Passive Wireless Temperature Sensor Research Articles

Thin and Thick Film Ceramic-Based Passive Wireless Temperature Sensors for Harsh Environments

The needs for real-time temperature monitoring of energy systems in extreme conditions keeps increasing due to the growth of manufacturing industries. Current technologies utilize thermocouples, infrared laser interferometers, and surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors. Thermocouples have limited lifespan. The reliability is poor due to continuous redox reaction taking place at the hot junction and any caustic environment will corrode the thermocouple material. Laser interferometers are limited by the spot area of the laser beam and monitoring temperature gradient is difficult, since it is a surface sensitive technique. To overcome the limitations, research has been focused on passive wireless sensor technology where an inductor–capacitor (LC) circuit was used to monitor the temperature and local strain conditions. The primary objective of this work was to study the materials properties of carbide/silicide and oxide composites for the fabrication of ceramic-based LC circuits on a ceramic substrate using thin and thick film deposition methods. This work includes the investigation of the composite precursor, pattern technology and the effect of thermal processing on the final pattern and stability. The relation of volume shrinkage during sintering process and phase development are of interest. The secondary objective of this work was to investigate the electrical properties of the tailored sintered electrodes. One system that will be discussed is the development of a polymer-derived electroceramic electrodes based on two different carbide/silicide compositions. These inks were synthesized by mixing a siloxane/silane compound with an active inorganic filler material. Upon sintering, the organic molecules decomposed and the silicon will react with the inorganic fill at a higher temperature to form a ceramic composite. The reaction kinetics depends on the reaction between terminating functional groups, silicon ``atom, and the filler particle. To understand the reaction kinetics, phase formation, and other mechanical properties (such as volumetric shrinkage), varying ratios of the particle filled polymer matrix was injection molded and sintered at varying temperature rates. The compositions that provided the desired material properties was chosen to direct-write the LC circuit pattern on a ceramic substrate by a 2D printing technology and screen printing technology. The sintered sensor was characterized by XRD, SEM and the electrical characterization of the printed LC circuits were completed on the sensor compositions by a signal analyzer in tandem with an oscilloscope (at temperatures 50-1300oC). Miniaturization of the LC circuit was developed by a thin film deposition process to show the effect of size reduction in various aspects of sensing and adaptability. Miniaturized LC circuit was patterned by depositing by physical vapor deposition onto a ceramic substrate. Additionally, the size reduction will boost the capacitance of the circuit which will assist in the reduction of the signal-to-noise ratio, ease of signal processing and reduces the sophistication of electronics. The fabricated thin films were characterized by grazing incident XRD and SEM to compare the formation of grain boundaries, phases with the thick film composite. The electrical characterization was completed in a similar fashion to compare results with thick film composites.

Low-Cost Wireless Temperature Measurement: Design, Manufacture, and Testing of a PCB-Based Wireless Passive Temperature Sensor.

Low-cost wireless temperature measurement has significant value in the food industry, logistics, agriculture, portable medical equipment, intelligent wireless health monitoring, and many areas in everyday life. A wireless passive temperature sensor based on PCB (Printed Circuit Board) materials is reported in this paper. The advantages of the sensor include simple mechanical structure, convenient processing, low-cost, and easiness in integration. The temperature-sensitive structure of the sensor is a dielectric-loaded resonant cavity, consisting of the PCB substrate. The sensitive structure also integrates a patch antenna for the transmission of temperature signals. The temperature sensing mechanism of the sensor is the dielectric constant of the PCB substrate changes with temperature, which causes the resonant frequency variation of the resonator. Then the temperature can be measured by detecting the changes in the sensor’s working frequency. The PCB-based wireless passive temperature sensor prototype is prepared through theoretical design, parameter analysis, software simulation, and experimental testing. The high- and low-temperature sensing performance of the sensor is tested, respectively. The resonant frequency decreases from 2.434 GHz to 2.379 GHz as the temperature increases from −40 °C to 125 °C. The fitting curve proves that the experimental data have good linearity. Three repetitive tests proved that the sensor possess well repeatability. The average sensitivity is from repetitive measurements conducted three times. This study demonstrates the feasibility of the PCB-based wireless passive sensor, which provides a low-cost temperature sensing solution for everyday life, modern agriculture, thriving intelligent health devices, and so on, and also enriches PCB product lines and applications.

AlN-Based Ceramic Patch Antenna-Type Wireless Passive High-Temperature Sensor.

An aluminum nitride (AlN) based patch antenna-type high-temperature wireless passive sensor is reported to operate as both a sensor and an antenna, which integrates in situ measurement/sensing with remote wireless communication at the same time. The sensor is small, easy to manufacture, highly sensitive and has a high operating temperature; it can be used in high-temperature, chemically corrosive and other harsh environments. The sensing mechanism of the sensor, the dielectric constant of the AlN ceramic substrate, increases with rising temperature, which reduces the resonant frequency of the sensor. Thus, the temperature can be measured by detecting changes in the sensor’s resonant frequency. High-Frequency Simulation Structure (HFSS) software is used to determine the structure and size of the sensor, which is then fabricated using thick-film technology. The substrate of the sensor is AlN ceramic due to its outstanding thermal resistance at high temperature; and its conductors (the radiation patch and the ground under the substrate) are silver-palladium alloy sintered form silver–palladium paste. A vector network analyzer reveals that the sensor’s operating range extends to 700 °C. Furthermore, its resonant frequency decreases from 2.20 GHz to 2.13 GHz with increasing temperature from room temperature (25 °C) to 700 °C, with an absolute sensitivity of 104.77 KHz/°C. Our work verifies the feasibility of measuring high temperatures using AlN-based patch antenna wireless passive temperature sensors, and provides a new material and temperature sensitive structure for high-temperature measurement in harsh environments.

A Wireless Passive Pressure and Temperature Sensor via a Dual LC Resonant Circuit in Harsh Environments

This paper presents a passive wireless sensor for simultaneously and remotely measuring pressure and temperature under harsh environments. The sensor consists of a dual $LC$ (inductor and capacitor) resonant circuit, one without a cavity and the other with a cavity capacitor for temperature and pressure sensing, respectively. The low-temperature co-fired ceramic technology is used to fabricate the sensor, making it suitable for high-temperature harsh environment operations. Experimental results show the prototype sensor has temperature sensitivity of 8.15 kHz/°C and pressure sensitivity of 1.96 MHz/Bar up to 400°C. [2016-0157]

Metamaterial Based Passive Wireless Temperature Sensor

This paper presents the fabrication, modeling, and testing of a metamaterial based passive wireless temperature sensor consisting of an array of closed ring resonators (CRRs) embedded in a dielectric material matrix. A mixture of 70 vol% Boron Nitride (BN) and 30 vol% Barium Titanate (BTO) is used as the dielectric matrix and copper washers are used as CRRs. Conventional powder compression is used for the sensor fabrication. The feasibility of wireless temperature sensing is demonstrated up to 200 °C. The resonance frequency of the sensor decreases from 11.93 GHz at room temperature to 11.85 GHz at 200 °C, providing a sensitivity of 0.462 MHz °C. The repeatability of temperature sensing tests is carried out to quantify the repeatability. The highest standard deviation observed is 0.012 GHz at 200 °C.

The Software Design of SiBCN Temperature Sensor Wireless Sweep Signal Receiving and Dispatching System Based on FPGA

SiBCN (silicon boron carbon nitrogen) wireless passive microwave resonant cavity temperature sensor is a new type of sensor under the development trend of radio frequency microwave technology. Based on the working principle of the sensor, the software design of SiBCN temperature sensor wireless sweep transceiver system based on FPGA is carried out on the basis of the existing wireless sweep signal transceiver system hardware. Let the signal source send the 11.0GHz ~ 11.6GHz range sweep signal to the sensor. The feedback signal of the sensor is filtered and the resonant frequency is obtained. The detection of temperature is based on the correspondence between the resonant frequency and the temperature.Through the analysis of the measured results, the system software design meets the requirements, and the temperature and frequency change rate is about 421.2KHz / °C.

Antenna-resonator integrated wireless passive temperature sensor based on low-temperature co-fired ceramic for harsh environment

This paper proposes a resonator-antenna integrated microstrip antenna temperature sensor based on a low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC), whose permittivity varies monotonously with the temperature. The dimensional design process was first analyzed in detail, and by combining the standard LTCC technology, the sensor was fabricated using 15 layers of a green tape. To interrogate the sensor, a coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed microstrip antenna, possessing a relatively large bandwidth, was designed and optimized using high frequency structure simulator software, and then fabricated on alumina ceramic through a screen-printing process. The sensor was then tested on a developed high-temperature measurement system. Because the original detected sweep signal was difficult to distinguish, a time-domain (T-D) gating method for filtering a background signal was introduced. The extracted peak frequency was found to decrease linearly with an increase in temperature to within 400°C at a 30-mm reading distance, with a measurement sensitivity of 0.24MHz/°C. Simultaneously, the antenna polarity was found to have a significant influence on the readout signal. Finally, for the introduced T-D gating method, this study analyzes that the sensor can be sensed at a long distance when using a high-gain interrogation antenna. It is expected that the proposed sensor can be used in monitoring the temperature in a harsh environment.

A Novel Capacitive Temperature Sensor for Real-Time Monitoring of Temperature in the Silicone Oil Fan Clutch

This paper presents a novel capacitive sensor for real-time monitoring of temperature in the silicone oil fan clutch. The structure of the temperature sensor is designed and fabricated by the Silicon-On-Glass (SOG) process based on the bonding technology. The silicone oil is designed as the temperature sensing materials in the capacitive sensor. The capacitance of the embedded sensor is changing with respect to temperature of the silicone oil fan clutch. Experimental results show that the sensor provides a sensitivity of 27.3fF/°C in the -30 to 40°C range, 58.2fF/°C in the 50 to 110°C rang. It is also demonstrated that the temperature sensitive capacitor can be integrated with a copper inductance antenna and tests as a passive wireless temperature sensor. The resonant frequency of the inductor-capacitor (LC) resonator changes with respect to the changing capacitance. Then temperature changes can be remotely determined towards a frequency spectrum study. Experimental results show that the LC type passive wireless sensor provides a sensitivity of 6.35kHz/°C in the -30 to 110°C range.

Passive and Semi-Passive Wireless Temperature and Humidity Sensors Based on EPC Generation-2 UHF Protocol

This paper proposes passive and semi-passive wireless temperature and humidity sensors based on electronic product code (EPC) global Class-1 Generation-2 UHF communication protocol. The wireless sensors consist of a sensor key chip and off-chip temperature and humidity sensors. The sensor key chip integrates RF/analog front-end circuit, digital baseband processor, nonvolatile memory, on-chip temperature sensor, and sensor interface. The sensor interface connects the off-chip sensors and the sensor key chip. The sensor key chip with the on-chip temperature sensor can operate without battery power (passive mode), and also can co-operate with the off-chip temperature and humidity sensors powered by battery (semi-passive mode). The RF/analog front-end circuit provides the dc power to the sensor key chip and communicates with the interrogator passively. Advanced low-power techniques are adopted to reduce the power consumption of the sensor key chip. The sensor key chip is fabricated in 0.18- $\mu $ m CMOS process. In passive mode, the maximum wireless sensitivity of on-chip sensor is −15.1/−11.2 dBm for reading and sensing operation, respectively, and the temperature sensing error is −1 °C/0.8 °C over operating range from −20 °C to 50 °C. It achieves a reading/sensing distance of over 9.5/6 m with 4-W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP) by the commercial interrogator. In semi-passive mode, the temperature and humidity sensing distance of off-chip sensors is 2.7 m.

Concept and Model of a Metamaterial-Based Passive Wireless Temperature Sensor for Harsh Environment Applications

Wireless passive temperature sensors are receiving increasing attention due to the ever-growing need of improving energy efficient and precise monitoring of temperature in high-temperature energy conversion systems, such as gas turbines and coal-based power plants. Unfortunately, the harsh environment, such as high temperature and corrosive atmosphere present in these systems, has significantly limited the reliability and increased the costs of current solutions. Therefore, this paper presents the concept and design of a low cost, passive, and wireless temperature sensor that can withstand high temperature and harsh environments. The temperature sensor was designed following the principle of metamaterials by utilizing closed ring resonators in a dielectric ceramic matrix. The proposed wireless, passive temperature sensor behaves like an $LC$ circuit, which has a temperature-dependent resonance frequency. Full-wave electromagnetic solver Ansys Ansoft HFSS was used to validate the model and evaluate the effect of different geometry and combination of split ring resonator structures on the sensitivity and electrical sizes of the proposed sensor. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the sensor and provide guidance for future fabrication and testing.

Wireless Passive Temperature Sensors Using Integrated Cylindrical Resonator/Antenna for Harsh-Environment Applications

Wireless passive temperature sensors for harsh-environment applications based on cylindrical microwave cavity resonators are presented herein. Slot antennas are integrated with sensors with zero additional volume. The resonant frequencies of the sensors are determined by the dielectric constants of the ceramic materials, which monotonically increase versus temperature. Silicoboron carbonitride (SiBCN) ceramic materials, which are very robust inside harsh environments featuring high temperatures and corrosive gases, are optimized in this paper to reduce dielectric losses and increase sensing ranges and accuracies. A robust interrogation antenna is developed to wirelessly measure the sensors up to 1300 °C. Two sensors based on Si 6 B 1 and Si 4 B 1 ceramics are measured up to 1050 °C and 1300 °C, respectively, with a sensitivity of ~0.78 MHz/°C at 1050 °C. This type of wireless, passive, and robust sensor can be used for many harsh-environment applications, such as gas turbines.

An Embedded Passive Resonant Sensor Using Frequency Diversity Technology for High-Temperature Wireless Measurement

This paper presents an embedded wireless passive temperature sensor for measurements in high-temperature applications, such as compressors and turbine engines. The performance of the sensor was improved by optimizing its performance parameters. A high-temperature-resistant material was used, and an embedded structure design was introduced to enable the sensor to operate in high-temperature environments. A series <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">LC</i> resonant circuit containing a fixed inductance coil and variable capacitance that varies with temperature was embedded in an alumina ceramic substrate using high-temperature cofired ceramic technology. The temperature in the high-temperature environment was detected wirelessly via the frequency diversity of the sensor. Furthermore, the experimental results showed that the sensor can measure temperatures ranging from room temperature to 1000 °C, and the average sensitivity of the sensor is <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\sim 2$ </tex-math></inline-formula> KHz/°C.

Wireless Passive Temperature Sensor Realized on Multilayer HTCC Tapes for Harsh Environment

A wireless passive temperature sensor is designed on the basis of a resonant circuit, fabricated on multilayer high temperature cofired ceramic (HTCC) tapes, and measured with an antenna in the wireless coupling way. Alumina ceramic used as the substrate of the sensor is fabricated by lamination and sintering techniques, and the passive resonant circuit composed of a planar spiral inductor and a parallel plate capacitor is printed and formed on the substrate by screen-printing and postfiring processes. Since the permittivity of the ceramic becomes higher as temperature rises, the resonant frequency of the sensor decreases due to the increasing capacitance of the circuit. Measurements on the input impedance versus the resonant frequency of the sensor are achieved based on the principle, and discussions are made according to the exacted relative permittivity of the ceramic and quality factor (Q) of the sensor within the temperature range from 19°C (room temperature) to 900°C. The results show that the sensor demonstrates good high-temperature characteristics and wide temperature range. The average sensitivity of the sensor with good repeatability and reliability is up to 5.22 KHz/°C. It can be applied to detect high temperature in harsh environment.

Wireless passive high-temperature sensor based on multifunctional reflective patch antenna up to 1050 degrees centigrade

A novel wireless passive temperature sensor based on a reflective patch is demonstrated up to 1050°C herein. This reflective patch acts as a patch resonator (temperature sensor) and an integrated antenna at the same time. The temperature sensing mechanism is the monotonic increase of the dielectric constant of alumina versus temperature, which reduces the resonant frequency of a patch resonator formed on such an alumina substrate. By properly designing the shape and dimensions of the patch, it can also act as a transmit/receive antenna for wireless passive sensing. Therefore, temperatures can be wirelessly sensed by measuring the resonant frequency of the temperature sensor using an interrogation antenna. This temperature sensor uses robust alumina and platinum materials for high-temperature applications. In addition, this wireless passive temperature sensor is simple in mechanical structure and low in profile, with the potential to be in conformal shape. A temperature sensor using this reflective patch was designed, fabricated and tested from 50 to 1050°C in ambient. The resonant frequency of the sensor decreases from 5.07 to 4.58GHz, which corresponds to a dielectric constant change from 9.7 to 11.4 for the alumina substrate. The temperature measurement sensitivity is found to be 0.58MHz/°C at 1050°C. Being wireless, passive, planar and low profile, the proposed high-temperature sensor can be used for various harsh-environment applications.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System and Wireless Passive Surface Acoustic Wave Sensor

The TPMS can not only save fuel and protect the tire, but also make the driver more safety. Tire safety is attracting the driver's attention, the United States had developed laws to enforce the TPMS installation in the car and the deadline is in 2008. In this paper, the basic structure and the implement method of TPMS are introduced. The active sensors are already used in most of the TPMS applications. The SAW theory and some wireless passive SAW pressure and temperature sensors which suit for the TPMS application are illustrated, because the passive sensor is becoming the focus in the TPMS research field. Passive SAW sensor is the good choice for TPMS, according to its wireless, passive, zero age rate, small size etc. The wireless passive SAW TPMS is one of the most important research direction. In this paper, some kinds of passive SAW sensor are introduced, which are used in TPMS.

A Harsh Environment-Oriented Wireless Passive Temperature Sensor Realized by LTCC Technology

To meet measurement needs in harsh environments, such as high temperature and rotating applications, a wireless passive Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics (LTCC) temperature sensor based on ferroelectric dielectric material is presented in this paper. As a LC circuit which consists of electrically connected temperature sensitive capacitor and invariable planar spiral inductor, the sensor has its resonant frequency shift with the variation in temperature. Within near-filed coupling distance, the variation in resonant frequency of the sensor can be detected contactlessly by extracting the impedance parameters of an external antenna. Ferroelectric ceramic, which has temperature sensitive permittivity, is used as the dielectric. The fabrication process of the sensor, which differs from conventional LTCC technology, is described in detail. The sensor is tested three times from room temperature to 700 °C, and considerable repeatability and sensitivity are shown, thus the feasibility of high performance wireless passive temperature sensor realized by LTCC technology is demonstrated.

Quasi‐chipless wireless temperature sensor based on harmonic radar

A novel passive wireless temperature sensor is presented, which aims at operating in harsh environments. For this purpose, the tag is designed quasi-chipless and it uses a harmonic radar sensing principle: it combines the backscattering on the first harmonic of the transmitted frequency with frequency-position encoding of the measured value. The harmonic radar approach brings significant advantages for the wireless readout, since it isolates the undesired radar clutter from the useful tag signal. The tag signal carries the desired temperature information encoded in the position of a resonance transmission peak. The tag is built up planar and consists of two patch antennas, a temperature-dependent bandpass filter and a diode-based harmonic generator. It works at 1.59 GHz and backscatters at 3.18 GHz. Wireless indoor measurements have proven the concept. The sensor has shown a temperature sensitivity of 1.2 MHz/K in the range of 22–109 °C.

Characterization of SiCN Ceramic Material Dielectric Properties at High Temperatures for Harsh Environment Sensing Applications

A novel method is presented in this paper to precisely characterize the dielectric properties of silicon carbon nitride (SiCN) ceramic materials at high temperatures for wireless passive sensing applications. This technique is based on a high quality factor (Q) dielectrically loaded cavity resonator, which allows for accurate characterization of both dielectric constant and loss tangent. The dielectric properties of SiCN ceramics are characterized from 25 °C to 1000 °C. Two different metallization processes are implemented for the measurements with the highest temperatures of 500 °C and 1000 °C, respectively. A custom-made thru-reflect-line calibration kit is used to maximize the measurement accuracy at every temperature point. It is observed that the dielectric constant and loss tangent of the SiCN sample without Boron doping increase from 3.707 to 3.883 and from 0.0038 to 0.0213, respectively, when the temperature is raised from 25 °C to 500 °C, and for the SiCN with Boron doping (SiBCN), the dielectric constant and loss tangent increase from 4.817 to 5.132 and from 0.0020 to 0.0186, respectively, corresponding to the temperature ranging from 25 °C to 1000 °C. Experimental uncertainties for extracted er and tanδ are no more than 0.0004 and 0.0001, respectively. The temperature dependency of Si(B)CN dielectric properties, as well as the dielectrically loaded cavity resonator structure, provides the basis for the development of wireless passive temperature sensors for high-temperature applications.

Passive Wireless Temperature Sensor Based on Time-Coded UWB Chipless RFID Tags

In this paper, an RF identification sensor system is developed. It comprises passive sensors and an ultra-wideband (UWB) reader. The sensors are based on time-coded chipless tags. They consist of an UWB antenna connected to a delay line that is, in turn, loaded with a resistive temperature sensor. This sensor modulates the amplitude of the backscattered signals as a function of the temperature. The sensor tags are identified by changing the length of the delay line. In this paper, the operation principle and design of time-coded tags is presented and the integration of sensors in these tags is addressed. In addition, two measurement techniques are compared to implement the UWB reader. The first one is based on frequency sweeping and uses a vector network analyzer. The second one is based on a low-cost UWB radar. A full characterization of the sensor system is provided.

Wireless Temperature Sensing with BST-Based Chipless Transponder Utilizing a Passive Phase Modulation Scheme

A passive wireless temperature sensor with identification capabilities based on a phase modulation scheme is discussed in this paper. The approach presented utilizes a pulse backscatter technique based on slow wave (metamaterial) transmission lines. The focus of the work are the material engineering for the temperature-sensitive element and the integration of this element into a passive phase modulation circuit and the entire sensor tag. The approach makes use of temperature-sensitive bariumstrontium-titanate thick film capacitances. The discussed principle has been experimentally verified with a prototype.