Development of a MOSFET based electrostatics detection technique

Abstract

The destructive nature of high voltage has been noticeable for a long time in history. The friction of the object or the electrostatic induction can generate electric charges anywhere at any time, leading to the origination of high voltage electrostatic (HVES) fields. Unexpectedly HVES fields cause damage to buildings, fires in the oil and gas industry, explosions in the ammunition and pyrotechnics industries, and catastrophes in the electronics industry every year. Today's advanced human civilization is mainly dependent on electronic technology. For this reason, early detection and the study of the effects of the HVES field on electronic devices have become imperative from the electronic device manufacturing industries to the user level. Existing systems for HVES field detection, neutralization, and testing systems are not convenient to use, as they are expensive, bulky, and not readily available. To overcome these problems, this research has proposed a modified version of the HVES field detection technique based on the Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET). The channel conductivity of a MOSFET and the drain current depends on its gate voltage or electric field; this feature has been utilized to develop the proposed HVES field detection system. The proposed system is a low-voltage battery-operated portable non-contract system capable of detecting the HVES field and its polarity. A prototype of the proposed system has been developed on a printed circuit board (PCB), and its effectiveness has been tested experimentally. Experimental results show that the average sensitivity of the device is 0.1 kV/cm, and it is capable of displaying field readings and polarity numerically on an LCD panel. It has been observed that there is a reasonable consensus of experimental and theoretical results. Thus, the proposed design and its results can help researchers advance research in the HVES field detection technology area.