Active Sensor Structures for Extreme Environments

可以在极端条件下工作的气体传感器是应对气候变化、未来部署核技术和大量科学应用的重要基础技术。该项目将开发实现这些传感器所需的技术，并证明它们在具有代表性的敌对环境中的适用性。交付成果将使英国社会直接受益，因为它允许在使用当前技术无法到达的位置进行具有成本效益的气体浓度测量；例如核设施、地外行星、活火山以及汽车或航空航天应用中的废气。通过开发使用碳化硅技术制造的设备，我们打算展示气体传感阵列，它将提供区分混合气体成分的能力，并可以在极端条件下工作（例如在温度超过600摄氏度和高辐射通量）。这些传感器阵列还将与单片制造的放大器结构相结合，以增加信噪比，从而允许检测较低浓度。这种技术将使许多工业和公用事业技术首次实现闭环控制，从而提高效率和安全性。

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.