Simulations of Methane and Acetone Detector Based on Pristine Graphene Nano-sheet Over Intrinsic 4H-SiC Substrate

Abstract

Nowadays graphene and its derivatives have gained the interest of researchers due to their exceptional optical, electrical and chemical attributes. They have emerged as potential candidates for electronics and optoelectronics sensor applications. Graphene is highly sensitive to any physical change in its surrounding environment that makes it a suitable candidate for sensing a large variety of organic and inorganic molecules. Volatile and flammable organic compounds like acetone and methane can lead to fatal accidents in domestic and industrial environments. In this article, nanoscale simulations of graphene nano-sheet based methane and acetone detector have been done. Intrinsic 4H-SiC has been used as a substrate for graphene nano-sheet. These simulations have been carried out in QuantumWise Atomistix Toolkit (ATK) software that is an atomic scale semiconductor device simulator. A noticeable change in the density of states (DOS) and electrical conductivity through the device has been observed in the presence of target molecules. This change in electrical conductivity through this nano-scale device can be used as a detection signal for methane and acetone molecules to develop a physical sensor.