<p>The integration of gas sensors is vital in applications such as food safety, healthcare monitoring, and industrial process control. Capacitive gas sensors, known for their high sensitivity, often suffer from performance degradation due to hysteresis caused by gas molecule entrapment. To mitigate this, we propose the incorporation of an embedded microheater for thermal desorption within the sensor. A comparative simulation study was conducted on four microheater designs–ladder-type, tree-type, U-type, and spiral-type–using copper as the heating material due to its high thermal conductivity (401 W/m<InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$\cdot$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mo>·</mo> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>K) and low electrical resistivity (<InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$1.68\times 10^{-8} \Omega \cdot m$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mn>1.68</mn> <mo>×</mo> <msup> <mn>10</mn> <mrow> <mo>-</mo> <mn>8</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mi mathvariant="normal">Ω</mi> <mo>·</mo> <mi>m</mi> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>). The ladder-type heater achieved the highest maximum temperature (<InlineEquation ID="IEq3"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$5000~^{\circ }C$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mn>5000</mn> <mmultiscripts> <mspace width="3.33333pt" /> <mrow /> <mo>∘</mo> </mmultiscripts> <mi>C</mi> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>) but with limited thermal uniformity (40% area coverage). In contrast, the tree-type design demonstrated superior uniformity, covering 80% of its area above 60% of the peak temperature (<InlineEquation ID="IEq4"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$1000~^{\circ }C$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mn>1000</mn> <mmultiscripts> <mspace width="3.33333pt" /> <mrow /> <mo>∘</mo> </mmultiscripts> <mi>C</mi> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation>). U-type and spiral-type designs showed balanced performance with average temperatures of <InlineEquation ID="IEq5"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">$1250~^{\circ }C$</EquationSource> <EquationSource Format="MATHML"><math> <mrow> <mn>1250</mn> <mmultiscripts> <mspace width="3.33333pt" /> <mrow /> <mo>∘</mo> </mmultiscripts> <mi>C</mi> </mrow> </math></EquationSource> </InlineEquation> and moderate uniformity. These results provide a foundation for optimizing microheater integration to enhance the reliability and reusability of capacitive gas sensors in real-world environments. </p>

Design and simulation of a microheater to increase the reusability of the gas sensor

期刊论文
发表日期：

2025年6月11日

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Bedabrata Biswas,
F. A. Talukdar,
Gaurav Singh Baghel

摘要

The integration of gas sensors is vital in applications such as food safety, healthcare monitoring, and industrial process control. Capacitive gas sensors, known for their high sensitivity, often suffer from performance degradation due to hysteresis caused by gas molecule entrapment. To mitigate this, we propose the incorporation of an embedded microheater for thermal desorption within the sensor. A comparative simulation study was conducted on four microheater designs–ladder-type, tree-type, U-type, and spiral-type–using copper as the heating material due to its high thermal conductivity (401 W/m $\cdot$ $\cdot$ K) and low electrical resistivity ( $1.68\times 10^{-8} \Omega \cdot m$ $1.68 \times 10^{- 8} Ω \cdot m$ ). The ladder-type heater achieved the highest maximum temperature ( $5000~^{\circ }C$ $5000^{\circ} C$ ) but with limited thermal uniformity (40% area coverage). In contrast, the tree-type design demonstrated superior uniformity, covering 80% of its area above 60% of the peak temperature ( $1000~^{\circ }C$ $1000^{\circ} C$ ). U-type and spiral-type designs showed balanced performance with average temperatures of $1250~^{\circ }C$ $1250^{\circ} C$ and moderate uniformity. These results provide a foundation for optimizing microheater integration to enhance the reliability and reusability of capacitive gas sensors in real-world environments.