SiC-FET Sensors for Selective and Quantitative Detection of VOCs Down to Ppb Level

Abstract

With the increased interest in development of cheap, simple means for indoor air quality monitoring, and specifically in relation to certain well-known pollutant substances with adverse health effects even at very low concentrations, such as different Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), this contribution aims at providing an overview of the development status of the silicon carbide field effect transistor (SiC FET) based sensor platform for ppb level detection of VOCs. Optimizing the transducer design, the gas-sensitive material(s) composition, structure and processing, its mode of operation - applying temperature cycled operation in conjunction with multivariate data evaluation - and long-term performance it has been possible to demonstrate promising results regarding the sensor technology's ability to achieve both single-digit ppb sensitivity towards e.g. naphthalene as well as selective detection of individual substances in a mixture of different VOCs.