Background
Metal oxide (MOX) gas sensors are a type of solid-state sensing device capable of transducing the binding of an analyte to a measurable signal in the form of changes in electrical resistance. In order to effectively incorporate MOX sensors into wireless devices for environmental and health monitoring applications, the sensors must be miniature in size, extremely energy efficient, and highly sensitive towards parts-per-billion level volatile organic compounds (VOCs). There are current commercialized MOX sensors that achieve high sensitivity and lower heat dissipation by 20-50%. However, VOCs sensing at ppb level has rarely been reported on sensing films in the range between tens and hundreds of nanometers.
Invention Description
Researchers at Arizona State University have developed a new scalable approach to fabricate thin sensing film structures with drastically improved sensing performance for VOCs. This new film structure allows decrease of energy consumption between 10-20% with the state-of-the-art device structure, and enables new generation of design for potentially 50% decrease in energy consumption. This sensing film promotes stabilization of supported metal nanodots, which serves as a highly effective sensitizer for achieving highly sensitive and selective detection of VOCs.
Potential Applications
- Gas sensing & detection
- Human breath analysis with portable & mobile devices
- Human health monitoring with wearable devices
- Indoor/outdoor air quality monitoring
Benefits and Advantages
- Energy-efficient – notable reduction in power consumption
- Highly sensitive – exhibits heightened sensitivity compared to commercial sensing films
- Stable – better operational stability due to low internal stress and low mass of sensing materials
