GSCP

The Gas Sensor Characterization Platform (GSCP) was developed to enable parallel characterization of chemiresistive gas sensors under controlled thermal conditions. It supports up to 8 independent sensor–heater couples, each interfaced through a standard 4-pin TO-socket, allowing sensing elements in TO-style packages to be inserted, tested, and swapped without custom wiring.

Each channel biases the sensing element at a selectable 1 V or 10 V, while the heater is driven independently through a DAC-controlled voltage circuit. Since the heater’s temperature response to applied voltage is not fixed by the board but depends on the specific heater used, temperature control is achieved by first characterizing the heater’s voltage-to-temperature curve; once known, the DAC output can be set to reach and hold a target operating temperature. This decouples sensor biasing from heater control, allowing each of the 8 channels to be run at independently chosen bias and temperature setpoints.

The sensors are housed in an aluminum exposure chamber designed with a highly reduced dead volume, enabling fast, controlled gas exposure to all 8 sensors in a safe, enclosed environment. This minimizes gas transport delays and residual concentration effects, allowing exposure and recovery dynamics to be captured accurately during testing.

The board connects to a host PC via USB, where dedicated software monitors and logs sensor and heater data in real time, enabling synchronized acquisition across all 8 channels during an experiment.