Parallel Heating Panel for Metal Oxide Sensor Calibration Throughput
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Solution Overview
Problem
Metal oxide gas sensors require a lengthy time to reach equilibrium after heating, making it impractical to calibrate multiple sensors sequentially due to low throughput and high costs in existing testing methods.
Innovation Solution
A method where multiple sensor devices are heated simultaneously to an elevated temperature using a panel with connection pads and wires, allowing all devices to reach equilibrium in parallel, followed by individual calibration to increase throughput and achieve accurate calibration results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensor devices are tested sequentially one after another, then individual calibration precision can be maintained, but the throughput is drastically reduced and calibration costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The testing process is segmented into two distinct phases: a parallel heating and equilibrium achievement phase where multiple sensors are prepared simultaneously, followed by a sequential calibration phase where individual calibration is performed. This segmentation allows the time-consuming equilibrium process to be parallelized while maintaining the precision of individual calibration.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating and equilibrium achievement is performed as a preliminary action before calibration. By pre-heating all sensor devices simultaneously and waiting for them to reach equilibrium state in advance, the system prepares multiple sensors for calibration without losing individual calibration precision, thereby improving overall throughput.
2Measurement precision
If the heating time is extended to allow solvents and adsorbates to evaporate, then equilibrium state is achieved and calibration accuracy improves, but the testing time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The testing process is segmented into two distinct phases: a parallel heating and equilibrium achievement phase where multiple sensors are prepared simultaneously, followed by a sequential calibration phase where individual calibration is performed. This segmentation allows the time-consuming equilibrium process to be parallelized while maintaining the precision of individual calibration.
Solution Approach 2:
The heating and equilibrium achievement is performed as a preliminary action before calibration. By pre-heating all sensor devices simultaneously and waiting for them to reach equilibrium state in advance, the system prepares multiple sensors for calibration without losing individual calibration precision, thereby improving overall throughput.
3Productivity
If multiple sensor devices are heated simultaneously, then throughput is increased, but the complexity of the testing equipment increases
Solution Approach 1:
A universal heating platform is designed that can simultaneously heat multiple sensor devices using a single power supply and control system. This multi-functional apparatus reduces the need for separate heating equipment for each sensor, thereby increasing throughput while limiting the increase in overall system complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly increases the throughput of sensor device testing and calibration by performing the time-consuming heating and equilibrium process in parallel, enabling efficient and accurate calibration of multiple sensors while maintaining individual calibration precision.
Implementation Method 1
a heating element to heat the sensor element
Implementation Method 2
The gas performs a chemical reaction such as an oxidation on the surface of the heated metal oxide layer. The electrodes generated or required by the chemical reaction cause a change of the impedance of the metal oxide layer
Implementation Method 3
it requires a considerably longer time for the adsorbates and the solvents to evaporate from the heated sensor elements
Data Source
AI summary
A method for testing a plurality of sensor devices, a panel and a sensor component are disclosed. In an embodiment a method includes providing the plurality of sensor devices, each sensor device including a sensor element configured to sense an ambient condition, a heating element to heat the sensor element, connection terminals for a supply voltage and at least one connection terminal for a sense signal indicative of a state of the sensor element, providing a panel including a plurality of groups of connection pads, the connection pads of each one of the groups configured to be connected to the connection terminals of one of the sensor devices, mounting the sensor devices to the groups of connection pads, applying a supply voltage to the sensor devices and concurrently heating the heating elements of the sensor devices to an elevated temperature and calibrating the sensor devices at least one after another.