Towards MEMS Pellistor spectrometers

摘要

We report on an innovative use of high-temperature MEMS heater platforms as micro pellistor spectrometers. MEMS heater elements, initially designed for use as thermal infrared emitters, were fitted with thin-film noble metal layers to enable catalytic combustion processes on the hotplate surface. The modified heater platforms were operated in a range of combustible gas ambients while applying saw-tooth-like heater waveforms. Measurements of this kind revealed the heat of reaction vs. hotplate temperature profiles for each individual gas. We find that different families of gases yield distinctly different heat of reaction vs. temperature profiles and that these profiles allow the different families, and members inside some of these families, to be distinguished.