Hybrid AlGaN/GaN-ZnO-nanowire gas sensors

The potential of AIGaN/GaN heterostructures integrated with zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires for gas sensing applications is demonstrated. Single crystal ZnO nanowires, serving as sensing probes, were selectively grown between two ohmic electrodes of AIGaN/GaN two dimensional electron gas heterostructures by thermal oxidation of sputtered zinc films in air. Electron diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed the ZnO-nanowires to be crystalline structures oriented in the [001] direction. The fabricated structures were used to detect ethanol, acetone and methanol in a nitrogen background. The results indicate that the hybrid AIGaN/GaN-ZnO nanowires gas sensors are operable over a broad range of temperatures and could potentially be integrated with devices for wireless environmental monitoring.     

Selectivity improvement of semi-conducting gas sensors by selective filter for atmospheric pollutants detection

The monitoring of atmospheric pollution using chemical gas sensors is a challenge due to the lack of selectivity of most existing devices. However, their performances can be improved using filtering films achieving the separation or the removal of some gases. This study is focused on the detection of carbon monoxide and of oxidant pollutants (nitrogen dioxide and ozone) by sensors constituted of SnO₂, or phthalocyanine compounds. Two types of filters were investigated. Filters based on MnO₂ powder are successful to remove ozone while preserving nitrogen dioxide in a large temperature range from ambient to 400 °C, but they partially convert carbon monoxide. The second type of filter constituted of indigo powder is also efficient to remove ozone without modification of nitrogen concentration at ambient. Then, these filters were associated with sensing element. MnO₂ thick films were deposited by screen-printing on SnO₂. With resulting sensors, the interference of ozone for the detection of CO or of NO₂ is reduced, but some technological problems such as adhesion of MnO₂ layer have to be solved. For phthalocyanine devices, the indigo filter placed upstream to the sensitive layer makes the sensor selective to nitrogen dioxide.     

Wearable gas/strain sensors based on reduced graphene oxide/linen fabrics

Multifunctional wearable e-textiles have been a focus of much attention due to their great potential for healthcare, sportswear, fitness, space, and military applications. Among them, electroconductive textile yarn shows great promise for use as the next-generation flexible sensors without compromising properties and comfort of usual textiles. Recently, a myriad of efforts have been devoted to improving performance and functionality of wearable sensors. However, the current manufacturing process of metal-based electroconductive textile yarn is expensive, unscalable, and environmentally unfriendly. In this work, we report the preparation of multifunctional reduced graphene oxide/linen (RGO/LN) fabrics through the reduction and the followed suction filtration. As-prepared RGO/LN fabric could serve as the methane gas sensor, which exhibited high sensitivity, remarkable reliability and feasibility. Furthermore, the RGO/LN fabric sensor exhibited good moisture permeability and air permeability. The present work reveals that RGO/LN fabric has great potential as wearable smart devices in personal healthcare applications.     

Effect of optical pumping on alkali-atom Doppler-limited spectra

Using a three-level model and semiclassical density matrix formalism, we show that optical pumping influences both line positions and amplitudes in Doppler-broadened alkali-atom D₁ and D₂ spectra for intensities much lower than the two-level atom saturation intensity. The influence on the D₂ spectrum is particularly interesting due to the presence of closed hyperfine transitions unaffected by optical pumping. This effect is of importance for example when lasers are frequency stabilized using linear absorption or when the alkali-atom vapour pressure is determined using absorption measurements.     

Influence of oceanic whitecaps on atmospheric correction of ocean-color sensors

The effects of oceanic whitecaps on ocean-color imagery are simulated and inserted into the proposed Sea-Viewing Wide-Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) atmospheric-correction algorithm to understand its tolerance to error in the estimated whitecap contribution. The results suggest that for wind speeds ? 10-12 m/s, present models that relate whitecap reflectance to wind speed are sufficiently accurate to meet the SeaWiFS accuracy goal for retrieval of the water-leaving radiance in the blue, when the aerosol scattering is weakly dependent on wavelength. In contrast, when the aerosol scattering has a strong spectral signature, the retrievals will meet the goal only when the whitecap reflectance is underestimated.     

Nanosized Nb-TiO/sub 2/ gas sensors derived from alkoxides hydrolization

Nanocrystalline TiO/sub 2/ modified with Nb has been produced through the sol-gel technique. Nanopowders have been obtained by means of the hydrolysis of pure alkoxides with deionized water and peptization of the resulting hydrolysate with diluted acid nitric at 100/spl deg/C. The addition of Nb stabilizes the anatase phase to higher temperatures. XRD spectra of the undoped and the Nb-doped samples show that the undoped sample has been almost totally converted to rutile at 600/spl deg/C, meanwhile the doped samples present still a low percentage of rutile phase. Nanocrystalline powders stabilized at 600/spl deg/C with grain sizes of about 17 nm have successfully been synthesized by the addition of Nb with a concentration of 2% at., which appears to be an adequate additive concentration to improve the gas sensor performances, such as it is suggested by the catalytic conversion efficiency experiments performed from FTIR measurements. FTIR absorbance spectra show that catalytic conversion of CO occurs at lower temperatures when niobium is introduced. The electrical response of the films to different concentrations of CO and ethanol has been monitored in dry and wet environments in order to test the influence of humidity in the sensor response. The addition of Nb decreases the working temperature and increases the stability of the layers. Also, large enhancement of the response time is obtained even with lower working temperatures. Moreover, humidity effects on the gas sensor response toward CO and ethanol are less important in Nb-doped samples than in the undoped ones.     

A glass/silicon technology for low-power robust gas sensors

Semiconductor gas sensors are devices based on metallic oxides that operate at high temperatures for achieving good sensitivities to the gases of interest. Silicon micromachined structures are often used as platforms for obtaining both high temperatures and low-power consumption at the same time. In this paper, a microstructure based on the combination of micromachined silicon substrates and glass wafers is presented. The device incorporates an array of four different thin-film gas sensors that, depending on the design, can operate at the same or at different temperatures. The designs have been optimized by the finite element method (FEM) and the geometrical parameters of the structure have been selected in order to reduce the power consumption. The full process fabrication is presented. It is based on the combination of bulk micromachining, glass structuring, anodic bonding, and sensitive material deposition. Electrical, thermal, and mechanical tests have been done to demonstrate that the devices show high robustness and can reach high temperatures with low-power consumption.     

ZnO纳米线气敏元件对单一气体浓度的判定研究

以不同金属掺杂的ZnO纳米线为气敏材料,在350℃下对不同浓度的H2气体进行了气敏性能测试.结果表明,掺杂Ag的ZnO纳米线在H2浓度为2.52×10(-3)时具有较高的气体灵敏度28.549.同时,利用Origin软件对测得的气敏性能曲线进行线性拟合,对未知的H2浓度进行了有效判定.还对金属掺杂提高ZnO纳米线气敏性...     

Recent progress in carbon nanotube-based gas sensors

The development of carbon nanotube-(CNTs-)based gas sensors and sensor arrays has attracted intensive research interest in the last several years because of their potential for the selective and rapid detection of various gaseous species by novel nanostructures integrated in miniature and low-power consuming electronics. Chemiresistors and chemical field effect transistors are probably the most promising types of gas nanosensors. In these sensors, the electrical properties of nanostructures are dramatically changed when exposed to the target gas analytes. In this review, recent progress on the development of different types of CNT-based nanosensors is summarized. The focus was placed on the means used by various researchers to improve the sensing performance (sensitivity, selectivity and response time) through the rational functionalization of CNTs with different methods (covalent and non-covalent) and with different materials (polymers and metals).     

半导体陶瓷型薄膜气敏传感器的研究进展

半导体陶瓷型薄膜气敏传感器,具有灵敏度高、与气体反应快、制备成本较低等优点,已经成为近年传感器研究和开发的重点．是未来气敏传感器的发展方向之一。本文介绍了陶瓷型半导体薄膜气敏传感器常见的器件结构、薄膜材料的主要制备方法．部分主要的半导体金属氧化物薄膜气敏材料．以及近期相关的研究进展,并扼要分析了今后的发展方向。     

Vibrating capacitor method in the development of semiconductor gas sensors

Adsorption usually results in work function shifts on catalytically active surfaces such as semiconductor gas sensors. The purpose of the present article is to summarise the capabilities of the vibrating capacitor from the simplest adsorption-induced work function tests to the scanning, vibrating, capacitor-yielded olfactory pictures and other chemical pictures. After a brief history and review of theoretical bases, the latest results will be discussed in detail. Olfactory pictures from semiconductor surfaces give a new chance to improve the selectivity of gas analysis. Chemical pictures from thin SnO₂ layers produced by atomic layer epitaxy reveal the inhomogeneities of the technology. CPD maps taken from Pd nanolayer (activator)-covered surfaces help to find the best layer-depositing parameters for the activation process of the thin semiconductor gas sensor films.     

Understanding environmental impacts on initial atmospheric corrosion based on corrosion monitoring sensors

Atmospheric corrosion monitoring(ACM)sensors were employed to study the initial atmospheric corrosion of carbon steels over a one-month period in six outdoor dynamic atmospheric environments in China.Based on the~250,000 corrosion data sets collected,the environmental impacts of relative humidity,temperature and rainfall on the initial corrosion behavior of carbon steels were investigated.The results showed that rainfall was the strongest environmental factor influencing the initial atmospheric corrosion rate.Relative humidity significantly influenced the corrosion of carbon steels in low-precipitation environments and non-rainfall period.     

Interface states in high-temperature gas sensors based on silicon carbide

Silicon carbide (SiC)-based metal-insulator-semiconductor devices are attractive for gas sensing in automotive exhausts and flue gases. The response of the devices to reducing gases has been assumed to be due to a reduced metal work function at the metal-oxide interface that shifts the flat band capacitance to lower voltages. We have discovered that high temperature (700 K) exposure to hydrogen results not only in the flat-band voltage occurring at a more negative bias than in oxygen, but also in the transition from accumulation (high capacitance) to inversion (low capacitance) occurring over a relatively narrow voltage range. In oxygen, this transition is broadened, indicating the creation of a high density of interface states. We present a model of the hydrogen/oxygen response based on two independent phenomena: a chemically induced shift in the metal-semiconductor work function difference and the passivation/creation of charged states at the SiO/sub 2/-SiC interface that is much slower than the work function shift. We discuss the effect of these results on sensor design and the choice of operating point.     

大气环境温度与压力传感器的自动化标定系统研究

目前大气环境传感器的测试和标定主要依赖于人工手动操作完成,测试和标定效率较低,结果准确率较差。为解决该问题,在分析大气环境传感器工作原理的基础上,搭建了一套由真空泵电机、气压控制器、高低温箱、金属密封腔、标准数字温度计、工控机、待标定大气环境传感器等部分组成的大气环境传感器硬件测试平台,并设计了大气环境自动化软件测试系统,通过工控机控制标准环境,对标准环境参数进行周期采样,自动判定稳态并记录标定所需参数,从而拟合出标定曲线。对待标定温度和压力传感器进行自动化标定测试,结果显示：温度标定的拟合相关系数为0.994 5,重复性误差为0.087%;压力标定的拟合相关系数为0.996,重复性误差为0.046%,验证了测试系统的可行性。此研究成果为大气环境传感器快速部署应用提供了有力支撑,对于推动自动化技术在大气环境参数测量领域中的应用具有重要意义。     

Hall effect measurements in gas sensors based on nanosized Os-doped sol-gel derived SnO/sub 2/ thin films

The influence of dopants on the electrical properties of gas sensitive layers used in semiconductor gas sensors has to be carefully understood for getting a deeper insight in the relationship between the sensor performance and its chemical composition. In this work, undoped and Os-doped SnO/sub 2/ thin films have been prepared by the sol-gel process with an Os-Sn atomic ratio of 5%. The films have been characterized by resistivity and Hall effect measurements in a temperature range from 100 K to 500 K, both in air and in vacuum. The results have been investigated according to grain boundary scattering mechanism. We found that in air, the ambient oxygen species adsorbed on the film increase the height of the grain boundary barriers and the activation energy for the electrical conductivity increases in the doped film. In vacuum, the results showed that the height of the intergranular barrier is lower than the corresponding value in air. Both in air and in vacuum, the conductivity of the Os-doped sample is higher than the value in the undoped SnO/sub 2/ sample. The same occurs for the Hall mobility and the carrier concentration. The experimental results have been used to explain the better methane sensitivity, at low temperature, of the Os-doped films as compared with the undoped ones.     

Structural and gas sensing behavior of nanocrystalline BaTiO3 based liquid petroleum gas sensors

In this paper nanosized BaTiO₃ thick films based gas sensor has been fabricated for liquid petroleum gas (LPG). Doping with different concentrations of metal oxides influenced the sensitivity of BaTiO₃ thick films for LPG sensor. We present the characterization of both their structural properties by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and the electrical characteristics by using gas-sensing properties. X-ray powder diffraction analyses revealed the persistence of cubic phase with grain growth 65 nm. The LPG-sensing properties of BaTiO₃ thick films doped with CuO and CdO are investigated. It was found that 10 wt.% CuO: 10 wt.% CdO doped BaTiO₃ based LPG sensor shows better sensitivity and selectivity at an operating temperature 250 °C which is an important commercial range for LPG alarm development. Incorporation of 0.3 wt.% Pd doped CuO:CdO:BaTiO₃ element shows maximum sensitivity with high cross selectivity to the other gases including CO, H₂ and H₂S at an operating temperature 225 °C for low concentrations of LPG sensor.     

Improving sensitivity and selectivity of SnO/sub 2/ gas sensors by temperature variation

A microcontroller-based gas-sensing system is presented in this paper. The analysis presented here exploits the differences in the steady-state performance of SnO/sub 2/ gas sensors at different operating temperatures and the potential use of such differences for improving their selectivity and sensitivity. Sets of experimental measurements of sensitivity versus temperature are used for the detailed presentation of the proposed approach. The results indicate that selective identification and rather accurate measurement of a mixture of CH/sub 4/ and CO gases are quite possible. Finally, a microcontroller-based configuration is presented as a working example of a small-size implementation, which may offer measurements of improved sensitivity and selectivity along with high accuracy and reliability.     

Sensing mechanism of SnO2 gas sensors

Studies have been made of the gas sensing properties of both steady and unsteady state SnO₂ thin film gas sensors in contact with CH₄ and H₂ in air from 400 to 500° C. The results suggest a new sensing mechanism model for SnO₂ semiconductor flammable gas sensors. This model is based on the following points: (i) Sensor conductivity is determined by the concentration of carrier electrons. (ii) Carrier concentration is controlled by surface unsaturated oxygen adsorption site concentration which is decided by the balance between oxygen adsorption and the surface reaction between oxygen adsorbate and flammable gases. (iii) The activation energy of the reaction is changed by the Fermi energy change for any change in sensor conductivity. This model explains all experimental results.     

The potential of porous silicon gas sensors

Recent developments in porous silicon gas sensors have been reviewed. Monitored species detection levels, and the mechanisms of sensing for different sensor designs are also discussed. Porous silicon surface modification methods have been employed for detecting different gas molecules; H₂O, ethanol, methanol, isopropanol, CO_x, NO_x, NH₃, O₂, H₂, HCl, SO₂, H₂S and PH₃.     

Electric-field-controlled memory effect in heterostructures for gas sensors

A capacitive gas sensor has been created on the basis of an n-SnO₂/SiO₂/p-Si heterostructure with two successive oxide layers. The presence of polar C₂H₅OH, NH₃, and H₂O gas molecules in air leads to a significant increase in the capacitance of the structure at room temperature. An important feature of the adsorption process is a memory effect, which is confined to the possibility of maintaining the capacitance value after removal of the active component from the gas mixture. The possibility of quenching the accumulated useful signal by electric-field pulses has been realized for the first time as applied to gas sensors. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 25, 22–29 (June 26, 1999)