Hybrid Microstrip Device for Hydrogen Detection at Microwave Frequencies

This article describes the analysis, design, and construction of a microstrip device capable of detecting hydrogen at microwave frequencies. The proposed structure is a hybrid microstrip line, 10-cm-long, having part of the copper (Cu) line replaced by a strip of palladium (Pd) film 10-nm-thick. A s...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: dos Santos, KS, Cavalcanti, GO, Azevedo, A, Silva, CPD, de Melo, MT, Llamas-Garro, I, Fontana, E
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)
Repositorio:r-CTTC. Repositorio Institucional Producción Científica del Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC)
OAI Identifier:oai:cttc.fundanetsuite.com:p7896
Acceso en línea:https://cttc.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=7896
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Hydrogen
Palladium
Sensors
Conductivity
Microstrip
Skin
Attenuation
Hydrogen detection
microstrip
palladium (Pd)
sensor
Descripción
Sumario:This article describes the analysis, design, and construction of a microstrip device capable of detecting hydrogen at microwave frequencies. The proposed structure is a hybrid microstrip line, 10-cm-long, having part of the copper (Cu) line replaced by a strip of palladium (Pd) film 10-nm-thick. A simple formulation has been developed to estimate the device's insertion loss, as well as the spectral dependence of the S-21 parameter. For a device having a 2-cm-long Pd section, exposed to 1.6% hydrogen at a 0.4-bar pressure in nitrogen gas, detection was accomplished by measuring the changes produced on one of the resonances of the scattering parameter S-21 in the frequency region around 3.2 GHz. The experimental results, corroborated by the theoretical modeling of the device's response, indicated that, if on one hand, a Pd thickness much smaller than the skin depth, yields a negligible change in attenuation due to hydrogen absorption, on the other, it favors the phase of the S-21 parameter to become a highly sensitive function of Pd conductivity, in turn facilitating hydrogen detection. This finding opens the possibility of constructing simple hydrogen sensors by incorporating ultrathin Pd films into planar microwave circuits.