Development of a catalytic silicon micro-combustor for hydrocarbon-fueled power MEMS

This paper reports the development of a high efficiency, hydrocarbon-fueled micro-combustion system for a microscale gas turbine engine for power generation and micro-propulsion applications. A three-wafer catalytic combustor was fabricated and tested. Efficiencies in excess of 40% were achieved for ethylene-air and propane-air combustion. A fabrication process for a six-wafer catalytic combustor was developed and this device was successfully constructed.