Optimization of silicon and quartz MEMS microheater for chemoresistive gas sensors

In the last years, the research in the gas sensor field experienced a significant boost. Gas sensors represent the crucial elements in gas monitoring systems and olfactory systems for several applications: environmental monitoring, safety and security, quality control of food production, medical diagnosis and so on. From the point of view of the gas sensing design, the substrate plays a fundamental role, because acts as a heater, mechanical support and transducer of the sensor response. The application of MEMS technology for the fabrication of silicon device with low power consumption has offered new opportunities for innovative gas sensor design. In this work, we studied different approaches to realize an adapt silicon and quartz microheaters for chemoresistive gas sensors, available for high operating temperatures (650°C) through the MEMS technology. Our study is focused on a fabless approach to microheater fabrication, because of the lack of a cheap CMOS compatible process.