Design and simulation of a high temperature MEMS microhotplate for application in trace gas detection

In this paper, we present the simulation results of a high temperature MEMS micro-hotplate. The electro-thermomechanical behaviors of micro- hotplates (MHP) have been simulated using CoventorWare. In the simulation, the effects of various thicknesses of the silicon nitride (Si<sub>3</sub>...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: N.M., Saad, A.Y., Ahmed, J.O., Dennis, W.A., Talah
Format: Conference or Workshop Item
Language:English
Published: 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://scholars.utp.edu.my/id/eprint/376/
http://scholars.utp.edu.my/id/eprint/376/1/paper.pdf
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Summary:In this paper, we present the simulation results of a high temperature MEMS micro-hotplate. The electro-thermomechanical behaviors of micro- hotplates (MHP) have been simulated using CoventorWare. In the simulation, the effects of various thicknesses of the silicon nitride (Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>) membrane layer on the temperature, mechanical deflection and power consumption of the MHP are evaluated. The effect of the addition of a layer of silicon carbide (SiC) on the MHP temperature distribution is also investigated. Results show that as the thickness of the Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> membrane is increased from 0.3 μm to 3 μm, the power consumption of the MHP increases from 7.1mW to 34.3mW while the displacement of the membrane remains constant at a value of about 5.8 μm. It is also demonstrated that when the MHP is designed with a silicon carbide (SiC) heat distributing layer above the silicon oxide (SiO<sub>2</sub>) insulating layer on top of the heater, the uniformity of the temperature on the MHP membrane is considerably improved as compared to a membrane without SiC. ©2008 IEEE.