Chip for monitoring mercury concentration in air

摘要

Chip for monitoring the mercury concentration in air consists of an electrically insulating substrate with a strip on it whose electrical resistance is changed by the effect of mercury vapour. The novelty is that the air impinges freely on the strip. The strip width is thinner than a few microns or less. Also claimed is a process for evaluating the chip, in which the chips from all uses are fed to a central station and automatically measured. Preferably the thickness of the layer is approx. 100 nm, or more than 10 nm. The strip is meander-shaped, or spiral-shaped. The strip is more than 50 cm long, pref. approx. 70 cm. The width of the strip is less than 100 microns, pref. approx. 75 microns and more than 1 micron. The substrate is larger than the surface on which the strip is located.