2015 Fifth International Conference on Advances in Computing and Communications

Design and Simulation of a Micro Hotplate using

COMSOL Multiphysics for MEMS Based Gas
Sensor
Steffy Joy Dr. Jobin K. Antony, Associate Professor
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, Kochi
Email:[email protected] Email:[email protected]

Abstract—Micro Hotplate (MHP) is one of the main compo- (CMOS), have the additional advantages of being readily re-
nents in micro-sensors, especially in gas sensors. A MHP should alized by commercial foundries and amenable to the inclusion
have low power consumption, low thermal mass and better of on-chip electronics [1].
temperature uniformity. The metal oxide gas sensors utilize the
properties of surface adsorption to detect changes in resistance
Ammonia gas (N H3 ) is produced and used extensively in
as a function of varying concentration of different gases. In order many chemical based industries, fertilizer production factories,
to detect to detect the resistive changes, the temperature must refrigeration systems, food processing industries, medical di-
be in the requisite temperature range over the heater area. The agnosis section etc. A leak in the system used can result in the
sensitivity and response time of the sensor are dependent on health problems [8]. Ammonia gas is toxic in nature to human
the operating temperature of the MHP. Making proper design is
of critical importance. In this paper, the geometric optimization
at high concentration levels. The exposure of ammonia causes
of the heater structure to achieve high temperature uniformity lung diseases, irritation and burning in the respiratory track etc.
by performing analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.0, a In many industrially dense areas ammonia gas transportation is
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) package is done. Electro-Thermo- done through trucks or rail wagons. Many news of ammonia
Mechanical(ETM) analysis is done to review the temperature and gas leakage has been reported which causes severe damage
stress distribution over the MHP. Two dimensional structure of
five different patterns of MHP, namely single Meander, double
to human health. So the timely detection of leakage is very
Meander, fan shape, rectangle shape, and porous structure are important. The use of gas sensors becomes increasingly impor-
designed and simulations are done. Their temperature profiles tant in today’s life. In this paper, the geometric optimization of
are compared and porous structure is found to have low power the heater structure to achieve high temperature uniformity by
consumption and better temperature uniformity. Three dimen- performing analysis using COMSOL Multiphysics 5.0, FEA
sional design and simulation of Meander and porous structures
are also done and their temperature and displacement profiles
package is done. Electro-Thermo-Mechanical analysis is done
are compared. The effect of various materials and thickness of to review the temperature and stress distribution over the MHP.
heating element on the temperature, displacement, and power Two dimensional structure of five different patterns of MHP,
consumption of the MHP is evaluated. The porous structure is namely single Meander, double Meander, fan shape, rectangle
found to be best suitable for designing a gas sensor with high shape, and porous structure are designed and simulations are
sensitivity and low power consumption. Then a gas sensor with
high sensitivity is designed using this porous structure of MHP
done. Their temperature profiles are compared and porous
and ETM simulation is done. structure is found to have low power consumption and better
Index Terms—MHP; ETM; COMSOL Multiphysics; FEA; gas temperature uniformity.
sensor; Three dimensional design and simulation of Meander and
porous structures are also done and their temperature and
I. I NTRODUCTION displacement profiles are compared. The effect of various
MHP is the key component in sub-miniature micro- materials and thicknesses of heating element on the temper-
sensors,especially in gas sensors . There is growing demand ature, displacement, and power consumption of the MHP is
for the metal oxide based gas sensor for its vast application evaluated. The porous structure is found to be best suitable
in various fields. Conventional gas sensors, based on ceramic for designing a gas sensor with high sensitivity and low
platform consume more power and have less sensitivity. Mi- power consumption.Then a gas sensor with high sensitivity
croelectromechanical systems (MEMS) based gas sensors on is designed using this porous structure of MHP and ETM
the other hand offer superior performance to conventional ce- simulation is done.
ramic gas sensors owing to their less power consumption, very
fast response and high compatibility to CMOS circuits[10]. II. WORKING PRINCIPLE OF GAS SENSOR
MEMS based gas sensors, which are usually produced using a Gas Sensor works on the principle of resistivity change.
standard Complimentary Metal Oxide Semiconductor process When a reacting gas like N O2 , CO, H2 S, etc., comes in

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DOI 10.1109/ICACC.2015.108
contact with the sensing layer, oxygen is adsorbed to the the thermal conductivity of the heater material and ∇T is the
surface of the sensing layer reacted to the gas. This process temperature difference across the heater material [1].
leads to the decrease in the resistivity of the sensing layer The boundary condition for this equation is simply defined
which is measured by appropriate signal conditioning circuits by fixing temperature at the base contacts to be room temper-
for digital display of sensed information. [1] ature i.e. T1= T2 = T0 where T1 and T2, are temperature at
base contact 1 and 2, respectively, T0 = 323 K is substrate
III. MICRO HOTPLATE DESIGN
temperature and Text = 293 K.For the simulation, the heat
Micro heaters in gas sensors are basically resistive beams convection boundary condition is also included. The heat
which can attain a high temperature due to joule heating, when convection can be obtained by solving the equation:
sufficient voltage is applied across the ends. For achieving
geometric optimization various geometries of MHP can be (−k∇T ) = h.(Text − T ) (6)
considered.A uniform MHP temperature is a necessary re-
quirement as it often enhance the operation of the sensor. The where h is the convective heat transfer coefficient of air.
film overlying the MHP should be maintained at a uniform After temperature distribution is determined, the displace-
temperature for maximum sensitivity. A uniform temperature ment distribution is evaluated from the stress and mechanical
implies minimization of the heater hot-spot which is a crucial static equation using the input thermal strain obtained from
requirement for heater reliability. In MHP geometry the num- the solved temperature distribution and thermal expansion
ber of hot spots is reduced by increasing number of curvatures. coefficient using equation:
MHP geometry is selected based on the number of hot spots to
obtain temperature uniformity. Power optimization of a device σ = E(ε − εT ) (7)
will depend on the (Membrane to Heater Ratio)MHR, overall
geometry and the MHP design [3]. A MHR optimization ε = αΔT (8)
model has been derived empirically, relating the length of
the device and the MHR. This is of assistance in the further where Where ε,εT , E, α and ΔT are strain, initial thermal
development of similar devices, as shown below: strain, Youngs Modulus matrix, thermal expansion coefficient,
and differential temperature, respectively.
Pe = l(65.6 − 22.5ln[M HR]) (1) Also the power consumption is described as:
where the length l of the device is in units of mm and the
V2
estimated power(Pe ) is in milliwatts. P = (9)
R
IV. MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION where P is the power, V is the initial voltage.
The Joules heating and Thermal Expansion simulation is The displacements in x, y and z directions can be obtained
involved in the designing of MHP, there are three sets of gov- by using stress and mechanical static equations. The equations
erning laws, Electrostatics, Heat transfer statics, and Mechani- (2 to 9) are being used in COMSOL Multiphysics for the
cal staticse [1]. For electrostatic simulation, the electrical field proper study of Joule heating and Thermal expansion physics
distribution, E, throughout the heater structure is determined in the design [1].
by the equation:
E = −∇V (2) V. JOULES HEATING AND THERMAL EXPANSION
Where ∇V is the potential difference across the micro heater. SIMULATION RESULTS
The boundary condition for this equation is defined by the A. Temperature and Displacement Profile of 3D MHP Patterns
applied constant potential at both heater contacts, which are
defined at the base contacts of the anchors of the beam. Figures 1 and 2 shows the temperature profiles of Meander
After the solution of the electric field (E) is obtained, current and Porous MHP structures respectively with base substrate.
density (J), and Joule heating power (Qj )are determined from A 2V initial voltage is applied to the structures and a boundary
equations: load of 1MPa is applied in z direction. A reference temperature
J = σE (3) of 300K and external temperature of 273K is also applied.

Qj = ∇.J (4) B. Temperature and Displacement Profile of 3D Gas Sensor

where σ is the electrical conductivity of the heater material. with Porous MHP
Further, the temperature distribution is calculated by insert- Figures 3 and 4 shows the temperature profile and dis-
ing joule-heating power, Qj , known by solving the equation: placement profile of gas sensor with porous MHP respectively
ρCp .∇T = ∇.(k∇T ) + Qj (5) with the base substrate. A 2V initial voltage is applied to
the structures and a boundary load of 1MPa is applied in
Where ρ is the electrical resistivity of heater material,Cp is z direction. A reference temperature of 300K and external
the heat capacity at constant pressure of heater material, k is temperature of 273K is also applied.

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Fig. 1. Temperature distribution in Meander MHP with base substrate

Fig. 4. Displacement profile of Gas Sensor with Porous MHP

VI. GRAPHICAL PLOTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Figures 5 and 6 shows comparison of temperature and

power consumption respectively at different input voltages
for different 2D MHP structures. The comparison shows that
the temperature obtained is high for Meander and Porous
geometries (800K and 900K at 2V) and power consumption
is low for both compared to other geometries. Figures 7 and
8 shows comparison of temperature and power consumption
respectively at different input voltages for Meander and Porous
MHP 3D simulation with base substrate. The comparison
depicts that the temperature obtained is high for Porous MHP
(802 K at 2V) and power consumption is also low. The
Fig. 2. Temperature distribution in Porous MHP with base substrate displacement for Porous structure is large at a particular
applied load and hence the sensitivity also increases. From
all these analysis and discussions it can be concluded that a
Porous MHP geometry is best suitable for designing a gas
sensor with better sensitivity, temperature uniformity and high
temperature at the surface.

Fig. 3. Temperature profile of Gas Sensor with Porous MHP

Fig. 5. Temperature for Different 2D MHP Geometries at different Input
Voltages

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 VII. CONCLUSION
In this report, the geometric optimization of the micro
hotplate structure is discussed. To achieve high temperature
uniformity various different structures and topologies of MHP
are analyzed by using Finite Element Analysis with COM-
SOL Multiphysics tool version 5.0. Electro-Thermo-Mechnical
analysis is done to review the temperature and stress distribu-
tion over the MHP. Two dimensional structure of five different
patterns of MHP, namely single Meander, double Meander,
fan shape, rectangle shape, and porous structure are designed
and simulated. Their temperature profiles are compared and
porous structure is found to have low power consumption and
better temperature uniformity.Three dimensional design and
Fig. 6. Power Consumption for Different 2D MHP Geometries at different
Input Voltages simulation of Meander and porous structures are also done and
their temperature and displacement profiles are compared. The
effect of various materials and thickness of heating element
on the temperature, displacement, and power consumption of
the MHP are evaluated. A low power gas sensor with high
sensitivity is designed using this porous structure of MHP and
Electro-Thermo-Mechanical simulation is done. The tempera-
ture distribution is uniform and temperature is high over the
sensing surface which enhances the sensitivity. Future work
includes study of the designed gas sensor in the different gases
environment and preparation of database based on variation of
conductivity of the sensing surface with varying concentration
of gases.
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