CAREER: Micromachined Surface Conduction Tunneling Gas Sensors

本文提出一种基于表面传导隧道机制的新型气体传感器，以解决上述半导体气体传感器的问题。本文提出的气体传感器技术是基于金属氧化物半导体薄膜中纳米间隙的表面传导隧道机制。由于所提出的传感器测量电流，信号可以被放大以增加灵敏度。它还允许通过测量隧道阈值电压来检测每种气体。教育计划的重点是PI在五个关键领域的活动：(1)在多学科环境中指导和培训研究生，使其成为具有在纳米材料和纳米技术领域发现和发展新思想的背景和技能的创造性和独立研究人员；(2)鼓励和支持本科生和高中生参与研究；(3)通过高中外展计划招收和保留高中学生、少数民族和妇女参加工程教育；(4)通过增加新的研究生课程和短期课程来加强材料工程课程；(5)通过合作、团队合作和多样性来发展西密歇根大学的研究活动。该研究计划旨在获得地区大学，政府实验室（即Argonne国家实验室）以及日本和丹麦的国际机构在初始阶段的技术/实验室援助。PI还打算与地区汽车工业建立未来的学术和工业伙伴关系。

Within this proposal, a novel gas sensor based on the surface conduction tunneling mechanism will be developed to address the above issues of semiconductor- based gas sensors.The proposed gas sensor technology is based on the surface conduction tunneling mechanism through the nanogaps in the metal oxide semiconductor thin films. Since the proposed sensor measures the current, the signal can be amplified to increase the sensitivity. It also allows detection of each gas by measuring the tunneling threshold voltage.The education plan focuses on the PI's activities in five key areas: (1) mentoring and training of graduate students in a multidisciplinary environment to become creative and independent researchers who have the background and skills to discover and develop new ideas in the areas of nanomaterials and nanotechnology, (2) encouragement and support for undergraduate and high school students research participation, (3) recruitment and retention of high school students, minorities and women in engineering education through a high school outreach program, (4) enhancement of the Materials Engineering curriculum by the addition of a new graduate course and a short course, and (5) development of research activities at Western Michigan University by collaboration, team work, and diversity. This research plan is designed to get technical/laboratory assistance from regional universities, government laboratories (i.e. Argonne National Laboratory), and international institutions in Japan and Denmark at the initial stage. The PI also intends to reach out to the regional automobile industries for future academic and industrial partnerships.