Active Sensor Structures for Extreme Environments

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Gas sensors that can operate under extreme conditions are an essential underpinning technology in the battle against climate change, the future deployment of nuclear technology and a whole raft of scientific applications. This project will develop the technology required to realise these sensors and demonstrate their applicability in representative hostile environments. The deliverables will directly benefit UK society by allowing the cost-effective measurement of gas concentrations in locations which are inaccessible using current technology; such as nuclear installations, extra terrestrial planets, active volcanoes and exhaust gases in automotive or aerospace applications. By developing devices fabricated using silicon carbide technology, we intend to demonstrate gas sensing arrays, which will offer the ability to discriminate between the components of a mixture of gases and can operate under extreme conditions (for example in temperatures beyond 600C and high radiation flux). These sensor arrays will also be combined with monolithically fabricated amplifier structures to increase the signal to noise ratio and hence allow the detection of lower concentrations. Such technology will allow closed loop control for the first time of many industrial and utility technologies - increasing efficiency and safety.