Microcalorimeter-essential aspects of the measurement

Abstract

In this work we show the construction and calibration of the batch microcalorimeter designed for thermal characterization of liquid samples. The device consists of two fundamental parts: aluminium blocks and silicon chip NCM 9924. The main segment of the batch microcalorimeter then includes a SiN membrane with Al heater and thermopile in the centre of the membrane. In this paper the results on electrical and chemical calibration of the chip NCM 9924 are presented and several details of the very calibration and measurement processes are described. The sensitivity of the chip with different thickness of the SiN membrane was evaluated to be 2.29 V W−1 and 1.02 V W−1 for thickness 22 mikrom and 45 mikrom. Attention is paid also to the experimental conditions directly influencing the sensitivity of the chip temperature and volume of the droplet on the chip.