Page 14 - Industrial Technology EXTRA - 6th July 2020

their ability to tolerate dust, chemicals, and harsh MEDA PS, which uses customized Vaisala
environmental conditions, make them suitable for BAROCAP pressure sensors, optimized to operate in
very demanding measurement needs, also in space. the Martian climate. BAROCAP is a silicon-based
The same technology is used in numerous industrial micromechanical pressure sensor that offers reliable
and environmental applications such as weather performance in a wide variety of applications, from
stations, radiosondes, greenhouses and datacenters. meteorology to pressure sensitive industrial
The humidity measurement device MEDA HS, equipment in semiconductor industry and
developed by FMI for Perseverance, utilizes laboratory pressure standard measurements.
standard Vaisala HUMICAP humidity sensors. Combining two powerful technologies – single-
HUMICAP is a capacitive thin-film polymer sensor crystal silicon material and capacitive measurement
consisting of a substrate on which a thin film of – BAROCAP sensors feature low hysteresis
polymer is deposited between two conductive combined with excellent accuracy and long-term
electrodes. The humidity sensor onboard is a new stability, both essential for measurements in space.
generation sensor, with superior performance also in “Our sensor technologies are used widely in
the low pressure conditions expected on the red demanding everyday measurement environments
planet. here on Earth. And why not – if they work on Mars,
In addition to humidity measurements, FMI has they will work anywhere," Åström concludes.
developed a device for pressure measurement, www.vaisala.com

July 2020 • INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY EXTRA! • p14