them.

2.2.6 Thermal Sensors

Thermocouples are the most common transducer used to sense heat. They operate on
the principle of electromotive force (emf produced at the open ends of two dissimilar
 MEMS and
Microsystems Design and Manulacture
coefticients for common thermoOco
couples
Seebeck
Figure 2121Pressure sensors using a vibrating beam signal transducer Table 2.3 I Seebeck coefficient,
Diffused p-ype Vibrating beam Wire materials
VfC Range, e
Range, mY
electrode n-type Si wafer, 40 um wide Type -270
Silicon diapbragm 22
58.70 at 0'C to 1000-984to 76 38
x 600 um ong X 6 um thick
Chromel/constantan

50.37 at 0'c -210 to 1200 -8.10 to 6254

(1O0 am thick) Iron/constantan
39 48 at °'C -270 to 1372 -6.55 to 54 87
Chromelalumel

Silicon die 10.19 at 600'C -50 to 1768 -024 to 18.7

Platinum ( 1 0 % ) - R h / P
1200 um square 38.74 at 0C -270 to 400 -6 26 to 2087
x 400 um thick Copper/constantan

Pt (13%-Rh/Pt
11.35 at 6o0'C -50 to 1768 -0.23 to 21.11
S
108 Engineering (1998]
Handbook of M e c h a n i c a l
Source: CRC

for miniaturized heat

microthermopile is a more realistic
solution
nsing
sensin
Pressunzed medium
Constraint base Pressure, kPa
A
with both hot and cold junctions, but they are arranged with
(a) Diagram of the Thermopiles operate in series. This arrangement is illustrated
pressure-sensing element (b) Reported sensitivity thermocouples in parallel
and voltage output
wires are the same as those used in thermo
2.14. Materials for thermopile
metallic wires when the in Figure c h r o m e l / a l u m e l (type K), e t c - a s shown in
junction of the wires (called the bead) is heated (see Figure
2.13a). The temperature rise at couples-copper/constantan
(tYpe 1),
the junction due to heating can be correlated to the
magnitude of the produced emf, or voltage. Table 2.3.
These wires and the junction can be made
very small in size. By thermopile
as shown in
introducing an additional
junction in the thermocouple circuit, Figure 2.14 ISchematic arrangement for a

Figure 2.13b, and

the other, one would induce a exposing
that junction to a different Thermocouples
temperature than
temperature gradient in the circuit itself. This
ment of
thermocouples with both hot and cold junctions can arrange
fect, discovered by T. J. Seebeck in produce the Seebeck ef-
1821.The voltage generated by the
can be evaluated by V= BATin which thermocouple
Bis the Seeoeek coefficient and A7is
perature difference between the hot and cold the tem-
temperature is mantained constant, eg at junctions. In practice. the cold junction
0TCby dipping that junction in ice water.
The cociücient ß depends on the thermocouple wire materials
perature measurements. Seebeck coefficients for and the range of tem-
common
Table 2.3. thermocouples are given in
Cold junction
Figure 2.13 ISchematics of region. Te
thermocouples
Heat Metal wire A Cold
Metal wire A
Heat
Hav-
JUnction

(v) Volrage output Hot he voltage output from a thermopile can be obtained by the following expressi
Junction 24]
Bead Metalwire B AV= NBAT
Voltage output Metal wre B where
(a) A thermocouple N= number
(b) A
dual-junction thermocouple of thermocouple pairs in the thermopile
couple
B= thermoelectric power (or Seebeck coefficient) ofthe two themoe
One serious drawback of materials, V/K (from manufacturer data or Table 2.3)
output of thermocouples thermocoupies for micro thermal ar = temperature difference across the themocouples., K
decreases as the size of the wires and transducers is that the
Thenocouples alone are thus not ideal tor
mcrothermal
the beads is reduced. Choi ana Wise rure2.15
sensors [1986] produced the microthermopile represc ile. The
d O S2
polysilicon-gold thermocouples were used in the ther
overall dimension of the silicon chip on which the
thermopile was built is 3.6 mm
3.6 mmX 20 um thick. A typical output signal of 100 mV was obtained
from
500 K blackbody radiation source of Qn =0.29
mW/cm with a
response time
about 50 ms.
Figure 2.15 I Schematic of a microthermopile
3.6 mm

32 thermocouples,
16 um wide

Cold junction
region
Hot
junction
region
UID
JIIIL
Diaphragm: 1.6 mm dia.
X 1.3 um thick

Top view

Hot junction
region
Thermocouples

Silicon rim
Diaphragimn support

Elevation

A pressure sensor similar to that shown in Figures 2.9 and 2.11l could be used to
detect temperature of a working medium. In such cases, the deformation of the sili-
con diaphragm is induced
by thermal sources instead of pressures as in a pressure
sensors. The thermal forces that cause the deflection of the diaphragms can be related
to the capacitance of the deflected electrodes. A more sensitive means, however, is to
use a thermal pile, or a thermocouple, as the sensing element.