Microheater Material Selection Framework for Micro-Electromechanical System (MEMS)-Based Gas Sensor

Abstract

This article describes the material selection for microheater in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)-based gas sensors. The analysis was done using multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches: Ashby’s technique, Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), and VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenjein in Serbian (VIKOR). All possible materials for heating element used in MEMS gas sensors are considered. Various material properties, such as thermal expansion, melting point, resistivity, and thermal conductivity, are investigated to find out the most promising microheater material. Analysis was done using materials chart in Ashby’s approach and ranking system using TOPSIS and VIKOR approaches. The analysis shows that tungsten and molybdenum are the best materials to be used in microheater. The results show very good agreement among all the three material selection methodologies that confirms the validity of our proposed result.