# US 10,768,153 B2 · Gas sensing device having distributed gas sensing elements and a method for sensing gas

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- Number: US 10,768,153 B2
- Document ID: US10768153B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/748,723
- Filed: 2016-08-01
- Published: 2019-01-10
- Granted: 2020-09-08
- Earliest claimed: 2015-08-02
- Assignees: Todos Technologies Ltd.; Technion Research & Development Foundation Limited
- Applicants: Todos Technologies Ltd.; Technion Research and Development Foundation Ltd.
- Inventors: Yael Nemirovsky; Amikam Nemirovsky; Shmuel Melman
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10768153B2

## CPC

- G01N 33/0031: {comprising two or more sensors, e.g. a sensor array}
- G01N 25/30: using electric temperature-responsive elements
- G01N 33/0027: {concerning the detector}
- G01N: INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES (measuring or testing apparatus or processes other than immunoassay, involving enzymes or microorganisms C12M, C12Q)

## Abstract

A gas sensing device that includes a (a) gas reactive element that has a gas dependent temperature parameter; and (b) a semiconductor temperature sensing element that is spaced apart from the gas reactive element and is configured to sense radiation emitted from the gas reactive element and generate detection signals that are responsive to a temperature of the gas reactive element; wherein the gas reactive element and the semiconductor temperature sensing element are of microscopic scale.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A gas sensing device, comprising gas sensing elements that comprise gas reactive elements, each gas reactive element has a gas dependent temperature parameter; and semiconductor temperature sensing elements, each semiconductor sensing element is configured to sense radiation emitted from one of the gas reactive elements and generate detection signals that are responsive to a temperature of the one of the gas reactive elements; wherein the gas reactive elements and the semiconductor temperature sensing elements are of microscopic scale; wherein the gas reactive elements and the semiconductor temperature sensing elements are spaced apart from each other;
wherein a gas sensing element of the gas sensing elements comprises a gas reactive element and a semiconductor sensing element that is thermally coupled to the gas reactive element;
wherein at least two gas sensing elements are configured to sense different gases; and
wherein at least one of the following is true:
(a) the gas sensing elements comprise a first plurality (N) of gas sensing elements that are configured, at a certain point in time, to differ from each other by their response to gases; wherein the gas sensing device is configured to detect a composition of up till N different gaseous materials by processing the detection signals from semiconductor temperature sensing elements thermally coupled to the N gas sensing elements;
(b) at least one gas reactive element of the gas reactive elements is thermally coupled to a heating element of the gas sensing device, the heating element is configured to heat the at least one gas reactive element to multiple predefined temperatures that are associated with a sensing of multiple gases that differ from each other; wherein the heating element is configured to heat the at least one gas reactive element, at different points in time, to different predefined temperatures of the multiple predefined temperatures;
(c) the at least one gas reactive element is thermally coupled to the heating element, the heating device is configured to heat, in a non-continuous manner, the at least one gas reactive element to at least one predefined temperature.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1 wherein each heating element is configured to supply a predefined amount of heat to a corresponding gas reactive element.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The gas sensing device according claim 2 wherein the each heating element and the each gas reactive element are thermally coupled to each other through a thermally conductive and electrical isolating element.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The gas sensing device according claim 2 comprising an enclosure; wherein a semiconductor temperature sensing element of the semiconductor temperature sensing elements is located within the enclosure and a gas reactive element of the gas reactive elements is not located within the enclosure.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The gas sensing device according to claim 4 wherein the enclosure is configured to maintain a vacuum.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the each heating element is configured to heat the gas reactive element in the non-continuous manner.

### Claim 7 (depends on 4)

The gas sensing device according claim 4 wherein a gas reactive element of the gas reactive elements is connected to the enclosure.

### Claim 8 (depends on 4)

The gas sensing device according to any claim 4 wherein a gas reactive element of the gas reactive elements is not connected to the enclosure.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one reference semiconductor temperature sensing element that is not thermally coupled to a gas reactive element of the gas reactive elements, and is configured to detect heat generated by at lease one reference heating element.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the semiconductor temperature sensing elements are thermally isolated from each other.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1, further comprising at least one reference semiconductor temperature sensing element that is not thermally coupled to any of the gas reactive elements.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1, wherein at least two gas sensing elements are configured to sense different gases; wherein each gas sensing element comprises a gas reactive element and semiconductor temperature sensing element that is thermally coupled to the gas reactive element.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1, wherein at least two gas sensing elements of the array differ from each other by their gas reactive elements; wherein each gas sensing element comprises a gas reactive element and semiconductor temperature sensing element that is thermally coupled to the gas reactive element.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1, wherein at least two gas sensing elements of the array have a same gas reactive element; wherein each gas sensing element comprises a gas reactive element and semiconductor temperature sensing element that is thermally coupled to the gas reactive element.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1 wherein each heating element is a polysilicon resistor.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one predefined temperature comprises the multiple predefined temperatures that are associated with the sensing of the multiple gases that differ from each other; wherein each heating element is configured to heat the gas reactive element, at the different points in time, to the different predefined temperatures of the multiple predefined temperatures.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The gas sensing device according to claim 1 wherein the gas sensing elements comprise the N gas sensing elements that are configured, at the certain point in time, to differ from each other by their response to gases; wherein the gas sensing device is configured to detect the composition of up till N different gaseous materials by processing the detection signals from semiconductor temperature sensing elements thermally coupled to the N gas sensing elements.
