Aerosol jet printing of platinum microheaters for the application in gas sensors

Abstract

This paper presents the results of characterization of microheaters fabricated on the surface of ceramic substrates by aerosol jet printing with commercially available platinum ink containing colloidal particles with the average size of about 100 nm. The microheater under study represents planar microstructure with variable cross-sectional area comprising narrow segment capable of being heated up to few hundred degrees when current is passed through. The narrow segment is fabricated in the form of single line with the width and height of 50 μm and 6.7 μm, respectively. To remove the organic substance from the deposited material (dry residue of the ink), the printed microheaters were fired at 150°C for 20 min. The dependence of the operating temperature on the power consumed by the microheater was obtained from the measurements of direct current resistance as a function of consumed power with the use of previously determined temperature coefficient of the material (3.9·10-3 K-1).