Device for measuring the concentrations in a measuring liquid

• US 6,624,637 B1
• Filed: 09/13/2001
• Issued: 09/23/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Endress+Hauser GmbH+Co (ENDRESS)
• Original Assignee: Endress+Hauser GmbH+Co (ENDRESS)
• Inventors: Pechstein, Torsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirshfeld, Andrew H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hamdan, Wasseem H.
• Application Number:
  US09/856,511
• Time in Patent Office: 740 Days
• Field of Search: 324/438, 324/71.6, 324/71.2, 204/413, 204/418, 204/406, 204/416, 204/401, 257/253, 257/252, 435/7.4
• US Class Current: 324/438
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4148 Integrated circuits therefor, e.g. fabricated by CMOS processing CMOS processing per se H01L21/82

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for measuring the concentration of ions, notably of hydrogen ions, in a measuring liquid using at least one ion-sensitive field effect transistor which is integrated into an electric circuit within the device in such a way that said circuit emits an output signal which serves as measure of the ion concentration in the measuring liquid. To provide a circuit which is as simple as possible and in particular comprises as few components as possible, the invention provides for the at least one pH-ISFET to be bridge-connected with at least three resistors.

Claims

1. A device for measuring the concentration of ions in a measurement liquid, comprising:

at least one ion sensitive field effect transistor (pH-ISFET) having a drain provided in the measurement liquid;

a bridge circuit having at least three resistors, said bridge circuit provided with feed points having a feed voltage and a diagonal voltage, said bridge circuit connected to said pH-ISFET;

an operational amplifier having a p-input and an n-input, said operational amplifier connected to said bridge circuit, said diagonal voltage of said bridge circuit being between said p-input and said n-input of said operational amplifier, said n-input connected to said drain, the output of said operational amplifier being fed back to said bridge circuit; and

a reference electrode provided in the measurement liquid;

wherein an output signal is produced by the device which measures the ion concentration of the measurement liquid, said output signal formed as the output voltage from the difference of the drain potential of said pH-ISFET on said n-input and the reference potential of said reference electrode.

2. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said reference electrode is an ion sensitive field effect transistor (ISFET).

3. The device in accordance with claim 2, wherein said reference electrode is provided in a reference liquid.

4. The device in accordance with claim 3, wherein said reference liquid has a pH of 7.

5. The device in accordance with claim 3, further including a potential reference electrode provided in the measurement liquid, wherein the drain potential of said pH-ISFET and a pseudoreference potential of said potential reference electrode form a first difference signal and the drain potential of said ISFET and the pseudoreference potential of said potential reference electrode form a second difference signal said output signal being formed as the difference of said first difference signal and said second difference signal, with the same light conditions prevailing on the gate region of said pH-ISFET and said reference ISFET.

6. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the output of said operational amplifier is routed back via a capacitor to said n-input of said operational amplifier.

7. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said bridge circuit includes resistors made as ohmic resistance.

8. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said reference electrode is provided within the measurement liquid.

9. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said bridge feed voltage is formed as the energy gap voltage of a bandgap diode.

10. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the drain source voltage said pH-ISFET is constant.

11. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein the drain source current of said pH-ISFET is constant.

12. The device in accordance with claim 1, wherein said device is used to measure hydrogen (H⁺) ions.