Packaging effects of a novel explosion-proof gas sensor

A new gas sensor structure is being developed based on an integrated microsensor array of calorimetric catalytic sensors (humidity independent, unlike semi-conducting oxide sensors, e.g. Taguchi sensors [Environmental temperature and humidity variation effects on the response of a TGS sensor array, in: Proceedings of the ISOEN'99, 1999, pp. 156-159]). Aims include olfactory detection and compositional analysis of combustible gas mixtures, such as found at refineries and other industrial plants, using adequate signal processing. Inherently low power, explosion-proof integrated devices are being developed, which need a packaging solution according to safety norms while ensuring that poisoning of the catalytic layers in the devices does not occur. This work reports on the packaging and testing of such devices. Miniaturisation of the packages did not show any large deviations in sensitivity compared to the large flow cell.