Tunable Infrared Metamaterial Emitter for Gas Sensing Application.

Ruijia Xu,Yu-Sheng Lin

doi:10.3390/nano10081442

Abstract

We present an on-chip tunable infrared (IR) metamaterial emitter for gas sensing applications. The proposed emitter exhibits high electrical-thermal-optical efficiency, which can be realized by the integration of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microheaters and IR metamaterials. According to the blackbody radiation law, high-efficiency IR radiation can be generated by driving a Direct Current (DC) bias voltage on a microheater. The MEMS microheater has a Peano-shaped microstructure, which exhibits great heating uniformity and high energy conversion efficiency. The implantation of a top metamaterial layer can narrow the bandwidth of the radiation spectrum from the microheater to perform wavelength-selective and narrow-band IR emission. A linear relationship between emission wavelengths and deformation ratios provides an effective approach to meet the requirement at different IR wavelengths by tailoring the suitable metamaterial pattern. The maximum radiated power of the proposed IR emitter is 85.0 µW. Furthermore, a tunable emission is achieved at a wavelength around 2.44 µm with a full-width at half-maximum of 0.38 µm, which is suitable for high-sensitivity gas sensing applications. This work provides a strategy for electro-thermal-optical devices to be used as sensors, emitters, and switches in the IR wavelength range.

Highlights

Gas sensors play a vital role in industry and have civil applications, including as semiconductor sensors [1,2,3], catalysis sensors [4], synergistic surface reaction sensors [5], and so on
Along with the development of the Internet of Things (IOT), gas sensors with high sensitivity and selectivity have been desired for monitoring air quality in real time
We propose an on-chip tunable metamaterial IR emitter for gas sensing applications

Summary

Introduction

Gas sensors play a vital role in industry and have civil applications, including as semiconductor sensors [1,2,3], catalysis sensors [4], synergistic surface reaction sensors [5], and so on. IR emitters exhibit electrical-thermal characteristics by using a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) microheater, owing to its low thermal mass [12]. We propose an on-chip tunable metamaterial IR emitter for gas sensing applications.

Results

Conclusion