Micro-reactors for characterization of nanostructure-based sensors

作者：Savu R^*; Silveira J V; Flacker A; Vaz A R; Joanni E; Pinto A C; Gobbi A L; Santos T E A; Rotondaro A L P; Moshkalev S A

来源：Review of Scientific Instruments, 2012, 83(5): 055104.

DOI：10.1063/1.4709495

Fabrication and testing of micro-reactors for the characterization of nanosensors is presented in this work. The reactors have a small volume (100 mu l) and are equipped with gas input/output channels. They were machined from a single piece of kovar in order to avoid leaks in the system due to additional welding. The contact pins were electrically insulated from the body of the reactor using a borosilicate sealing glass and the reactor was hermetically sealed using a lid and an elastomeric o-ring. One of the advantages of the reactor lies in its simple assembly and ease of use with any vacuum/gas system, allowing the connection of more than one device. Moreover, the lid can be modified in order to fit a window for in situ optical characterization. In order to prove its versatility, carbon nanotube-based sensors were tested using this micro-reactor. The devices were fabricated by depositing carbon nanotubes over 1 mu m thick gold electrodes patterned onto Si/SiO2 substrates. The sensors were tested using oxygen and nitrogen atmospheres, in the pressure range between 10(-5) and 10(-1) mbar. The small chamber volume allowed the measurement of fast sensor characteristic times, with the sensors showing good sensitivity towards gas and pressure as well as high reproducibility.

• 出版日期2012-5