Temperature calibration and electrical characterization of the differential scanning calorimeter chip UFS1 for the Mettler-Toledo Flash DSC 1

This paper reports on the temperature calibration and electrical characterization of the calorimeter chip UFS1 (internal design XI-400) developed for the new commercially available differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), the Flash DSC 1 of Mettler-Toledo. The chip consists of 2 identical membranes both with a p-type polysilicon microheater in the center of the membrane and a p/n-type polysilicon thermopile for measuring the sample temperature. The temperature calibration of the XI-400 is performed in the temperature range from 208 K to 723 K. An isothermal calibration is first performed to calibrate the heater resistance and the obtained curve is used to calibrate the integrated thermopile. The accuracy of the calibration is then determined by measuring the extrapolated onset temperature (T-e) of primary standards. A detailed electrical characterization of the device is also reported. The calibration method implemented and the good temperature reproducibility of the device allow to use devices with uncalibrated heater resistance in the temperature range from 208 K to 723 K with a typical maximum error of +/- 5 K. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V.. All rights reserved.