D. Briand

Design and fabrication of high-temperature micro-hotplates for drop-coated gas sensors

Note: 243 Reference SAMLAB-ARTICLE-2000-004 Record created on 2009-05-12, modified on 2016-08-08

Making environmental sensors on plastic foil

With the emergence of the printed electronics industry, the development of sensing technologies on non conventional substrates such as plastic foils is on-going. In this article, we review the work performed and the trends in the development of environmental sensors on plastic and flexible foils. Our main focus is on the integration of temperature, humidity, and gas sensors on plastic substrates targeting low-power operation for wireless applications. Some perspectives in this dynamic field are also provided showing the potential for the realization of several types of transducers on substrates of different natures and their combination with other components to realize smart systems.

The influence of the insulator surface properties on the hydrogen response of field-effect gas sensors

The hydrogen response of gas-sensitive field-effect devices is mainly due to trapping of atomic hydrogen on the insulator side of the metal-insulator interface of the metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure. Therefore an influence of the choice of insulator on the hydrogen response properties is expected. We have investigated this influence by producing MIS capacitors with four different insulators; SiO2, Al2O3, Si3N4, and Ta2O5. The results show that the choice of insulator influences the detection limit, the saturation concentration, and the saturation response. Furthermore, there is a strong correlation between the observed saturation response and the oxygen concentration of the insulator surface, as measured by Auger electron spectroscopy, which indicates that the trapping of hydrogen at the interface occurs at the oxygen atoms of the insulator surface. Finally, if the metal film is porous a catalytic oxidation of the insulator surface appears to be facilitated, which can increase the hydrogen r...

The realization and performance of vibration energy harvesting MEMS devices based on an epitaxial piezoelectric thin film

This paper focuses on the fabrication and evaluation of vibration energy harvesting devices by utilizing an epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 (PZT) thin film. The high quality of the c-axis oriented PZT layer results in a high piezoelectric coefficient and a low dielectric constant, which are key parameters for realizing high performance piezoelectric energy harvesters. Different cantilever structures, with and without a Si proof mass, are realized using micro-patterning techniques optimized for the epitaxial oxide layers, to maintain the piezoelectric properties throughout the process. The characteristics and the energy harvesting performances of the fabricated devices are experimentally investigated and compared against analytical calculations. The optimized device based on a 0.5 µm thick epitaxial PZT film, a cantilever beam of 1 mm × 2.5 mm × 0.015 mm, with a Si proof mass of 1 mm × 0.5 mm × 0.23 mm, generates an output power, current and voltage of, respectively, 13 µW g − 2, 48 µA g − 1 and 0.27 V g − 1 (g = 9.81 m s − 2) at the resonant frequency of 2.3 kHz for an optimal resistive load of 5.6 kΩ. The epitaxial PZT harvester exhibits higher power and current with usable voltage, while maintaining lower optimal resistive load as compared with other examples present in the literature. These results indicate the potential of epitaxial PZT thin films for the improvement of the performances of energy harvesting devices.

A low-power micromachined MOSFET gas sensor

This paper reports on the design, fabrication, and characterization of the first low-power consumption MOSFET gas sensor, The novel MOSFET array gas sensor has been fabricated using anisotropic bulk silicon micromachining. A heating resistor, a diode used as temperature sensor, and four MOSFETs are located in a silicon island suspended by a dielectric membrane. The membrane has a low thermal conductivity coefficient and, therefore, thermally isolates the electronic components from the chip frame. This low thermal mass device allows the reduction of the power consumption to a value of 90 mW for an array of four MOSFETs at an operating temperature of 170/spl deg/C. Three of the MOSFETs have their gate covered with thin catalytic metals and are used as gas sensors. The fourth one has a standard gate covered with nitride and could act as a reference. The sensor was tested under different gaseous atmospheres and has shown good gas sensitivities to hydrogen and ammonia. The low-power MOSFET array gas sensor presented is suitable for applications in portable gas sensor instruments, electronic noses, and automobiles.

Thermal optimization of micro-hotplates that have a silicon island

We have performed thermal measurements and electrothermal simulations (finite element modelling) with the aim of optimizing the power consumption and the temperature distribution of micro-hotplates for gas-sensing applications. A silicon island was added underneath the membrane of the micro-hotplate to improve the temperature distribution of drop-coated metal-oxide gas sensors and to thermally isolate MOSFET gas sensors. The temperature distribution over the sensing area and the power consumption depend on the silicon island thickness, which was optimized for both applications using the software MEMCAD from Microcosm Technologies. In the optimization process, we considered the thermal conductivity of silicon and dielectric membrane, the operating temperature, the geometry and the area of the heater, and the processing of the silicon island. The thickness of the silicon island was optimized to ensure a good temperature distribution over the gas-sensing area for metal-oxide and MOSFET gas sensors with specific geometry.

Epitaxial piezoelectric MEMS on silicon

This paper reports on the microfabrication and characterization of piezoelectric MEMS structures based on epitaxial Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3 (PZT) thin films grown on silicon wafers. Membranes and cantilevers are realized using a sequence of microfabrication processes optimized for epitaxial oxide layers. Different issues related to the choice of materials and to the influence of the fabrication processes on the properties of the piezoelectric films are addressed. These epitaxial PZT transducers can generate relatively large deflections at low bias voltages in the static mode. Estimations of the piezoelectric coefficient d31 of the epitaxial PZT thin film (100 nm) yield 130 pm V−1. In the dynamic mode, the performance of the epitaxial PZT transducers in terms of the resonant frequency, modal shape and quality factor are examined. An epitaxial PZT/Si cantilever (1000 × 2500 × 40 µm3) resonating in air and in vacuum exhibits a deflection of several microns with quality factors of 169 and 284, respectively. For a 1500 µm diameter membrane, the quality factor is 50 at atmospheric pressure, and this rises to 323 at a pressure of 0.1 mbar. These results indicate the high potential of epitaxial piezoelectric MEMS, which can impact a variety of technological applications.

A micro gas preconcentrator with improved performance for pollution monitoring and explosives detection

This paper presents the optimization of a micro gas preconcentrator based on a micro-channel in porous and non-porous silicon filled with an adequate adsorbent. This micro gas preconcentrator is both applicable in the fields of atmospheric pollution monitoring (Volatil organic compounds--VOCs) and explosives detection (nitroaromatic compounds). Different designs of micro-devices and adsorbent materials have been investigated since these two parameters are of importance in the performances of the micro-device. The optimization of the device and its operation were driven by its future application in outdoor environments. Parameters such as the preconcentration factor, cycle time and the influence of the humidity were considered along the optimization process. As a result of this study, a preconcentrator with a total cycle time of 10 min and the use of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as adsorbent exhibits a good preconcentration factor for VOCs with a limited influence of the humidity. The benefits of using porous silicon to modify the gas desorption kinetics are also investigated.

Micro energy harvesting

The authors address different aspects of energy harvesting at the micro scale with a focus on miniaturized and microfabricated devices. Along the way they provide an overview of the field by compiling knowledge on the design, materials development, device realization and aspects of system integration, covering emerging technologies, as well as applications in power management, energy storage, medicine and low-power system electronics. In addition, they survey the energy harvesting principles based on chemical, thermal, mechanical, as well as hybrid and nanotechnology approaches.

Three-dimensional SOI-MEMS constructed by buckled bridges and vertical comb drive actuator

A new method for realizing three-dimensional structures based on the standard silicon-on-insulator microelectromechanical systems is developed using vertically buckled bridges as structural elements. The vertical displacement, profile of the bridge, and obtainable accuracy of the displacement are examined. Using the lateral dimension control of the bridge and the supporting beams, the vertical positioning is realized based on the planer photolithography. As a demonstration, a vertical comb drive actuator is prepared and its performance is examined.