Design and optimization of an integrated MEMS gas chamber with high transmissivity

Abstract

Non-Dispersive InfraRed (NDIR) gas sensor is widely used for gas detection in collieries and the gas chemical industry, etc. The performance of the NDIR gas sensor depends on the volume, optical length and transmittance of the gas chamber. However, the existing gas sensor products have problems of large volume, high cost and incapable of integration, which need to develop towards the miniaturized sensor. This paper first presents the theoretical background of the NDIR gas sensor and the novel structure of a fully integrated infrared gas sensor and its micro-machined gas chamber structure. Then, the light structure and the gas flow of the gas chamber are optimized on Tracepro software and Ansys workbench, respectively, and the technological process for preparing the Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) gas chamber is designed. Finally, we produce a gas chamber with a small volume and good transmissivity, which would be the most important part of producing the miniaturized NDIR gas sensor.

Keywords

• NDIR
• Gas sensor
• Gas chamber
• MEMS