AVS 49th International Symposium
    Homeland Security Wednesday Sessions
       Session HS+SS+BI-WeA

Paper HS+SS+BI-WeA9
A New Nanoscale Platform for Gas Sensor Applications

Wednesday, November 6, 2002, 4:40 pm, Room C-209

Session: Chemical and Biological Detection
Presenter: M. Moskovits, University of California Santa Barbara
Authors: A. Kolmakov, University of California Santa Barbara
Y. Zhang, University of California Santa Barbara
G. Cheng, University of California Santa Barbara
M. Moskovits, University of California Santa Barbara
Correspondent: Click to Email
The application of metal and semiconductor nanowires as solid state gas sensors has been an area of tremendous promise currently limited by challenges related to nanowire growth and device fabrication. We present an approach for fabricating individual and arrays of nanowires of a variety of metals and metal oxides with tunable, uniform diameters and length in the range of 10-100 nm and 5-200 micrometers, respectively, configured for gas sensing application. The materials successfully employed include Pd, Ag, Cu, Pb, PbO, CuO and SnO@sub2@. Arrays of nanowires were fabricated in hexagonal close-packed nanochannel alumina templates. Electrodes deposited on the surfaces of these nanostructures provides electrical contacts which with the incorporated heaters determines the device architecture. Based on this method we explored the electronic and structural properties of Pd and SnO@sub2@ nanowires using HRTEM, XPS and Auger spectroscopy. Chemical reactivity and gas sensitivity toward hydrogen and carbon monoxide of individual and assemblies of ca 10@super9@ Pd and SnO@sub2@ nanowires were assessed using conductivity measurements and TPD analysis. This approach constitutes a novel platform for micro- and nanosensor application.