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Quantitative studies of long-term stable, top-down fabricated silicon nanowire pH sensors

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Abstract

We report a simple and effective method to develop long-term stable, top-down fabricated silicon nanowire (SiNW) pH sensors along with systematic studies on the performance of the sensors. In this work, we fabricated the SiNW pH sensors based on top-down fabrication processes. In order to improve the stability of the sensor performance, the sensors were coated with a passivation layer (PECVD-based silicon nitride) for effective electrical insulation and ion-blocking. The stability, pH sensitivity, and repeatability of the sensor response are critically analyzed with regard to the physics of sensing interface between sample liquid and the sensor surface. Also, trade-off between the stability and pH sensitivity of the sensor response is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE, Grant #: DE-AC02-05CH112), a grant (2009K000069) from the Center for Nanoscale Mechatronics & Manufacturing (CNMM), one of the 21st Century Frontier Research Programs, and Basic Science Research Program (Grant #: 2011-0004409), which are supported by Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Korea. S. Choi thanks for his graduate fellowship from the Samsung Scholarship Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC), University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Sun Choi & Albert P. Pisano

  2. Ecology Department, Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California at Berkeley, 406 Cory Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA

    Sun Choi, Zhao Hao & Hoi-Ying N. Holman

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yoosung-Gu, Daejeon, Korea, 305-701

    Inkyu Park

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  1. Sun Choi
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  2. Inkyu Park
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  3. Zhao Hao
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  4. Hoi-Ying N. Holman
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  5. Albert P. Pisano
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Correspondence to Sun Choi or Inkyu Park.

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Choi, S., Park, I., Hao, Z. et al. Quantitative studies of long-term stable, top-down fabricated silicon nanowire pH sensors. Appl. Phys. A 107, 421–428 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-011-6754-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-011-6754-9

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