Development of Nanomechanical Multisensory Arrays for Detection of Hazardous Volatile Materials and Gases

A Si-based miniatured nanomechanical multisensory array has been developed to detect the hazardous complex gases. Four sensors with four functional polymers have been integrated on one chip for multi-detector based on pattern recognition. The unique suspended-type design and the uses of multifunctional polymers of the sensor arrays translate the physical parameters of adsorption to nanomechanical strain, which generates stress on piezoresistive sensors and produces electrical signals. As different gas molecules generate different degrees of physical strain, various sensors for a wide range of target gases can be designed. In particular, the highly responsive sensors to different volatile materials and hazardous gases are demonstrated.