Web Release Date: August 23,
Integrated Microreactor System for Gas-Phase Catalytic Reactions. 2. Microreactor Packaging and Testing
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
Department of Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
DuPont Company, Central Research & Development, Experimental Station, Wilmington, Delaware 19880-0304
Received for review January 16, 2007
Revised manuscript received May 3, 2007
Accepted May 11, 2007
Abstract:
An integrated packaging system is developed for the multilayer laminate gas-phase microreactor die whose
design and fabrication was described in Part 1 of this series. A commercial plastic socket used for integrated
circuit testing was adapted so the reactor chip could be easily installed while maintaining consistent alignment
with all electrical contacts. A heated fluidics interface was developed that connects the nonmetallic feed and
product gas ports on the microreactor chip to metal tubing. Thermal experiments and 3-D finite-element heat
transfer simulations of the combined socket-fluidics assembly showed that the plastic reactor socket could be
safely operated up to 250 
C. Other tests showed that the microreactor heaters were capable of achieving
membrane temperatures in excess of 600 C. Step-response tests demonstrated that temperature changes of
ca. 100 C could be achieved in less than 10 ms. Testing of the electrical leads on the reactor chip verified
that the device resistance on a single reactor chip was uniform within a few percentage points. The packaged
system developed here is used in Part 3 of this series to create a modular reactor board for incorporation into
an integrated process system.
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