Open AccessImproved sensitivity of thin film sensor for humidity measurement inside a operating PEMFC
Author(s) -
Noriyoshi Hasegawa,
Yota Otsuki,
Masato Kurosu,
Takuto Araki
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of physics. conference series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.21
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1742-6596
pISSN - 1742-6588
DOI - 10.1088/1742-6596/1407/1/012089
Subject(s) - humidity , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , materials science , capacitance , relative humidity , sensitivity (control systems) , porosity , electrode , composite material , layer (electronics) , membrane electrode assembly , optoelectronics , electronic engineering , fuel cells , chemical engineering , chemistry , electrolyte , meteorology , engineering , physics
Water management inside a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is an important issue for improving the performance of a PEMFC. It is necessary to understand water transport phenomena inside a PEMFC for water management. Especially humidity measurement near the membrane electrode assembly is indispensable. In order to measure the humidity, we fabricated the capacity type humidity sensor with thickness of 7 μm using micro-electro-mechanical system techniques. In addition, in order to measure the humidity locally, we reduced the parasitic capacitance by changing the shape of the sensor, and improved the sensitivity of the sensor by carrying out O 2 plasma etching on the humidity sensitive layer. Finally, the improved sensor was inserted between the catalyst layer and micro porous layer inside a PEMFC, and the humidity inside it during power generation was measured to confirm that the sensor was functioning.