Capacitor sensors sensitivity

SiC capacitor sensors have demonstrated gas-sensitivity to gases such as hydrogen and hydrocarbons [21, 46, 68] up to a maximum temperature of 1,000°C [1, 68]. Devices that can be operated both as MOS capacitors (reverse bias) and as Schottky diodes at temperatures greater than 490°C have also been demonstrated (see Section 2.4.2) [10]. These devices showed sensitivity to combustible gases such as propane, propylene, and CO and were tested at temperatures up to 640°C. 

The effect of the presence of water vapor on hydrogen detection at room temperature for C-I-S capacitor sensors is seen in Figure 16. The data show that water vapor tends to reduce the sensitivity to... 

The first question to ask when comparing various diode and capacitor sensor structures is how do their sensitivities compare. This question is answered for several hydrogen sensing structures in Table V. 

Thus, zeolite-coated IDCs have been tested for sensing n-butane [317] and also, NH3, NO, and CO [318,319] on Na-Y and NaPtY zeolite-based sensors at temperatures high enough to where chemical reactions may also occur (above 200°C). The response time is of the order of seconds and the cross-sensitivity to water is small at high temperatures, at which no water condensation occurs in the zeolite-pore system. Under certain conditions, selectivity of these reactive chemical sensors is remarkable. Thus, the detection of 10 ppm of n-butane with a NaPtY interdigitated capacitor with no response to CO and H2 has been reported [318]. Similarly, Moos et al. [320] described a ZSM-5 based capacitor sensor with on-chip heating for temperatures up to 450°C capable of detecting NH3 with no cross-sensitivity to CO, hydrocarbons, and O2. 

In addition to their potential use as structural composites, these macroscopic assemblies of nanocarbons have shown promise as mechanical sensors [83], artificial muscles [84], capacitors [85], electrical wires [59], battery elements [85], dye-sensitized solar cells [86], transparent conductors [87], etc. What stands out is not only the wide range of properties of these type of materials but also the possibility of engineering them to produce such diverse structures, ranging from transparent films to woven fibers. This versatility derives from their hierarchical structure consisting of multiple nano building blocks that are assembled from bottom to top. 

The hydrogen sensitivity of palladinm-oxide-semiconductor (Pd-MOS) strnctnres was first reported hy Lnndstrom et al. in 1975 [61]. A variety of devices can he nsed as field-effect chemical sensor devices (Fignre 2.6) and these are introdnced in this section. The simplest electronic devices are capacitors and Schottky diodes. SiC chemical gas sensors based on these devices have been under development for several years. Capacitor devices with a platinum catalytic layer were presented in 1992 [62], and Schottky diodes with palladium gates the same year [63]. In 1999 gas sensors based on FET devices were presented [64, 65]. There are also a few publications where p-n junctions have been tested as gas sensor devices [66, 67]. 

When a periodically changing excitation signal is chosen for the operation of chemiresistors, they can be used to detect changes of capacitance (Fig. 8.1b). Therefore, the dielectrometric sensors rely on the chemical modulation of one or more equivalent circuit capacitors, either through the change of the dielectric constant of the chemically sensitive layer or through the chemical modulation of the interfacial charge. 

Schottky-barrier diode and metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor gas sensors have established themselves as extremely sensitive, versatile solid state sensors. 

In this review the basis for the chemical sensitivity of these devices will be explored and the various device structures used for these sensors will be discussed. A survey of the performance of the diode-type and capacitor-type structures will be presented and a comparison of characteristics of these two classes of solid state gas sensors will be given. 

It is also interesting to briefly consider online measurements of variables different from temperature [5], Since pressure is defined as the normal force per unit area exerted by a fluid on a surface, the relevant measurements are usually based on the effects deriving from deformation of a proper device. The most common pressure sensors are piezoresistive sensors or strain gages, which exploit the change in electric resistance of a stressed material, and the capacitive sensors, which exploit the deformation of an element of a capacitor. Both these sensors can guarantee an accuracy better than 0.1 percent of the full scale, even if strain gages are temperature sensitive. 

Since the adsorption of a gas is able to modify the dielectric constant of zeolites, chemical sensors based on interdigital capacitors (IDCs) using zeolites layers as sensitive coatings offer a wide field of applications depending on the type, modification, and working temperature of the coated IDC sensor. 

The fabrication of humidity sensors on silicon chips has recently become possible using 1C. production technology [37, 49], This realizes a small, low cost humidity sensor, and makes it possible to integrate the humidity sensor with other sensors or signal-handling circuitry on the same chip. A new integrated temperature and humidity sensor developed by Yamamoto et al., consists of a polymer capacitor on the p-n diode of a temperature sensor [50] as illustrated in Figure 20-33. A thin film of polyimide is used as the moisture-sensitive material... 

---