09 - Silicon Carbide Sensor Systems for Harsh Environment Market Applications

M. Andersson, B. Hammarlund, A. Lloyd Spetz, D. Puglisi, COST Association, Avenue Louise 149, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
2015
The silicon carbide (SiC) processing technology for 4 inch wafers, with 6 inch in the planning phase, has reached matureness of mass production. Field effect devices based on silicon carbide, SiC-FET, employing a catalytic metal such as porous iridium (Ir) as the gate material change the current-voltage characteristics due to gas interactions with the gate metallization. Several batches of sensor devices have improved the device performance and gas response characteristics and, together with
more » ... ortant developments on packaging of the sensors, electronics and software, sensor systems are nowadays commercially available. Here we report on Ir-gated SiC-FETs for indoor and outdoor air quality monitoring and control applications. In particular, we focus on the highest sensitivity of such sensors to ultra-low concentrations of three hazardous volatile organic compounds, i.e., benzene, naphthalene, and formaldehyde, which are commonly found in indoor environments and are considered carcinogenic already at the low parts per billion concentration range.
doi:10.5162/4eunetair2015/09 fatcat:72jtxtkcgjdslarngyzur4lxsi