Chip-scale optical airflow sensor

Airflow sensors are an essential component in a wide range of industrial, biomedical, and environmental applications. The development of compact devices with a fast response and wide measurement range capable of in situ airflow monitoring is highly desirable. Herein, we report a miniaturized optical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microsystems & nanoengineering 2022-01, Vol.8 (1), p.4-4, Article 4
Main Authors: Luo, Yumeng, An, Xiaoshuai, Chen, Liang, Li, Kwai Hei
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
639/166/987
639/624/1075/1083
Air flow
Engineering
Light emission
Membranes
Molding (process)
Response time
Sensors
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Summary:Airflow sensors are an essential component in a wide range of industrial, biomedical, and environmental applications. The development of compact devices with a fast response and wide measurement range capable of in situ airflow monitoring is highly desirable. Herein, we report a miniaturized optical airflow sensor based on a GaN chip with a flexible PDMS membrane. The compact GaN chip is responsible for light emission and photodetection. The PDMS membrane fabricated using a droplet-based molding process can effectively transform the airflow stimuli into optical reflectance changes that can be monitored by an on-chip photodetector. Without the use of external components for light coupling, the proposed sensor adopting the novel integration scheme is capable of detecting airflow rates of up to 53.5 ms −1 and exhibits a fast response time of 12 ms, holding great promise for diverse practical applications. The potential use in monitoring human breathing is also demonstrated.
ISSN:2055-7434
2096-1030
2055-7434
DOI:10.1038/s41378-021-00335-1