Micro devices for temperature sensing

A Report by R. Krishna Chaithanya

ID NO : 2009B5A8546G
INTRODUCTION
Temperature sensors are vital to a variety of everyday products. For example, household ovens,
refrigerators, and thermostats all rely on temperature maintenance and control in order to
function properly. Temperature control also has applications in chemical engineering. Examples
of this include maintaining the temperature of a chemical reactor at the ideal set-point,
monitoring the temperature of a possible runaway reaction to ensure the safety of employees,
and maintaining the temperature of streams released to the environment to minimize harmful
environmental impact.
While temperature is generally sensed by humans as hot, neutral, or cold, chemical
engineering requires precise, quantitative measurements of temperature in order to accurately
control a process. This is achieved through the use of temperature sensors, and temperature
regulators which process the signals they receive from sensors.
From a thermodynamics perspective, temperature changes as a function of the average energy
of molecular movement. As heat is added to a system, molecular motion increases and the
system experiences an increase in temperature. It is difficult, however, to directly measure the
energy of molecular movement, so temperature sensors are generally designed to measure a
property which changes in response to temperature. The devices are then calibrated to
traditional temperature scales using a standard (i.e. the boiling point of water at known
pressure). These devices sometimes need to be small but sensitive hence the need for MICRO
devices.
There are many different types of Temperature Sensor available and all have different
characteristics depending upon their actual application. Temperature sensors consist of two basic
physical types:
Contact Temperature Sensor Types - These types of temperature sensor are required to be in physical
contact with the object being sensed and use conduction to monitor changes in temperature. They can be
used to detect solids, liquids or gases over a wide range of temperatures.
Non-contact Temperature Sensor Types - These types of temperature sensor use convection and
radiation to monitor changes in temperature. They can be used to detect liquids and gases that emit
radiant energy as heat rises and cold settles to the bottom in convection currents or detect the radiant
energy being transmitted from an object in the form of infra-red radiation (the sun).

Construction , Principle of Operation and Applications
Infrared Temperature sensors: Infrared is an Electromagnetic radiation with wavelength
between 750nm to 1mm. Other part of electromagnetic radiation includes radio waves, micro
waves, visible light, ultraviolet, x rays and Gamma rays. The Infrared technology can be used to
measure the temperature of the target. Every object with temperature above absolute zero
emits electromagnetic radiation. Infrared radiation using optics is focused on to the sensor.
Depending on the intensity of the radiation the sensor will give the output. The electrical signal
is then used to get the temperature. Applications Tire temperature measurement, Brake
temperature measurement

Semiconductor based single chip temperature sensors- Manufactured in SOT23-6 and
MSOP-8 packages, TMP141 measures temperature from -40 to 125C without external sensing
components. It features 10-bit resolution digital output and single-wire Sensor Path interface
protocol. Suited for space-restricted applications, It has 170 A max operating current and
extended supply range of 2.7A, 5.5 V. It is suited for monitoring hardware systems in servers
and PCs as well as battery-powered instruments.

Miniature fiber-optic temperature sensors based on silica/polymer microfiber knot
resonators:
The silica microfibers used in this work are fabricated by flamed-heated taper-drawing of a
single-mode fiber while poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) polymer microfibers are fabricated by
direct drawing of solvated polymers that have been reported elsewhere [5]. These microfibers
with minimum diameter of <200 nm and length up to millimeters showed smooth outer surface
morphology without pronounced bending or obvious structural defects. They also have the
much smaller radius of curvature than that of standard optical fibers to form more compact
optical structures. As the substrate of the MKR, a MgF2 crystal plate is adopted due to its low
index and good thermal conductivity. The MKRs are assembled by manipulating with two fiber-
tapers under the microscope. A microfiber taper, which is used work as the collecting fiber, is
arranged adjacent to the freestanding end of SMKR to form a coupler, the two microfibers can
attract tightly with the Van Der Waals and electrostatic attractive force in the coupling region.
There need two microfiber tapers to connect to the both free-standing ends of the PMKR, this
two microfiber tapers work as the launching and collecting fibers, coupling to the polymer
microfiber by evanescent wave. Finally, a layer of MgF2 film is coated above the SMKR/PMKR
to keep the sensor steady and environment immunity. In this experiment, a broadband ASE
laser was used as the light source. Light passing through the MKRs will generate the resonant
signals, an optical spectrometer (ANDO-AQ6317B) was used for detecting the output spectra of
these temperature sensors, while a hotplate with 0.5 resolution and temperature range from 30
to 850 was used for the experiments. Applications : s. miniature temperature sensors could find
important applications where micro space, high-resolution and fast temperature response is
essential, such as in thermal property study of nano-devices, cells, MEMS.
Fiber Optic Temperature Sensors : Both FOT-L temperature sensors feature complete
immunity to EMI and RFI, miniature size, built-in safety for hazardous environments, extreme
temperature resistance, high precision, and resistance to corrosive environments. Fiber optic
technology provides intrinsic immunity to EMI and RFI. Fiber optic sensors are not electronically
active and do not emit nor are they affected by any type of EM radiation, whether it is
microwave, RF, or NMR. Another important advantage of optical bers is the capability it
provides to produce miniature components without compromising the physical characteristics of
the bulk material. Optical ber is optimized in size to provide the smallest possible light path.
Thanks to this advantage, ber optic sensors may feature tip diameters as small as 0.8 mm.
FISOs ber optic temperature sensors provide accurate, stable, and repeatable measurements.
These measurements are based on variations of the reected light when compared to the
emitted light due to thermal expansion of the highly stable glass used within the sensor. The
FOT-L-SD is sheathed with PTFE and has a temperature range from as low as 40C up to
300C (40F to 572F).The FOT-L-BA is designed with a much smaller diameter to provide an
even faster response time, while withstand temperatures of up to 250C.All our temperature
sensors are designed to work with FISOs line of signal conditioners. The ber optic lead cable
can be up to several meters long without affecting the quality or the accuracy of the results.
Flexible Carbon Nanotube Based Temperature Sensor for Ultra-Small-Site Applications :
The proposed design concept is for a micro scale temperature sensing device that uses nano
scale sensing elements for added performance. This device will take advantage of the
expanding properties of a metal or polymer material under a thermal change. Initial effort was
put towards predicting the change in resistance of a CNT network as strain is applied based on
the design concept selected in Chapter 3, where the expanding element pushes in a
perpendicular direction to the length of the CNT network. However, there was one primary
issue that arose: there is not enough information available from previous studies to allow for an
accurate prediction of this relationship with the perpendicular straining mechanism, on which the
rest of the modeling and formulation could rely. The perpendicular method for manipulating the
strain would involve calculations as well as experimentation in order to characterize the
relationship well enough to design the rest of the sensor. Fabricating a prototype just to
examine the strain-resistance relationship was not an option based on the time frame of the
project. The group was, however, able to conduct a late interview and obtain a paper by
Professor Mft et. al. which had already characterized the trend between strain and the
resistance of a CNT network, as long as the strain is produced by stretching the CNT network
only in the lengthwise direction. This interview is shown in Chapter 3 even though the
information was obtained after modeling and analysis had already begun. The new information
led to a design change. The following diagram and discussion shows the improved concept,
which allows the use of the aforementioned relationship to predict the behavior more accurately.
Application: Firstly, it can be concluded that manufacturing cost is the primary factor preventing
CNT devices from being commercialized. It follows that reducing the costs associate with
nanomanufactured devices would lead to sensors becoming commercially available. Due to the
advanced properties of CNTs, it is possible that a single CNT sensor design could achieve the
performance required for use in many small-scale applications, to sense many different
properties, whereas other sensors are usually designed for a specific high-technology micro or
nano-scale application. Interestingly, if the superior properties of CNTs could be used to create
a highly applicable temperature sensing device, the possibility for batch fabrication of a single
generic sensor design becomes realistic. With increased potential for batch fabrication, comes
lower manufacturing costs.
Thermistors : The Thermistor is another type of temperature sensor, whose name is a combination of
the words THERM-ally sensitive res-ISTOR. A thermistor is a type of resistor which changes its physical
resistance with changes in temperature. Thermistors are generally made from ceramic materials such as
oxides of nickel, manganese or cobalt coated in glass which makes them easily damaged. Their main
advantage over snap-action types is their speed of response to any changes in temperature, accuracy
and repeatability.Most types of thermistor's have a Negative Temperature Coefficient of resistance
or (NTC), that is their resistance value goes DOWN with an increase in the temperature but some with
a Positive Temperature Coefficient, (PTC), their resistance value goes UP with an increase in
temperature are also available. Thermistors are constructed from a ceramic type semiconductor material
using metal oxide technology such as manganese, cobalt and nickel, etc. The semiconductor material is
generally formed into small pressed discs or balls which are hermetically sealed to give a relatively fast
response to any changes in temperature. Thermistors are rated by their resistive value at room
temperature (usually at 25
o
C), their time constant (the time to react to the temperature change) and their
power rating with respect to the current flowing through them. Like resistors, thermistors are available with
resistance values at room temperature from 10's of M down to just a few Ohms, but for sensing
purposes those types with values in the kilo-ohms are generally used.
RTD (Resistive Temperature devices) - Another type of electrical resistance temperature sensor is
the Resistance Temperature Detector orRTD. RTD's are precision temperature sensors made from
high-purity conducting metals such as platinum, copper or nickel wound into a coil and whose electrical
resistance changes as a function of temperature, similar to that of the thermistor. Also available are thin-
film RTD's. These devices have a thin film of platinum paste is deposited onto a white ceramic
substrate.Resistive temperature detectors have positive temperature coefficients (PTC) but unlike the
thermistor their output is extremely linear producing very accurate measurements of temperature.
However, they have poor sensitivity, that is a change in temperature only produces a very small output
change for example, 1/
o
C. The more common types of RTD's are made from platinum and are called
Platinum Resistance Thermometer or PRT's with the most commonly available of them all the Pt100
sensor, which has a standard resistance value of 100 at 0
o
C. The downside is that Platinum is
expensive and one of the main disadvantages of this type of device is its cost.Like the thermistor, RTD's
are passive resistive devices and by passing a constant current through the temperature sensor it is
possible to obtain an output voltage that increases linearly with temperature. A typical RTD has a base
resistance of about 100 at 0
o
C, increasing to about 140 at 100
o
C with an operating temperature range
of between -200 to +600
o
C.
Conclusion
Depending on the application, location, working parameters, sensitivity requires , size constraints
if any and a array of other constraints we choose one of the above mentioned devices as per our
requirement for temperature measurement .We suitably interface the transducer with a control system or
controller of any kind to suitably adjust or control the temperature for whatever purpose we may have or
simply observe the temperatures and its fluctuations within a given system .
References
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(2006).
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huai Chen
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8. www.temperatures.com