Microfabrication of Metal Oxide Based Gas Sensors

Metal Oxide (MOX) materials have attracted a great interest for sensing applications in both chemiresistive and mass sensitive (QCM; quartz crystal microbalance, SAW; surface acoustic wave) types due to their low cost, easy production, and high sensor response against wide range of gases. However, device fabrication is a key issue for the development of sensor technologies in terms of miniaturization, portability, and power consumption. Recently, researchers have been focused on monolithic sensor device platforms which consist of interdigital electrodes (IDEs) and a microheater. They are controlled electronically on the same chip. In this study, we fabricated a sensor device platform by microfabrication techniques. Then, we coated fabricated sensor platforms with vanadium oxide (V2O5) thin film as a gas sensing layer by RF sputtering for the testing of microchips. Structural and morphological characterization of sensing layer was performed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Sensing properties against different alcohol groups such as ethanol and isopropanol were discussed.