Use of metaloxide, porous silicon and carbon nanotube gas sensors for safety and security

Abstract

There is an urgent need to detect explosives, dangerous and toxic gases for general safety of people at home and at work - which may be office, industry, mines, and transport or even battle-field. We investigated different semiconductor gas sensors which were manufactured elsewhere. Most of these gas sensors are made of metal-oxide and do not show appreciable response to gases without pre-heating, which results in increased cost due to power consumption and poor response and recovery of sensors thus complicates their safe use. Therefore main strategy in the manufacture of metal-oxide sensors is to decrease their working temperature and increase in the performance. Results of development of different gas sensors in Yerevan State University (YSU) are reported by using very promising sensors made from porous silicon and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) without pre-heating. The sensors reported here overcome such shortcomings. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.