MEMBRANES FOR CHEMICAL SENSORS

Recent trends in the development of membranes for silicon-based chemical sensors are reviewed. The sensitization of the gate dielectric of pH ISFETs has been chosen as an illustrative working example and recent results are analysed in the three main identified directions of research: deposition and grafting of sensitive membranes; ion implantation; and direct grafting of ionophores on a dielectric surface. This paper shows that the formation of highly stable covalent bonds between the materials used in the fabrication of sensors is more and more widely used as it becomes the most promising means for fabricating efficient sensors compatible with IC technology.