Enhancement of Greenhouse Gas Sensing Performance Using a Heated Micro-Resonator with Lorentz-Forces

This paper presents a novel approach to developing high-performance gas sensors by leveraging electrothermally actuated buckled micro-beams driven by Lorentz forces. Previous straight beam micro-resonator-based gas sensors take advantage of the buckling bifurcation and suffer from low sensitivity with the presence of DC electrostatic voltage. In this work, we used an electromagnetic actuation in order to maximize the slope at both pre/post-buckling and around the buckling point, thereby enhancing the sensitivity of sensor. An analytical model is developed to understand and verify the micro-sensor performance with good agreement reported with the experimental data. The results indicate significant improvements in the slope (sensitivity), power consumption, and driving voltage, providing valuable insights for the design and optimization of gas sensors targeting greenhouse gases.