A Low-Power MEMS IDE Capacitor with Integrated Microhotplate

Application as Methanol Sensor using a Metal-Organic Framework Coating as Affinity Layer

Journal Article (2019)
Author(s)

Manjunath R. Venkatesh (TU Delft - Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)

Sumit Sachdeva (TU Delft - OLD ChemE/Organic Materials and Interfaces)

Brahim El Mansouri (TU Delft - Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)

Jia Wei (TU Delft - EKL Processing)

Andre Bossche (TU Delft - Electronic Instrumentation)

Duco Bosma (TU Delft - ChemE/O&O groep)

Louis C.P.M. de Smet (Wageningen University & Research)

Ernst J.R. Sudhölter (TU Delft - OLD ChemE/Organic Materials and Interfaces)

Guo Qi Zhang (TU Delft - Electronic Components, Technology and Materials)

DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.3390/s19040888 Final published version
More Info
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Publication Year
2019
Language
English
Issue number
4
Volume number
19
Article number
888
Pages (from-to)
1-19
Downloads counter
330
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Abstract

Capacitors made of interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) as a transducer platform for the sensing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have advantages due to their lower power operation and fabrication using standard micro-fabrication techniques. Integrating a micro-electromechanical system (MEMS), such as a microhotplate with IDE capacitor, further allows study of the temperature- dependent sensing response of VOCs. In this paper, the design, fabrication, and characterization of a low-power MEMS microhotplate with IDE capacitor to study the temperature-dependent sensing response to methanol using Zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF-8), a class of metal-organic framework (MOF), is presented. A Titanium nitride (TiN) microhotplate with aluminum IDEs suspended on a silicon nitride membrane is fabricated and characterized. The power consumption of the ZIF-8 MOF-coated device at an operating temperature of 50 ∘ C is 4.5 mW and at 200 ∘ C it is 26 mW. A calibration methodology for the effects of temperature of the isolation layer between the microhotplate electrodes and the capacitor IDEs is developed. The device coated with ZIF-8 MOF shows a response to methanol in the concentration range of 500 ppm to 7000 ppm. The detection limit of the sensor for methanol vapor at 20 ∘ C is 100 ppm. In situ study of sensing properties of ZIF-8 MOF to methanol in the temperature range from 20 ∘ C to 50 ∘ C using the integrated microhotplate and IDE capacitor is presented. The kinetics of temperature-dependent adsorption and desorption of methanol by ZIF-8 MOF are fitted with double-exponential models. With the increase in temperature from 20 ∘ C to 50 ∘ C, the response time for sensing of methanol vapor concentration of 5000 ppm decreases by 28%, whereas the recovery time decreases by 70%.