曲线来补偿其影响。提出的方法有望基于物理原理对惰性气体进行灵敏检测，并通过将传感和驱动结合到单个MEMS器件中来简化报警系统。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 工程技术-工程：电子与电气

CiteScore

6.20

自引率

7.40%

发文量

115

审稿时长

7.5 months

期刊介绍： The topics of interest include, but are not limited to: devices ranging in size from microns to millimeters, IC-compatible fabrication techniques, other fabrication techniques, measurement of micro phenomena, theoretical results, new materials and designs, micro actuators, micro robots, micro batteries, bearings, wear, reliability, electrical interconnections, micro telemanipulation, and standards appropriate to MEMS. Application examples and application oriented devices in fluidics, optics, bio-medical engineering, etc., are also of central interest.