Patent ID: 8779781
Filing Date: 2014-07-15
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A sensor for sensing an analyte of interest, the sensor comprising a plurality of capacitive elements, each capacitive element comprising a pair of electrodes separated by a dielectric medium wherein the dielectric constant of the dielectric medium of at least one of the capacitive elements is sensitive to the analyte of interest, the sensor further comprising: a comparator adapted to compare a selected set of said capacitive elements against a reference signal and to generate a comparison result signal, and a controller for selecting said set and for iteratively updating a digitized value indicative of a sensed level of the analyte of interest in response to said comparison result signal, wherein the sensor is arranged to output said value upon completion of said iteration; and wherein the dielectric medium of each of said capacitive elements has a dielectric constant dependent on a concentration of the analyte of interest in said medium, and wherein the controller is configured to select said set such that an overall capacity of the set remains constant.