Dwivedi, M and Dadhich, T and Mudgal, T and Rani, A and Bhargava, J and Sharma, AK and Vyas, V and Eranna, G
(2011)
Study of Temperature Optimization of MEMS based ZnOx Thin Film Gas Sensor for Detection of Acetone Vapour.
In: 16th International Workshop on the Physics of Semiconductor Devices (IWPSD - 2011), December 19 - 22, 2011, IIT Kanpur, India.
(Submitted)
Abstract
ZnO thin films are being developed in a wide
variety of devices because of their unique piezoelectric, optical
and electrical properties. Its chemical, electrical and
mechanical properties strongly depend on its microstructure.
MEMS structures based on thin zinc oxide films are used as
the sensitive elements for the application of gas sensors. The
key issue in MEMS based ZnO sensor development is the
control of the sensing layer properties in order to meet the
specific requirements of gas sensing. The development of thin
film gas sensor based on MEMS structure is a rapidly growing
area, enabling fabrication of arrays of sensor elements coupled
with reduced power consumption and enhanced sensitivity
using microhotplates based on thin membranes (3-5 μm) due to
low thermal mass. This paper presents the study of
temperature optimization for MEMS based ZnOx thin film
sensor considering the best operating temperature for such
sensors. The ZnOx thin film gas sensor are being developed on
Si3N4 platform by using the MEMS structure for the detection
of volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as acetone. The
required temperature which is easy to generate in any battery
powered MEMS structures where the total power dissipation is
of the order of millwatt. The effect of the operating
temperature on the sensing properties of the undoped ZnOx
thin films is studied for this purpose. The performance of the
sensor is found admirable for acetone (CH3-CO-CH3) at the
operating temperature ranging from 150oC to 375oC with a
maximum response is at 300°C. The high acetone gas
sensitivity and low operating temperature of ZnO thin film gas
sensors are attributed to the surface morphology and the
surface reaction kinetics.
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