A triple-layered PMMA/Ni64Zr36/PDMS hydrogen gas sensor using hydrogen permeable alloy and flexible polymer layers is fabricated through spin coating and DC-magnetron sputtering. PDMS(polydimethylsiloxane) is used as a flexible substrate and PMMA(polymethylmethacrylate) thin film is deposited onto the Ni64Zr36 alloy layer to give a high hydrogenselectivity to the sensor. The measured hydrogen sensing ability and response time of the fabricated sensor at high hydrogen concentration of 99.9 % show a 20 % change in electrical resistance, which is superior to conventional Pd-based hydrogen sensors, which are difficult to use in high hydrogen concentration environments. At a hydrogen concentration of 5 %, the resistance of electricity is about 1.4 %, which is an electrical resistance similar to that of the Pd77Ag23 sensor. Despite using low cost Ni64Zr36 alloy as the main sensing element, performance similar to that of existing Pd sensors is obtained in a highly concentrated hydrogen atmosphere. By improving the sensitivity of the hydrogen detection through optimization including of the thickness of each layer and the composition of Ni-Zr alloy thin film, the proposed Ni-Zr-based hydrogen sensor can replace Pd-based hydrogen sensors.

In this study, highly sensitive hydrogen micro gas sensors of the multi-layer and micro-heater type were designed and fabricated using the micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) process and palladium catalytic metal. The dimensions of the fabricated hydrogen gas sensor were about 5mm×4mm and the sensing layer of palladium metal was deposited in the middle of the device. The sensing palladium films were modified to be nano-honeycomb and nano-hemisphere structures using an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template and nano-sized polystyrene beads, respectively. The sensitivities (Rs), which are the ratio of the relative resistance were significantly improved and reached levels of 0.783% and 1.045 % with 2,000 ppm H2 at 70˚C for nano-honeycomb and nano-hemisphere structured Pd films, respectively, on the other hand, the sensitivity was 0.638% for the plain Pd thin film. The improvement of sensitivities for the nano-honeycomb and nano-hemisphere structured Pd films with respect to the plain Pd-thin film was thought to be due to the nanoporous surface topographies of AAO and nano-sized polystyrene beads.

Titanium dioxide thin films were fabricated as hydrogen sensors and its sensing properties were tested. The titanium was deposited on a SiO2/Si substrate by the DC magnetron sputtering method and was oxidized at an optimized temperature of 850˚C in air. The titanium film originally had smooth surface morphology, but the film agglomerated to nano-size grains when the temperature reached oxidation temperature where it formed titanium oxide with a rutile structure. The oxide thin film formed by grains of tens of nanometers size also showed many short cracks and voids between the grains. The response to 1% hydrogen gas was ~2×106 at the optimum sensing temperature of 200˚C, and ~103 at room temperature. This extremely high sensitivity of the thin film to hydrogen was due partly to the porous structure of the nano-sized sensing particles. Other sensor properties were also examined.

Pd게이트 MOS센서의 수소검지특성에 Pd 박막의 증착조건이 미치는 영향에 대해서 조사였다. rf power의 증가와 증착온도의 증가는 모두 센서의 감도와 초기반응속도를 감소시켰으며 rf power의 변화보다는 증착온도의 변화에 의한 효과가 현저하였다. 절연막을 SixNy /SiO2로 대신한 결과 SiO2에서돠는 달리 시간이 지남에 따라 평탄대역전압이 여러 단계로 변화하는 양상을 보였다. rf power, 증착온도, 기판의 변화가 MOS 센서의 감도나 초기반응속도등의 센서특성에 영향을 미친다는 사실을 확인할 수 있었다.