Exploring the performance of palladium gated – SiGe channel – Polarity controllable–FET for hydrogen gas monitoring applications

Abstract

In the current work, a silicon-germanium (SiGe) channel-based Polarity Controllable FET (SiGe-PC-FET) has been investigated as a potential candidate in hydrogen gas sensing applications. The change in pressure of hydrogen gas molecules alters the work-function of Palladium gate metal which results in shift in electrical characteristics of the device. Further, the change in temperature along with mole-fraction of Ge in SiGe channel also plays a crucial role in determining the performance of gas sensor and thus, an exhaustive analysis in terms of various characteristics such as energy-band, surface potential, IDS – VCG and IDS – VDS has been carried out for a wide temperature range. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis has been carried out in terms of drain-current, ION/OFF, transconductance and drain-conductance parameters at different pressures and temperatures. It has been demonstrated that even at elevated temperatures, the proposed gas sensor continues to offer improved sensitivity for a wide range of pressure values.