TELKOMNIKA (Telecommunication Computing Electronics and Control)
Vol 24, No 3: June 2026

Interdigitized capacitive humidity sensor using FR4 printed circuit board material without sensitive layer

Setyawan Purnomo Sakti (Brawijaya University)
Jessica Alfa Aini (Brawijaya University)
Shania Rachmi (Brawijaya University)
Elsa Hedya Kusumaningtyas (Brawijaya University)
Irma Azizah (Brawijaya University)
Triswantoro Putro (Brawijaya University)
Dewi Anggraeni (Brawijaya University)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 Jun 2026

Abstract

Humidity sensors are widely used across numerous applications, including agriculture, health, industry, environmental monitoring, and high-risk environments such as chip fabrication rooms. Interdigital capacitors (IDCs) are among several humidity-sensing designs that have been developed, and they are attractive due to simple fabrication and easy integration with electronic systems. We developed an IDC humidity sensor on a glass-epoxy substrate (FR4) using a standard commercial printed circuit board (PCB) production process. Without additional sensitive layer, the sensor production is simple. The sensor design was explored by varying electrode width. Calibration was performed in a self-constructed chamber over a relative humidity range from 15% to 90%. The IDC sensor was benchmarked against a standard humidity measurement instrument. The IDC capacitance showed a linear correlation with relative humidity, with a correlation coefficient of at least 0.98. With the finest track and spacing size of 0.254 mm achievable via commercial PCB manufacturing and a sensor footprint of 10×10 mm, the capacitance falls in the pF range, compatible with most available electronic devices. The sensitivity of the developed sensors is 2.361×10-4, 2.361×10-4, 2.361×10-4 picofarads for a track width of 0.254 mm, 0.3048 mm and 0.3556 mm respectively. These results indicate that mass production of IDC humidity sensors could be achieved at a low cost. The combination of small feature sizes and a compact sensor footprint support practical integration into existing electronic systems.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

TELKOMNIKA

Publisher

Subject

Computer Science & IT

Description

Submitted papers are evaluated by anonymous referees by single blind peer review for contribution, originality, relevance, and presentation. The Editor shall inform you of the results of the review as soon as possible, hopefully in 10 weeks. Please notice that because of the great number of ...