Temperature-controlled, micromachined arrays for chemical sensor fabrication and operation
First Claim
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1. A temperature-controlled sensor element which comprises:
- a support substrate;
a microbridge structure formed on said support substrate;
a heating element formed on said microbridge structure so as to be thermally isolated from said support substrate;
a conductive heat distribution plate formed above said heating element for evenly distributing heat from said heating element and;
a layer of chemical active material formed above said conductive heat distribution plate.
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Abstract
Planar forms of chemically-sensitive materials have been combined, under temperature control, with the pixels of a specially-designed micro-hotplate array to produce a miniature device capable of analyzing chemical mixtures. The device uses integrated multiple elements having different adsorption properties and temperatures to collectively achieve chemical selectivity in sensing. The method of making and using selectively in sensing. The device of the present invention is manufactured by standard CMOS foundry techniques which allow the production of a range of devices that have improved sensing performance.
154 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A temperature-controlled sensor element which comprises:
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a support substrate; a microbridge structure formed on said support substrate; a heating element formed on said microbridge structure so as to be thermally isolated from said support substrate; a conductive heat distribution plate formed above said heating element for evenly distributing heat from said heating element and; a layer of chemical active material formed above said conductive heat distribution plate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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11. A temperature-controlled chemical sensor which comprises:
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an array of sensor elements positioned on a substrate support, wherein each of said sensor elements comprises; a microbridge structure formed on said support substrate; a heating element formed on said microbridge structure so as to be thermally isolated from said support substrate; a conductive heat distribution plate formed above said heating element for evenly distributing heat from said heating element and; a layer of chemical active material formed above said conductive heat distribution plate. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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19. A method of making a temperature-controlled sensor element which comprises:
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providing a support substrate having a first layer of an insulating material; forming a microbridge structure on said support structure; forming a heating element on said microbridge structure; forming a second layer of insulating material on said heating element; forming a conductive heat distribution plate on said second layer of insulating material; forming a third layer of insulating material on said conductive heat distribution plate; and
forming a layer of a chemical active material on said third layer of insulating material. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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24. A method of detecting components of a fluid mixture which comprises:
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providing a substrate having a plurality of micro-hotplates, wherein each of said plurality of micro-hotplates is provided with a conductive heat distribution plate and can be individually temperature controlled; providing a film of a chemical active material on each of said plurality of micro-hotplates; selectively heating said plurality of micro-hotplates while exposing said chemical active material to a fluid mixture; and measuring response of the chemical active material to said fluid mixture and determining therefrom the composition of said fluid mixture.
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Specification