Sensing of atomized liquids through field effects of polarization and ionization induced by nanostructures

The mechanism and instrumentation of an atomized liquid sensing system is presented, characterizing the dynamic polarization and ionization processes of liquid droplets in an electric field converged by one dimensional nanostructures. The microarchitecture implementing the mechanism is realized by microlithography technology. It is shown that the current amplitude is a function of both droplets’ flow rate and its chemistry; thus, one of them can be differentiated when the other is a constant. Further, the current-time spectrum responding to the vaporization and diffusion processes can enhance the differentiability. The methodology can be applied to atomized liquid sensing or liquid chemistry differentiation.