A porous silicon carbide ammonia sensor

Abstract

Large scale industries like automobile, agriculture and poultry etc.. are in the need of a reliable technology for gas sensors. Till date various types of sensors have been developed for gas applications but the SiC gas sensing has been a recent trend. With increase study in MEMS technology, the SiC material is gaining importance for sensor applications. Although, Silicon Carbide has been the epitome of research in the field of semiconductors in past couple of years due to its commendable properties and resilience. And being one of most used semiconductor in the field of sensor applications lately, an extensive research is being done and proved that Silicon Carbide is one the best suited sensor material. But very little is known about the possibilities of porous silicon carbide and its applications. Since there is no extensive research available on porous Silicon carbide, this thesis aims at it to show how silicon carbide can be made porous, and the role of it in the gas sensor application. An in-depth study of the silicon carbide including its features, issues, and possible advantages and disadvantages. A detailed procedure on design and fabrication is presented along with various models and its parameters used to fabricate the sensor device. The design parameters, technical and economic feasibility of the device are discussed using the results from the experiments.