The hotplates also contain an integrated temperature gauge and a pair of electrodes. These components allow researchers to test the electrical properties of various materials that may be deposited onto the hotplates.
Using the stable, thin-film deposition properties and integrated circuitry of the hotplates, researchers are already developing applications such as oxygen and engine emission sensors. The sensor may have several advantages over devices in today’s combustion engines, due to the micro-hotplate’s chemical stability, small size, rapid response and low power consumption.
The techniques necessary for crafting and optimizing these micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) were developed with support from the National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and SBIR programs at the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA.
“High-temperature silicon carbide micro-hotplates are new to the research community and may prove to be flexible tools for optics, chemical vapor deposition chambers, micro-reactors and other applications.” says Rick Mlcak of Boston MicroSystems. “The micro-hotplate arrays are versatile research tools–the same basic system can adapt to handle such diverse experiments as analyses of heat treatments and the characterization of new thin film materials.”
“The proposed oxygen sensor may find applications in the characterization of automobile emissions and the control of oxidation and reduction reactions in ceramics and metallurgical processing.” adds Winslow Sargeant, the NSF SBIR program officer who oversees the Boston Microsystems award. “The exceptionally small size and low power consumption of the micro-hotplate oxygen sensors make them particularly suited for portable instrumentation, monitoring of hazardous environments, sensing of respiration and biological processes, control of oxygen-sensitive industrial processes, and the packaging and monitoring of food.”