Method and apparatus used for the molding and dispensing of frozen beverages are provided. Porous silicon with the cavity underneath provides very good thermal isolation for the sensor elements, so as the power needed to maintain the heater at a given temperature is very low. The sensor may employ one pair of sensing plates or an array of pairs of sensing plates to obtain data from each part of the substrate. The vertical line overlaps with a part of a rotation region of the first conveying screw in which the periphery of the first conveying screw is moved in a downward direction.