Modeling of Square Microhotplate and its Validation with Experimental Results

A simple square microhotplate with a S-Shaped heater is designed, fabricated and tested. The fabricated microhotplate operates at a temperature of 380K, with a power consumption of 306mW and a heating efficiency of 1.810–6W/µm2. Mathematical model, utilizing a new triangular approach, has been developed for predicting the power consumption of microhotplate. Triangular approach for estimating the membrane area has resulted in a smaller (<1%) area error when compared to existing strip or circular approach. The triangular approach has thus led to an accurate calculation of membrane thermal resistance and power consumption. The developed model is in close agreement (within 9%) with the experimental and FEM simulation results.