Humidity detection range is an important indicator for measuring the performance of humidity sensors, but semiconductor humidity sensors often face the problems of narrow detection ranges and insufficient detection sensitivities. In this paper, a magnesium oxide (MgO) humidity sensor based on micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technology was designed to solve these problems by simultaneously using impedance and capacitance as the response signals, as well as by normalizing the output of the two signals. The experimental results showed that the average output of the micro-arc MgO ceramic film, with impedance as the response signal, could reach 150 in the low relative humidity(RH) range (11.3-67% RH), which was much higher than its sensitivity in the high humidity range (< 1), and the film showed fast response (13 s) and recovery (61 s). Under high humidity conditions (67-97.3% RH), with capacitance as the response signal, the output of the micro-arc MgO was as high as 120. Therefore, the micro-arc MgO humidity sensor with impedance, and the sensor with capacitance as the response signal, demonstrated good stability in low humidity and in high humidity environments, respectively, indicating that the method of selecting appropriate response signals for different humidity environments can be applied to extend the humidity detection range of sensing material, and to improve the humidity detection capability of a sensor.
Keywords: MgO; humidity range; micro-arc oxidation; response signal.