Sensor for measuring gas permeability of a test material
First Claim
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1. A sensor for measuring gas permeability of a test material, comprising:
- an electrically conductive sensing element that comprises a water and/or oxygen sensitive material, wherein the reaction of said material with water or oxygen when the sensing element is contacted with water and/or oxygen results in a change in the electrical conductivity of the sensing element, wherein the water and/or oxygen sensitive material is selected from the group consisting of metals of Group I of the periodic system of elements, metals of Group II of the periodic system of elements, iron, tin, chromium, conductive polymers, and mixtures and combinations thereof;
two electrodes electrically connected to the sensing element;
a base substrate that supports the sensing element, wherein the electrodes are located on a surface of the substrate, wherein the electrodes are spaced apart, thereby forming a trench, wherein edges of the trench are defined by the edge of each electrode and the base of the trench is the base substrate, wherein the sensing element is located in the trench; and
a liner layer interdisposed between the sensing element and the base substrate, wherein the liner layer adjoins the sensing element, and wherein the liner layer comprises an organic polymer and/or an inorganic polymer.
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Abstract
A sensor for measuring gas permeability of a test material, comprising: an electrically conductive sensing element that comprises a water and/or oxygen sensitive material, wherein the reaction of said material with water or oxygen when the sensing element is contacted with water and/or oxygen results in a change in the electrical conductivity of the sensing element, and two electrodes electrically connected to the sensing element.
11 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A sensor for measuring gas permeability of a test material, comprising:
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an electrically conductive sensing element that comprises a water and/or oxygen sensitive material, wherein the reaction of said material with water or oxygen when the sensing element is contacted with water and/or oxygen results in a change in the electrical conductivity of the sensing element, wherein the water and/or oxygen sensitive material is selected from the group consisting of metals of Group I of the periodic system of elements, metals of Group II of the periodic system of elements, iron, tin, chromium, conductive polymers, and mixtures and combinations thereof; two electrodes electrically connected to the sensing element; a base substrate that supports the sensing element, wherein the electrodes are located on a surface of the substrate, wherein the electrodes are spaced apart, thereby forming a trench, wherein edges of the trench are defined by the edge of each electrode and the base of the trench is the base substrate, wherein the sensing element is located in the trench; and a liner layer interdisposed between the sensing element and the base substrate, wherein the liner layer adjoins the sensing element, and wherein the liner layer comprises an organic polymer and/or an inorganic polymer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of producing a sensor for measuring gas permeability of a test material, said method comprising:
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providing a base substrate that supports a sensing element and that further comprises a liner layer, wherein the liner layer comprises an organic polymer and/or an inorganic polymer; depositing on the liner layer an electrically conducting sensing element that comprises a water and/or oxygen sensitive material selected from the group consisting of metals of Group I of the periodic system of elements, metals of Group II of the periodic system of elements, iron, tin, chromium, conductive polymers, and mixtures and combinations thereof, so that the liner layer is interdisposed between the base substrate and the sensing element and the liner layer adjoins the sensing element; providing two electrodes, wherein the electrodes are located on a surface of the substrate, wherein the electrodes are spaced apart, thereby forming a trench, wherein edges of the trench are defined by the edge of each electrode and the base of the trench is the base substrate, wherein the sensing element is located in the trench; and connecting the electrically conductive sensing element to said pair of electrodes.
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26. A system for measuring the gas permeability of a test material, said system comprising a sensor for detecting moisture permeation through the test material, said sensor comprising:
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an electrically conductive sensing element that comprises a water and/or oxygen sensitive material selected from the group consisting of metals of Group I of the periodic system of elements, metals of Group II of the periodic system of elements, iron, tin, chromium, conductive polymers, and mixtures and combinations thereof, wherein the reaction of said material with water or oxygen when the sensing element is contacted with water and/or oxygen results in a change in the electrical conductivity of the sensing element; two electrodes electrically connected to the sensing element, wherein the electrodes provide electrical connection between the sensing element and an electrical signal evaluation means; a base substrate that supports the sensing element, wherein the electrodes are located on a surface of the substrate, wherein the electrodes are spaced apart, thereby forming a trench, wherein edges of the trench are defined by the edge of each electrode and the base of the trench is the base substrate, wherein the sensing element is located in the trench; and a liner layer interdisposed between the sensing element and the base substrate, wherein the liner layer adjoins the sensing element, and wherein the liner layer comprises an organic polymer and/or an inorganic polymer.
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27. A method of determining the gas permeability of a test material using a sensor for measuring gas permeability of the test material, said sensor comprising:
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an electrically conductive sensing element that comprises a water and/or oxygen sensitive material selected from the group consisting of metals of Group I of the periodic system of elements, metals of Group II of the periodic system of elements, iron, tin, chromium, conductive polymers, and mixtures and combinations thereof, wherein the reaction of said material with water or oxygen when the sensing element is contacted with water and/or oxygen results in a change in the electrical conductivity of the sensing element; two electrodes electrically connected to the sensing element, wherein the electrodes provide electrical connection between the sensing element and an electrical signal evaluation means; a base substrate that supports the sensing element, wherein the electrodes are located on a surface of the substrate, wherein the electrodes are spaced apart, thereby forming a trench, wherein edges of the trench are defined by the edge of each electrode and the base of the trench is the base substrate, wherein the sensing element is located in the trench; and a liner layer interdisposed between the sensing element and the base substrate, wherein the liner layer adjoins the sensing element, and wherein the liner layer comprises an organic polymer and/or an inorganic polymer; wherein said method comprises; contacting the sensing element with water and/or oxygen; measuring the changes in electrical conductivity of the sensing element over a period of time; and calculating the gas permeability coefficient of the test material based on the measurements. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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Specification