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SOI-CMOS compatible low-power gas sensor using sputtered and drop-coated metal-oxide active layers

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Abstract

In this paper, a Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) solid-state gas-sensor with an original design of a polysilicon loop-shaped microheater fabricated on a thin-stacked dielectric membrane is presented. The microheater ensures high thermal uniformity and very low power consumption (25 mW for heating at 400°C). Sensitive films are based on tin and tungsten oxides deposited either by RF sputtering or drop coating methods. The fabricated sensors are tested to a wide variety of contaminant species and promising results are obtained. The use of completely CMOS compatible TMAH-based bulk micro-machining techniques during the fabrication process, allows easy smart gas sensor integration in SOI-CMOS technology. This makes SOI-based gas-sensing devices particularly attractive for use in handheld battery-operated gas monitors.

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Acknowledgments

P. Ivanov gratefully acknowledges a pre-doctoral grant AP2001-2346, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education. This work has been funded in part by the Spanish Commission for Science and Technology under grant no. TIC2000-1598-C02.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronic Engineering, University Rovira i Virgili, avda. Paisos Catalans 26, 43007, Tarragona, Spain

    P. Ivanov, M. Stankova, E. Sotter, E. Llobet, X. Vilanova & X. Correig

  2. Research Center in Micro and Nanoscopic Electronics Devices and Materials (CeRMIN), UCL, 3, Place du Levant, 1348, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium

    J. Laconte, J. P. Raskin & D. Flandre

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  1. P. Ivanov
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  2. J. Laconte
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  3. J. P. Raskin
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  4. M. Stankova
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  5. E. Sotter
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  6. E. Llobet
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  7. X. Vilanova
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  8. D. Flandre
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  9. X. Correig
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Correspondence to P. Ivanov.

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Ivanov, P., Laconte, J., Raskin, J.P. et al. SOI-CMOS compatible low-power gas sensor using sputtered and drop-coated metal-oxide active layers. Microsyst Technol 12, 160–168 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-005-0003-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00542-005-0003-0

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