Thermocatalytic sensors are used as universal explosion meters for measurement of the Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) of hydrocarbon gases mixtures. Historically, thermo-catalytic sensors, with their bulky "pellistor" design, have been poorly suited for mass production using group microelectronic processing. Another significant challenge for developers of new sensor designs is to minimize power dissipation while enhancing the service life and resistance of catalytic elements to poisoning from silicon-organic and sulfur-containing gases. To meet the specified requirements, we developed a low-power thermocatalytic sensor utilizing ceramic technology, capable of holding the temperature of technology operations up to 900 °C.
Keywords: LEL; ceramics; laser micromachining; thermocatalytic sensor.