Detection of fluids with metal-insulator-semiconductor sensors
AssigneeElectric Power Research Institute, Inc.
InventorStephen C. Pyke
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A MIS diode sensor having a Pd/Cu alloy electrode is sensitive to and can detect CO, H.sub.2, C.sub.2 H.sub.2 and C.sub.2 H.sub.4. An array of MIS diode sensors having varying electrode compositions can indicate a fault in an electrical transformer by the detection of at least one of the key fault gases CO, H.sub.2, C.sub.2 H.sub.2 and C.sub.2 H.sub.4.
Claims20
A metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor having an electrode comprising an alloy of palladium and copper for detecting components in a fluid.
A metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor for detecting acetylene, said sensor having an electrode comprising a composition selected from the group consisting of platinum/tin alloy, palladium/chromium alloy, nickel/chromium alloy, chromium and mixtures thereof.
A device for detecting and analyzing at least two selected fluids in a mixture comprising an array of at least two metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensors including a first metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor having a first electrode with a higher sensitivity in a mixture to at least a first fluid and a lower sensitivity in the mixture to at least a second fluid, and a second metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor having a second electrode with a higher sensitivity in a mixture to at least the second fluid and a lower sensitivity in the mixture to at least the first fluid.
A device for indicating a fault in an electrical transformer comprising an array of at least a first, a second and a third metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensors, wherein said first sensor has an electrode comprising platinum, said second sensor has an electrode comprising palladium/copper alloy and said third sensor has an electrode comprising palladium/silver alloy.
A device for indicating a fault in an electrical transformer containing a fluid wherein the fault is indicated by a concentration of a gas in the transformer fluid, comprising an array of i) a first metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor having an electrode principally sensitive to carbon monoxide, ii) a second metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor having an electrode principally sensitive to hydrogen, and iii) a third metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor having an electrode principally sensitive to ethylene and acetylene, wherein each of the respective electrodes of each of said first sensor, second sensor and third sensor comprise a different composition than the other electrodes.
A method for detecting at least one component in a fluid utilizing a metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor, wherein said at least one component is selected from the group consisting of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, acetylene, ethylene and mixtures thereof, comprising
- providing said sensor having an electrode comprising an alloy of palladium and copper, contacting the electrode with the fluid, and
- measuring the sensitivity of the electrode to said at least one component in the fluid.
A method for detecting acetylene in a fluid utilizing a metal-insulator-semiconductor diode sensor comprising
- providing said sensor having an electrode comprising a composition selected from the group consisting of platinum, platinum/tin alloy, palladium/silver alloy, palladium/copper alloy, palladium/chromium alloy, nickel/chromium alloy, chromium and mixtures thereof,
- contacting the electrode with the fluid, and
- measuring the sensitivity of the electrode to acetylene.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.