Briand D., Grétillat M.-A., van der Schoot B., de Rooij N.F.
Institute of Microtechnology, CH
Keywords: FEM simulation, gas sensors, Memcad, micro-hotplates, thermal
In this paper we report on the electrothermal simulations performed in the aim of optimising the power consumption and the temperature distribution of micro-hotplates for gas sensing applications. The micro-hotplate designs were optimised using the software MEMCAD from Microcosm Technologies. From the results obtained, we propose a micro-hotplate design with a silicon island underneath the membrane. The silicon island ensures an uniform temperature over the sensing area for the metal-oxide gas sensors. Moreover, it allows to thermally isolating electronic components and was used to lower the power consumption of MOSFET gas sensors. The optimised micro-hotplates are suitable for applications in the automotive industry and in electronic nose instruments.
Journal: TechConnect Briefs
Volume: Technical Proceedings of the 2000 International Conference on Modeling and Simulation of Microsystems
Published: March 27, 2000
Pages: 640 - 643
Industry sector: Sensors, MEMS, Electronics
Topics: Micro & Bio Fluidics, Lab-on-Chip, Modeling & Simulation of Microsystems
ISBN: 0-9666135-7-0