Sensor arrangement for determining gas components and/or gas concentrations of gas mixtures

Abstract

A sensor arrangement for determining at least one of gas constituents and gas concentrations of a gas mixture including oxidizable gas constituents includes a diffusion duct having a gas mixture gas orifice in communication with the gas mixture and having a reference gas orifice in communication with a reference gas; and a measuring element having a sensitive zone which is positioned in the diffusion duct, the sensitive zone being exposed to the gas mixture via the gas mixture gas orifice and being exposed to the reference gas via the reference gas orifice, wherein the reference gas and the gas mixture have respective oxygen partial pressures, and wherein the oxygen partial pressure of the reference gas is higher than the oxygen partial pressure of the gas mixture so that oxygen is present in the sensitive zone of the measuring element in amounts sufficient to oxidize the oxidizable gas constituents to be measured. In this sensor arrangement, oxygen concentration changes have a negligibly small effect on the sensitive zone and cross-sensitivity of the measuring element with respect to oxygen is largely eliminated.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.