Microheater
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Microheaters are small high power heaters with precise control, that can offer temperatures in excess of 1000C, even up to 1900C.[1] Microheaters provide for accurate high temperature control, for example in electron microscopes, pressure-anvil cells or for enhancing fiberheaters[2]. Generally speaking, the heating method for microheaters involves conversion of electrical work to high density heat. With the increase in the temperature demanded, microheater heating materials change from metallic (non-brittle GAXP) to metal-ceramic like materials (MoSi2) which tend to be brittle. With an increase in usable temperature, microheaters need to be supported or enclosed with very high thermal-resistant ceramic materials often made from small grain, high purity aluminum oxide.
Other potential uses include:
- Fuel Cell Heat Sources,
- Electronics and Substrate Heating,
- RF Applications,
- Micro tube-heaters for small volume gas heating,
- High Power micro-furnace with optional tube extension,
- Fiber optics,
- Ideal for long aspect ratio/very small diameter pieces,
- Fiber optic use to reduce diameter of fibers,
- Igniter,
- MicroPlate heaters,
- Material Testing and Characterization,
- Thermal Property Measurements,
- Diamond Anvil Cells,
- SEM/TEM/AFM,
- Gas/Vapor Heaters/Converters,
- Thin Film Preparation,
When microheaters need controls it is important to heat only electrically, so that power may be controlled by a feed-back mechanism. New superheated steam or gas spot heaters are coming into use for spot microheater applications.
References
- ^ http://www.mhi-inc.com/Microheaters.htm.
- ^ A. I. Kalachev, D. N. Nikogosyan, and G. Brambilla, "Long-Period Fiber Grating Fabrication by High-Intensity Femtosecond Pulses at 211 nm," J. Lightwave Technol. 23, 2568- (2005)