A logarithmic multi-parameter model using gas sensor main and cross sensitivities to estimate gas concentrations in a gas mixture for SnO2 gas sensors

Abstract In a metal-oxide semiconductor gas sensor, the sensitivity of the metal-oxide resistance to concentrations of reducing gases in the surrounding atmosphere is known to be related to adsorption and desorption of gas on the redox reactions between the gas and oxygen. Changes in the electric conductance due to these reactions were measured for tin dioxide semiconductor gas sensors. In this study, we propose a model of gas sensor responding behaviour using a relationship between sensor conductance and gas concentrations in a mixture. A least-squares method fit of measured data was applied to determining the values of coefficients. The proposed method uses main and cross sensitivities th…

Co-adsorption processes, kinetics and quantum mechanical modelling of nanofilm semiconductor gas sensors

A quantum mechanical model of co-adsorption on semiconductor surfaces is developed and successfully adopted towards exposure to several gases. It is related to nanofilms and thus allows the application of electric fields altering the electronic surface properties of adsorption centres (electro-adsorptive effect, EAE). The model is matched against experimental data with O 2 , NO 2 and CO measurements under the hypothesis of no direct interaction among the species. However the sequence of adsorption plays an important role where the adsorption of one gas species is opening up other sites that are filled by another sort of impinging molecules. Quantum mechanical modelling of co-adsorption: (a)…

Nanofilm metal layers as vacuum quality sensors

Abstract A monitoring device for vacuum quality is realized by lowest cost single use oxygen sensors for vacuum insulation panels. They use the pressure dependence of oxide layer growth thickness on electrically measured metal nanofilms. These films were manufactured by e-beam evaporation, characterized in terms of resistance change with subsequent modeling of underlying mechanisms.

Direct observation of the electroadsorptive effect on ultrathin films for microsensor and catalytic-surface control.

Microchemical sensors and catalytic reactors make use of gases during adsorption in specific ways on selected materials. Fine-tuning is normally achieved by morphological control and material doping. The latter relates surface properties to the electronic structure of the bulk, and this suggests the possibility of electronic control. Although unusual for catalytic surfaces, such phenomena are sometimes reported for microsensors, but with little understanding of the underlying mechanisms. Herein, direct observation of the electroadsorptive effect by a combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and conductivity analysis on nanometre-thick semiconductor films on buried control electrodes …

Tuning the dielectric properties of hafnium silicate films

The influence of Si concentration in hafnium silicate dielectrics on thermal stability and dielectric permittivity was analyzed. A phase diagram was developed using GIXRD and FTIR measurement. The stabilization of the ''higher-k'' cubic/tetragonal phase for annealing temperatures up to 1000^oC with a steady increase in capacitance was demonstrated for Hf"0"."9"4Si"0"."0"6O"2 films. It was also shown that the stabilization of nano-crystalline Hf"0"."8"0Si"0"."2"0O"2 films can be realized for annealing temperatures up to 900^oC. The influence of TiN electrodes on the dielectric constant and the leakage current characteristic was also investigated. A permittivity increase for annealing tempera…

CMOS-compatible nanoscale gas-sensor based on field effect

The integration of a solid state gas sensor of the metal oxide sensor type into CMOS technology still is a challenge because of the high temperatures during metal oxide annealing and sensor operation that do not comply with silicon device stability. In the presence of an external electric field sensor sensitivity can be controlled through a change of the Fermi energy level and consequently it is possible to reduce the operation temperature. Based in this effect, a novel field effect gas sensor was developed resembling a reversed insulated : gate field effect transistor (IGFET) with the thickness of gas sensing layer in the range of the Debye length (L D ). Under these conditions the control…

Nanofilm Low Cost Oxygen Sensors

Abstract The resitivity change of ultra thin metals under air exposure is used for vacuum or inert gas packaging control. In order to reach low cost, single use applications, few nm thin Aluminum layers were deposited on PET substrates and combined with wireless electronic readout circuitry. The sensor respose is characterized by resistance changes and explained in terms of multiphase diffusion mechanisms which are very sensitive to technological parameters.

CMOS-compatible field effect nanoscale gas-sensor: Operation and annealing models

Complete modelling of electrically controlled nanoscale gas sensors with Poisson, Wolkenstein, Fokker-Planck and continuity is presented. Based on a plausible Drift explanation we developed suitable models for sensitivity control and operational modes. An onset for CMOS-complying annealing procedures is given.

Sensor response time evaluations of trace hydrogen gaseous species with platinum using Kelvin Probe

Kelvin Probe (KP), a non-contact, non-destructive vibrating capacitor device, was used to measure the work function (WF) difference of thin Pt films, deposited on oxidized silicon substrates, with highly diluted H 2 gas, in ppm levels, in the presence of with and without relative humidity (RH). Response times were extracted from the behavior of WF shift as a function of H 2 concentration values. Measurements were compared for zero and non-zero RH conditions at a fixed temperature of 30°C. Changes in WF were evaluated by using HP VEE program, suitably modified for the present measurements. The events were executed step by step for every second time interval through an input formatted file. T…

Ultrathin metal oxidation for vacuum monitoring device applications

The oxide growth on thin metal films at room temperature has been investigated in terms of resistance change during oxidation. These data have been interpreted using the extended Cabrera–Mott theory of oxidation by Boggio. The resulting oxide thickness as well as the oxidation kinetics was found to depend on pressure. According to this dependence, oxidation of ultrathin metal films can be applied for monitoring the vacuum quality inside an evacuated environment. The performance of aluminum and copper sensing layers are compared with respect to sensor lifetime and response. Furthermore, the theoretically evaluated and resistively measured oxide thicknesses are verified by TEM studies.

Messung und Modellierung der Sauerstoff-Diffusion in einem Frische-Indikator-System

SnO2 : Sb - A new material for high-temperature MEMS heater applications: Performance and limitations

MEMS micro heater devices capable of long-term operation at temperatures up to 1000 degrees C are presented. The enhanced long-term stability has been achieved by employing antimony-doped tin oxide (SnO2:Sb) as a substitute for the conventionally used noble metal heater resistors. A detailed investigation of its high-temperature stability reveals that degradation is caused by out-diffusion of Sb impurities from the SnO2 film. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Time-monitoring sensor based on oxygen diffusion in an indicator/polymer matrix

Abstract A time-monitoring sensor based on the oxidation of leuco methylene blue (LMB) to methylene blue (MB) was developed. The sensor changes its color from yellow to green in the presence of oxygen and was integrated into a poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix. The diffusion of the oxygen in the polymer matrix as well as the oxygen uptake due to the oxidation reaction determines the time monitoring of the sensor. A physical model has been developed that accounts for both the diffusion as well as the oxidation reaction. For this purpose, the reaction kinetics was determined experimentally. Moreover, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen was determined and concentration profiles in the polymer matrix …

UV LED Photo Electron Ionisation for MS and IMS

AbstractA new MEMS ionisation source for spectrometry is presented on the basis of photo electron emission in silicon MEMS. Lanthanum hexaboride ceramic sample and thin nanolayer proved their suitability for photo electron emission in the desired photon energy range of 3.1eV to 3.9eV which correspond to industrially available UV LED. This ionisation source alternative to a Photoionisationdetector (PID) is inspected of its gas ionisation behaviour using gases with an ionisation potential over and under an energy of 10,6eV. To enable the ionisation of the gases the emitted electrons were accelerated to a well-defined energy. The results of these investigations are comparable to the UV dischar…

Quantum Mechanical Co-Adsorption Modelling of Real Electrically Controlled Semiconductor Gas Sensors

Abstract Co-adsorption of several gases is still a challenge due to the variety of reaction paths at the sensitive surface, and their competition for the adsorption sites. With an extended Wolkenstein model and the gas kinetic theory, we find that for specific paths their sequence of exposition has an important influence on the layer resistance as well as on the time required to achieve equilibrium. Whilst only processes that involve charge transfer can be electrically detected, a good correlation between model and electrical measurements needs weakly chemisorbed (physisorbed) layers to be taken in account. Our study presents a SnO2 nano-film sensor with electrical control electrodes expose…

B7.3 - Field Effect SnO2 Nano-Thin Film Layer CMOS-Compatible

The integration of metal oxide gas sensing layers into CMOS electronic still a challenge especially due to the high operating temperatures that do not comply with silicon transistor limits , even more critical, and metal oxide annealing temperatures. External electric fields will allow control over the energy levels of the sensing layer and thus over adsorption sensitivity, consequently the interaction between gas and sensitive layer is modulated. As the absorbed gas on the surface produces a band bending, it changes conduction paths allowing gas detection through resistance measurements. With this configuration, field switch offers fast desorption and thus handling of low temperature respo…

Nano photoelectron ioniser chip using LaB6 for ambient pressure trace gas detection

A detector including a nanoscaled ioniser chip that surmounts the limitation of conventional photo ionisation detectors is presented. Here, ionisable gaseous substances can be detected by photoelectrons accelerated to the ionisation potential of the incoming gaseous molecules. Thin lanthanum hexaboride (LaB"6) films deposited by pulsed laser technique (PLD) serve as the air stable photocathode material representing the basis of the ioniser chip of the detector. Besides the analysis of the emission behaviour of the photocathode in vacuum and at atmospheric pressure, the detection of different volatile alcohols using the detector with a low-energy UV LED instead of a PID (VUV photon source) w…

Low vacuum photo electron emitting thin films

Impact ionisation is a standard procedure to ionise gaseous or vaporisable substances in organic mass spectrometry. In this work, a "softer" ionisation is introduced which seems to be an alternative ion source for reducing collision between substance molecules and the hot internal walls of the box. Through collision mainly found in impact ionisation sources, fragments are built especially from thermally sensitive substances falsifying the spectra. We present here photoelectron emitting materials for the soft ionisation using semiconducting compounds, galliumn nitride (GaN), and a representative of the borides, lanthanum hexaboride (LaB 6 ). They are evaluated by photoelectron spectroscopic …