Tin Oxide Microheater for Chemical Sensors

Tin oxide is the main material utilized for the fabrication of chemical sensing pellets which operate at elevated temperatures. The heating is commonly carried out with ruthenium dioxide resistors. Here, a tin oxide-based microheater is developed for microsensor applications. These microheaters are fabricated on 0.5 mm thick alumina substrates using spray pyrolysis technique. The optimum SnO₂ heaters have a sheet resistivity in the 40-70 Ω/a range. Ohmic Ag/SnO₂ contacts are formed by silver paste printing followed by an appropriate thermal annealing, which provide connections to the external circuitry. Durability tests are carried out on several samples; the long-term performance of the fabricated devices is satisfactory. The method allows the elimination of the expensive ruthenium dioxide from the structure of generic gas sensors. (paper)