Polymer-based micromachined chemicapacitor gas sensor on a temperature controlled platform

A major drawback in conventional polymer-based gas sensors is their temperature dependency, which causes drift in sensor response patterns in the real environment applications. Sensor repeatability and reproducibility are also a concern due to the difficulties associated with polymer composite film preparation. To enhance sensor performance for spoilage-induced analyte detection in grain storage facilities and to eliminate the ambient temperature dependency, a new sensor structure is proposed. The new design employs a temperature-controlled cantilever that maintains a uniform temperature throughout the polymer-based sensor. Capacitive measurements are performed to characterize the sensing material properties while exposed to different analytes. The performed frequency spectroscopy and temperature modulation demonstrate that an array of detectors, each held at different temperatures and operating at different frequencies, can be utilized to further enhance the sensor sensitivity and selectivity to a desired analyte.