Sensor array for rapid materials characterization
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for characterizing one or more thermal properties for each of 5 or more samples, comprising:
- a substrate;
5 or more sensors disposed on said substrate to form a sensor array, wherein each sensor forming said sensor array is associated with one of said 5 or more samples and characterizes at least one thermal property of said associated sample and at least one sensor in said sensor array comprises;
a sample support having a thermal measurement pattern disposed thereon;
a gap between said sample support and said substrate for thermally isolating said sample support from said substrate; and
one or more bridges connecting said sample support to substrate over said gap; and
electronic circuitry electronically coupled to said sensor array for sending signals to and receiving signals from said 5 or more sensors, wherein said signals received from said 5 or more sensors carry information allowing the determination of said at least one thermal property of said associated sample.
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Abstract
A sensor-array based materials characterization apparatus for characterizing one or more material properties of at least five test samples, wherein the apparatus includes a sensor array disposed on a substrate; electronic test circuitry for sending electrical signals to and receiving electrical signals from the sensor array; electronic circuitry for routing signals between selected sensors and the electronic test circuitry; and a computer or processor electrically coupled to electronic test circuitry and electronic circuitry.
126 Citations
12 Claims
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1. An apparatus for characterizing one or more thermal properties for each of 5 or more samples, comprising:
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a substrate;
5 or more sensors disposed on said substrate to form a sensor array, wherein each sensor forming said sensor array is associated with one of said 5 or more samples and characterizes at least one thermal property of said associated sample and at least one sensor in said sensor array comprises;
a sample support having a thermal measurement pattern disposed thereon;
a gap between said sample support and said substrate for thermally isolating said sample support from said substrate; and
one or more bridges connecting said sample support to substrate over said gap; and
electronic circuitry electronically coupled to said sensor array for sending signals to and receiving signals from said 5 or more sensors, wherein said signals received from said 5 or more sensors carry information allowing the determination of said at least one thermal property of said associated sample. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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2. An apparatus for characterizing one or more electrical transport properties for each of 5 or more samples, comprising:
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a substrate;
5 or more sensors disposed on said substrate to form a sensor array, wherein each sensor forming said sensor array is associated with at least one of said 5 or more samples and characterizes at least one electrical transport property of said associated sample;
electronic circuitry electrically coupled to said sensor array for sending signals to and receiving signals from said 5 or more sensors, wherein said signals received from said 5 or more sensors carry information allowing determination of at least one electrical transport property for at least one sample of said 5 or more samples; and
a magnet array for generating a magnetic field pointing perpendicular to said substrate, wherein said magnet array is arranged in the same format as said 5 or more sensors in said sensor array and each magnet in said magnet array corresponds with a sensor in said sensor array to generate a magnetic field over a corresponding sensor of said sensor array.
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3. An apparatus for characterizing one or more material properties for each of 5 or more samples, comprising:
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a substrate;
5 or more sensors disposed on said substrate to form a sensor array, wherein said 5 or more sensors in said sensor array are arranged in a format compatible with combinatorial chemistry instrumentation and each sensor of said sensor array is associated with at least one of said 5 or more samples and characterizes at least one material property of said associated at least one sample, said sensors in said sensor array being attached to said substrate via a plurality of sensor plates disposed in an array format and extending generally perpendicularly from said substrate such that said 5 or more sensors can be dipped simultaneously into a plurality of wells having the same format, wherein a film of said associated at least one sample can be formed on each sensor of said 5 or more sensors and said each sensor characterizes at least one material property of said film of said associated sample; and
electronic circuitry electrically coupled to said sensor array for sending signals to and receiving signals from said 5 or more sensors, wherein said signals received from said 5 or more sensors carry information allowing the determination of at least one material property of said associated at least one sample.
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4. An apparatus for characterizing one or more thermal properties for each of 5 or more samples, comprising:
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a substrate;
5 or more sensors disposed on said substrate to form a sensor array, wherein said sensor array comprises;
a microthin film membrane supported by said substrate such that said sensor array is an array of microthin film windows;
a first wire disposed on said microthin film membrane, said first wire acting as a heater and a first thermometer; and
a second wire spaced apart from said first wire and disposed on said substrate, said second wire acting as a second thermometer;
5 or more samples deposited on said sensor array forming an array of samples on said sensor array, wherein each sensor of said 5 or more sensors is associated with at least one sample of said array of samples and characterizes at least one thermal property of said associated at least one sample; and
means for coupling said sensor array with electronic circuitry for sending signals to and receiving signals from said 5 or more sensors, wherein said signals received from said 5 or more sensors carry information allowing the determination of said at least one thermal property of said 5 or more sensors. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An apparatus for characterizing one or more thermal properties for each of 5 or more samples, comprising:
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a substrate, wherein said substrate is a silicon wafer;
5 or more sensors disposed on said substrate to form a sensor array, wherein each sensor in said sensor array comprises;
a microthin film membrane supported by said substrate such that said sensor array is an array of microthin film windows, wherein said microthin film membrane is a silicon nitride membrane;
a plurality of thermometers disposed on a top surface of said substrate, and wherein said substrate comprises a large area heater disposed on a bottom surface of said substrate;
a first wire disposed on said microthin film membrane, said first wire acting as a heater and a first thermometer; and
a second wire spaced apart from said first wire and disposed on said substrate, said second wire acting as a second thermometer;
5 or more samples deposited on said sensor array forming an array of samples on said sensor array, wherein each sensor of said 5 or more sensors is associated with at least one sample of said array of samples and characterizes at least one thermal property of said associated at least one sample; and
means for coupling said sensor array with electronic circuitry for sending signals to and receiving signals from said 5 or more sensors, wherein said signals received from said 5 or more sensors carry information allowing the determination of said at least one thermal property of said 5 or more samples.
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Specification