MEMS and Nanotechnology for Gas Sensors

5

Structuring MEMS: Micromachining

5.1  Introduction

MEMS stands for microelectromechanical system. Toxic and hazardous gas detection using gas sensors based on MEMS technology [1–4] is a well-known phenomenon in today’s environment. An integrated gas sensor with inbuilt microheater is necessary in most gas sensors because the chemical reaction involved in the sensing layer with the target gases takes places at some elevated temperature. A microheater array is very promising in enhancing the selectivity of the gas sensor with respect to sensor selectivity, with a compromise that the use of the sensor array also leads to an increased size of the device. If separate gas sensors are used to detect individual gases, the excessive power consumption ...