Design and modelling of a MEMS for detection of volatile organic compound

Abstract

Volatile organic compounds pollute air in and out of homes, which effects human health when inhaled. It is necessary to monitor these gases with rapid response sensors at low concentrations, such as with electromechanical systems. We designed and simulated of a multilayer cantilever sensor using finite element method, which is 3 mm long, 2 mm wide, and 52.2 µm thick, activated with the piezoelectric effect with a zinc oxide film and a titanium oxide film that is sensitive to gases. The first resonance frequencies were obtained with modal analysis using ANSYS ^®, in which the first frequency is 4722.4 Hz, the minimum sensitivity of the multilayer gas sensor is 8.22 kHz/g and a minimum detectable mass change (Δ m _c ) of 2432.32 ng. This sensor could be used in industry or in homes.