A finite element model of a MEMS-based surface acoustic wave hydrogen sensor.

Hydrogen plays a significant role in various industrial applications, but careful handling and continuous monitoring are crucial since it is explosive when mixed with air. Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensors provide desirable characteristics for hydrogen detection due to their small size, low fabrication cost, ease of integration and high sensitivity. In this paper a finite element model of a Surface Acoustic Wave sensor is developed using ANSYS12© and tested for hydrogen detection.

A Reduced Three Dimensional Model for SAW Sensors Using Finite Element Analysis.

A major problem that often arises in modeling Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) such as Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensors using Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is the extensive computational capacity required. In this study a new approach is adopted to significantly reduce the computational capacity needed for analyzing the response of a SAW sensor using the finite element (FE) method. The approach is based on the plane wave solution where the properties of the wave vary in two dimensions and are uniform along the thickness of the device.