Fully automated, gas sensing, and electronic parameter measurement setup for miniaturized nanoparticle gas sensors

In this study, a measurement setup has been designed and fabricated for the measurement of gas sensor characteristics and electronic parameters of nanostructured thin layers in the temperature range from room temperature to 450 degreesC in controlled gas environments. The setup consists of: (i) a gas environment chamber, (ii) a specially designed substrate and substrate holder, and (iii) control, supply, and measurement electronics. The buried geometry of the contacts is specially designed for the deposition of nanoparticles from the gas phase to guarantee uniform thin layers, and the setup can be used to make measurement on high resistivity (10(10) Omega cm) nanoparticle samples. The gas inlet, operating temperature, and electronic control of the measurement system are automated by means of a personal computer. Coupling the measurements of interdependent gas sensing and electronic parameters at identical conditions, in a single setup encompassing a wide range of sensing gas levels and substrate temperatures, makes this system ideally suited for carrying out multiple measurements required for optimizing sensor configuration and understanding the size-dependent properties of nanoparticle sensors. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.