Humidity sensing by porous silicon (PS) layer is commonly reported either b
y capacitive sensing or by conductive sensing. A critical analysis of both
capacitive and conductive sensing by microporous PS layer is presented here
. The influences of parasitic capacitances and resistances unavoidably asso
ciated with the active porous layer on the measured changes in capacitance
and resistance of the humidity sensor with variation of humidity are analys
ed. The role of contact geometry, signal frequency and porosity of PS layer
are also discussed. It is shown that capacitive sensing is more sensitive
in low frequency range owing to the relative contributions of parasitic com
ponents. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.