TY - JOUR
T1 - A low-power, high-sensitivity CMOS-MEMS flow sensor for respiration health evaluation
AU - Yue, Daishan
AU - Cai, Shiqian
AU - Yang, Gai
AU - Wu, Yekai
AU - Tang, Yue
AU - Zhou, Wenbiao
AU - Xu, Wei
AU - Xie, Huikai
AU - Gao, Feng
AU - Wang, Xiaoyi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. This is an open access article under the CC BY license. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
PY - 2026/6
Y1 - 2026/6
N2 - In this paper, we present a fast-response thermal flow sensor with low power consumption and high sensitivity, which was fabricated using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor micro-electromechanical systems technology. To enhance sensitivity and reduce power consumption, we propose a lithography-free, self-aligned post-complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor fabrication process. Characterization results demonstrate that the fabricated flow sensor could achieve high thermal efficiency, realizing an overheat temperature rise (ΔTh) of 58.76 K while maintaining the power consumption below 1 mW. The sensor also exhibits a high normalized sensitivity of 2131 mV m−1 s W−1, a low minimum detection limit of 0.88 mm s−1, and a rapid response time of 1.7 ms @ 1.67 m s−1. The sensor was subsequently incorporated into a portable pulmonary function monitoring system, which includes a by-pass channel to enable a broad measurement flow range (±1000 SLM) suitable for medical applications. Leveraging the high-performance sensor and an optimized flow channel design, the portable pulmonary function monitoring setup achieves an enhanced resolution of 28.5 mL s−1 and a significantly improved volume error of 1.6%. Experimental results validate the efficacy of the proposed thermal flow sensor and portable pulmonary function monitoring system, demonstrating its potential as a promising sensing technology for pulmonary disease diagnostics and medical applications, particularly in remote or resource-limited settings.
AB - In this paper, we present a fast-response thermal flow sensor with low power consumption and high sensitivity, which was fabricated using complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor micro-electromechanical systems technology. To enhance sensitivity and reduce power consumption, we propose a lithography-free, self-aligned post-complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor fabrication process. Characterization results demonstrate that the fabricated flow sensor could achieve high thermal efficiency, realizing an overheat temperature rise (ΔTh) of 58.76 K while maintaining the power consumption below 1 mW. The sensor also exhibits a high normalized sensitivity of 2131 mV m−1 s W−1, a low minimum detection limit of 0.88 mm s−1, and a rapid response time of 1.7 ms @ 1.67 m s−1. The sensor was subsequently incorporated into a portable pulmonary function monitoring system, which includes a by-pass channel to enable a broad measurement flow range (±1000 SLM) suitable for medical applications. Leveraging the high-performance sensor and an optimized flow channel design, the portable pulmonary function monitoring setup achieves an enhanced resolution of 28.5 mL s−1 and a significantly improved volume error of 1.6%. Experimental results validate the efficacy of the proposed thermal flow sensor and portable pulmonary function monitoring system, demonstrating its potential as a promising sensing technology for pulmonary disease diagnostics and medical applications, particularly in remote or resource-limited settings.
KW - CMOS-MEMS
KW - High sensitivity
KW - Portable pulmonary function monitoring
KW - Thermal flow sensor
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105036866295
U2 - 10.1016/j.chip.2025.100172
DO - 10.1016/j.chip.2025.100172
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105036866295
SN - 2709-4723
VL - 5
JO - Chip
JF - Chip
IS - 2
M1 - 100172
ER -