Hugo Nguyen

Fabrication of highly sensitive and selective H2 gas sensor based on SnO2 thin film sensitized with microsized Pd islands

Ultrasensitive and selective hydrogen gas sensor is vital component in safe use of hydrogen that requires a detection and alarm of leakage. Herein, we fabricated a H2 sensing devices by adopting a simple design of planar-type structure sensor in which the heater, electrode, and sensing layer were patterned on the front side of a silicon wafer. The SnO2 thin film-based sensors that were sensitized with microsized Pd islands were fabricated at a wafer-scale by using a sputtering system combined with micro-electronic techniques. The thicknesses of SnO2 thin film and microsized Pd islands were optimized to maximize the sensing performance of the devices. The optimized sensor could be used for monitoring hydrogen gas at low concentrations of 25-250 ppm, with a linear dependence to H2 concentration and a fast response and recovery time. The sensor also showed excellent selectivity for monitoring H2 among other gases, such as CO, NH3, and LPG, and satisfactory characteristics for ensuring safety in handling hydrogen. The hydrogen sensing characteristics of the sensors sensitized with Pt and Au islands were also studied to clarify the sensing mechanisms.

Imprinting layer specific magnetic anisotropies in amorphous multilayers

We demonstrate how layer specific in-plane magnetic anisotropy can be imprinted in amorphous multilayers. The anisotropy is obtained by growing the magnetic layers in the presence of an external field and the anisotropy direction can thereby be arbitrarily chosen for each of the magnetic layers. We used Co68Fe24Zr8 and Al70Zr30 layers as building blocks for demonstrating this effect. The imprinting is expected to be obtainable for a wide range of amorphous materials when grown at temperatures below the magnetic ordering temperature.

A highly integratable silicon thermal gas flow sensor

Thermal flow sensors have been designed, fabricated, and characterized. All bulk material in these devices is silicon so that they are integratable in silicon-based microsystems. To mitigate heat losses and to allow for use of corrosive gases, the heating and sensing thin film titanium/platinum elements, injecting and extracting heat, respectively, from the flow, are placed outside the channel on top of a membrane consisting of alternating layers of stress-balancing silicon dioxide and silicon nitride. For the fabrication, an unconventional bond surface protection method using sputter-deposited aluminum instead of thermal silicon dioxide is used in the process steps prior to silicon fusion bonding. A method for performing lift-off on top of the transparent membrane was also developed. The sensors, measuring 9.5???9.5?mm2, are characterized in calorimetric and time-of-flight modes with nitrogen flow rates between 0 sccm and 300 sccm. The maximum calorimetric sensor flow signal and sensitivity are 0.95 mV and 29 ?V sccm?1, respectively, with power consumption less than 40?mW. The time-of-flight mode is found to have a wider detectable flow range compared with calorimetric mode, and the time of flight measured indicates a response time of the sensor in the millisecond range. The design and operation of a sensor with high sensitivity and large flow range are discussed. A key element of this discussion is the configuration of the array of heaters and gauges along the channel to obtain different sensitivities and extend the operational range. This means that the sensor can be tailored to different flow ranges.

Ethanol-Sensing Characteristics of Nanostructured ZnO: Nanorods, Nanowires, and Porous Nanoparticles

The morphology and crystalline size of metal oxide-sensing materials are believed to have a strong influence on the performance of gas sensors. In this paper, we report a comparative study on the ethanol-sensing characteristics of ZnO nanorods, nanowires, and porous nanoparticles. The porous ZnO nanoparticles were prepared using a simple thermal decomposition of a sheet-like hydrozincite, whereas the nanorods and nanowires were grown by hydrothermal and chemical vapor deposition methods, respectively. The morphology and crystal structure of the synthesized materials were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction. Ethanol gas-sensing characteristics were systematically studied at different temperatures. Our findings show that for ethanol gas-sensing applications, ZnO porous nanoparticles exhibited the best sensitivity, followed by the nanowires and nanorods. Gas-sensing properties were also examined with respect to the role of crystal growth orientation, crystal size, and porosity.

A solder sealing method for paraffin-filled microcavities

Demonstrated and investigated here is a method to seal microfluidic systems by soldering. As a particularly difficult case of growing importance, the sealing of openings contaminated with paraffin wax was studied. Solder paste, screen printed on a metallized silicon substrate, was melted locally through application of 6.5?10 V to a 5 ? copper film resistor for a few seconds and was found able to drive an intermediate layer of paraffin away and seal a 0.2 mm diameter circular via by wetting a surrounding copper pad. Although verified to be robust, the process did result in failing seals on excessive heating because of consumption of the pads. Correctly performed, the technique provided a seal at least withstanding a pressure of 8 bar for 8 h at 85 ?C.

Miniaturized submersible for exploration of small aqueous environments

Remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) are commonly used for sub-surface exploration. However, multi-functional ROVs tend to be fairly large, while preferred small and compact ROVs suffer from limited functionality. The Deeper Access, Deeper Understanding (DADU) project aims to develop a small submersible concept using miniaturization technologies to enable a high functionality. An operator is able to maneuver the vehicle with five degrees of freedom using eight small thrusters, while a set of accelerometers and gyros monitor the orientation of the submersible. A single fiber optic cable will connect the submersible to a control station and enable simultaneous data and command transfers. Rechargeable battery packs provide power to the submersibles subsystems during operation. These will be rechargeable through the fiber connection. A forward looking camera is aided by a laser topography measurement system, where distances, sizes and shapes of objects in view can be determined to within 0.5 cm. For murkier environments, or when a more extensive mapping of the surroundings is needed, the small high-frequency side-scanning sonar can be used. Salinity calculations of the water will be available through measurements of the conductivity, temperature and depth. Samples of water and particles within it will be enabled through a water sampler with an enriching capability. Flow sensors will be able to measure the water movement around the submersibles hull. The submersible and its subsystems are under continuous development. The vehicle itself, and its subsystems as stand-alone instruments, will enable the exploration of previously unreachable submerged environments, such as the sub-glacial lakes found in Iceland and Antarctica, or other submerged small environments, such as pipe and cave systems.

Etch-stop technique for patterning of tunnel junctions for a magnetic field sensor

Spin-dependent tunnelling devices, e.g. magnetic random access memories and highly sensitive tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors, often consist of a large number of magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) of uniform quality over the whole device. The uniformity and yield of the fabrication of such a device are therefore very important. A major source of yield loss is the short-circuiting of junctions by redeposition of etch residues. This can be prevented by terminating of the etch in the typically 1 nm thick tunnelling barrier. Here, electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis for monitoring the etching semi-continuously is proposed. The fabrication scheme employs Ar ion milling for etching the MTJs, and photoelectron spectroscopy for analysing the composition of the etched surface in situ. Junctions etched either to or through the barrier were used for this. The quality of the etch stop was investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and it was confirmed that the etch could be stopped in the MgO barrier. The TEM imaging also showed clear signs of redeposition. Such redeposition was attributed to being partly caused by the reduction of the TMR ratio of the junctions etched through the barrier, which was only 15% as compared with 150% for junctions etched to the barrier. Also, the latter junctions exhibited 2.7 times less noise in the low-frequency regime, resulting in a 27 times improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio with the etch stop. The barrier also proved effective in protecting the bottom contact from oxidation during the capping and contacting of the junctions.

Ga Implantation in a MgO-based Magnetic Tunnel Junction With

A Co₆₀Fe₂₀B₂₀-based tunneling magnetoresistance multilayer stack with an MgO barrier has been exposed to 30 keV Ga ions at doses corresponding to ion etching and metal deposition in a focused ion beam (FIB) instrument, to study the applicability of these processes to magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) fabrication. MTJs were fabricated and irradiated to investigate how the exposures affected their coercivity and magnetoresistance. Elemental depth profiles, acquired using electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis, showed that Ga gathered in and around the two Co₆₀Fe₂₀B₂₀ layers. Correlated with the results of the magnetic measurements, this Ga presence was found to cause a reduction of magnetoresistance and an increase in coercivity. Quantitatively, a dose of 10¹⁴Ga⁺·cm^-2 reduced the magnetoresistance by 60%, whereas a dose of 10¹⁵Ga⁺·cm^-2 reduced the magnetoresistance by 67% and also increased the coercivity by 2 mT and changed the dipole coupling between the sensing and the pinning layers by 1.6 mT. The latter was attributed to an imbalance in the synthetic antiferromagnetic structure, where the stacks Ru spacer served as an implantation barrier. The magnetoresistance was lost at a dose of 10¹⁶Ga⁺·cm^-2. Annealing reduced the content of Ga around the magnetic layers but also caused diffusion of Cu from one of the layers in the stack. Apart from the observation and explanation of implantation damages in the multilayer, this work concludes on the applicability of FIB processes for prototyping of MTJs.

\hbox{Co}_{60}\hbox{Fe}_{20}\hbox{B}_{20}

Submicron-sized magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are most often fabricated by time-consuming and expensive e-beam lithography. From a research and development perspective, a short lead time is one of the major concerns. Here, a rapid process scheme for fabrication of micrometre size MTJs with focused ion beam processes is presented. The magnetic properties of the fabricated junctions are investigated in terms of magnetic domain structure, tunnelling magnetoresistance (TMR) and coercivity, with extra attention given to the effect of Ga implantation from the ion beam. In particular, the effect of the implantation on the minimum junction size and the magnetization of the sensing layer are studied. In the latter case, magnetic force microscopy and micromagnetic simulations, with the object-oriented micromagnetic framework (OOMMF), are used to study the magnetization reversal. The fabricated junctions show considerable coercivity both along their hard and easy axes. Interestingly, the sensing layer exhibits two remanent states: one with a single and one with a double domain. The hard axis TMR loop has kinks at about ±20 mT which is attributed to a non-uniform lateral coercivity, where the rim of the junctions, which is subjected to Ga implantation from the flank of the ion beam, is more coercive than the unirradiated centre. The width of the coercive rim is estimated to be 160 nm from the hard axis TMR loop. The easy axis TMR loop shows more coercivity than an unirradiated junction and, this too, is found to stem from the coercive rim, as seen from the simulations. It is concluded that the process scheme has three major advantages. Firstly, it has a high lateral and depth resolution—the depth resolution is enhanced by end point detection—and is capable of making junctions of sizes down towards the limit set by the width of the irradiated rim. Secondly, the most delicate process steps are performed in the unbroken vacuum enabling the use of materials prone to forming oxides in the MTJ film stack. Thirdly, the scheme is both uncomplicated and quick and makes it possible to go from design to characterization in a few hours.

Layers

A 2-D thermal velocity microsensor for use as a navigational aid and for flow measurements on a miniaturized submersible is developed in this paper. The sensor with nickel heater and temperature sensors on a Pyrex substrate, designed for mounting on the outside of the submersible hull, is fabricated and tested in an application-like environment and proven to be able to measure water speed from zero to 40 mm/s with a power consumption less than 15 mW and determine the flow direction with an error less than ±8°. Finite Element Analysis is used to investigate design and operation parameters and possible biofouling effects on the sensor signal. The effect on shape and orientation of the sensors mounting surface is also studied.