Integrated and microheater embedded gas sensor array based on the polymer composites dispensed in micromachined wells

This paper reports a new fabrication method and a performance of miniaturized and temperature-controllable gas sensor array constructed on 5 in. double side polished (1 0 0) silicon wafer. The films of polymer-carbon black composite were used as gas sensors. Both silicon process and bulk micromachining technology were employed to fabricate sensor array equipped with an interdigitated electrode pair, microheater, and micromachined well of an area of 2mm×2 mm. During dispensing a polymer composite-solvent solution on the electrode, micromachined well helped the sensor film be placed in a constrained area and be formed reproducibly from a constant volume of the polymer composite-solvent solution. The dimension of a sensor array chip consisting of 16 separate sensors is 30mm×14 mm. The sensors of polymer-carbon black composite responded diversely when they were dispensed in micromachined wells and exposed to various chemical vapors. Principal component analysis (PCA) clearly demonstrated that the gas sensor array could identify various chemical vapors. Pt microheater consumed 7 mW to heat sensor film at the operating temperature of 40 °C, and temperature reached a steady maximum value promptly because of its small heat capacity and effective thermal isolation. The electrical resistance of polymer composite sensor and the partition coefficients for sensor-vapor interactions showed to be considerably affected by the substrate temperature.