Micromachines 2012, 3(3), 550-573; doi:10.3390/mi3030550
Review

Micromachined Thermal Flow Sensors—A Review

Jonathan T. W. Kuo 1 email, Lawrence Yu 1 email and Ellis Meng 1,2,* email
1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA 2 Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 13 June 2012; in revised form: 3 July 2012 / Accepted: 16 July 2012 / Published: 23 July 2012
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Micro Flow Controllers)
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Abstract: Microfabrication has greatly matured and proliferated in use amongst many disciplines. There has been great interest in micromachined flow sensors due to the benefits of miniaturization: low cost, small device footprint, low power consumption, greater sensitivity, integration with on-chip circuitry, etc. This paper reviews the theory of thermal flow sensing and the different configurations and operation modes available. Material properties relevant to micromachined thermal flow sensing and selection criteria are also presented. Finally, recent applications of micromachined thermal flow sensors are presented. Detailed tables of the reviewed devices are included.
Keywords: MEMS; thermal flow sensors; TCR; anemometry; thermoresistive; thermoelectric; thermoelectronic; frequency analog; gas flow; fluid flow

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Kuo, J.T.W.; Yu, L.; Meng, E. Micromachined Thermal Flow Sensors—A Review. Micromachines 2012, 3, 550-573.

AMA Style

Kuo JTW, Yu L, Meng E. Micromachined Thermal Flow Sensors—A Review. Micromachines. 2012; 3(3):550-573.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Kuo, Jonathan T. W.; Yu, Lawrence; Meng, Ellis. 2012. "Micromachined Thermal Flow Sensors—A Review." Micromachines 3, no. 3: 550-573.

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