Design and Fabrication of a High-Temperature Stable, Low-Power Microheater for Semiconductor Gas Sensors
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This study presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS)-based microheater optimized for low-power portable metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors. To achieve enhancedmechanical stability and superior thermal isolation, a single-layer platinum (Pt) heating element was integrated onto a low-stressSiO2/Si3N4/SiO2 composite membrane. The fabrication process employed a multi-step Cl2/Ar-based inductively coupled plasma(ICP) dry etching technique, which enabled high-fidelity patterning of thick Pt films. Subsequently, a Bosch-process-based deepreactive ion etching (D-RIE) technique was utilized to realize a fully suspended circular membrane architecture. Thermal evaluationdemonstrated that the fabricated microheater maintains stable operation up to 400℃ with a power consumption of only 99.6 mW. Infrared thermal mapping confirmed a uniform temperature distribution with less than 2% variation across a 6-inch wafer, validatingthe high thermal efficiency and excellent process reproducibility of the proposed design. These results establish the microheaterplatform as a robust and scalable solution for next-generation portable MOS gas sensing applications requiring minimized powerconsumption.
Abstract
This study presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS)-based microheater optimized for low-power portable metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) gas sensors. To achieve enhancedmechanical stability and superior thermal isolation, a single-layer platinum (Pt) heating element was integrated onto a low-stressSiO2/Si3N4/SiO2 composite membrane. The fabrication process employed a multi-step Cl2/Ar-based inductively coupled plasma(ICP) dry etching technique, which enabled high-fidelity patterning of thick Pt films. Subsequently, a Bosch-process-based deepreactive ion etching (D-RIE) technique was utilized to realize a fully suspended circular membrane architecture. Thermal evaluationdemonstrated that the fabricated microheater maintains stable operation up to 400℃ with a power consumption of only 99.6 mW. Infrared thermal mapping confirmed a uniform temperature distribution with less than 2% variation across a 6-inch wafer, validatingthe high thermal efficiency and excellent process reproducibility of the proposed design. These results establish the microheaterplatform as a robust and scalable solution for next-generation portable MOS gas sensing applications requiring minimized powerconsumption.