A method for submicrosecond heating of sensor surfaces and simultaneous detection of the surface temperature was developed enabling accurate and fast reactivation of a semiconductor based oxygen sensor. High power electrical pulses with current densities of more than 10(7) A/cm(2) were applied to the 60-nm-thick Pt layer of a chemical semiconductor sensor structure resulting in surface temperatures as high as 700 K maintained in the nanosecond to microsecond range. Temperature measurement was carried out using the temperature dependent electrical resistance of the Pt film. Electrical power pulses of defined shape allowed accurate control of the surface temperature with ns time resolution. The high reactivation surface temperatures required high current densities, eventually leading to fatal destruction of the sensor structure. Comparative numerical simulations of the thermal impact as well as photo thermal and scanning force microscopy measurements were performed to optimize the heating process and to investigate the destruction mechanism.