Fully integrated MEMS TGA device for inspection of nano-masses

TGA is employed to determine degradation temperatures, absorbed moisture content, level of inorganic and organic components in milligram amount of materials. When such amounts of sample material are too dangerous to handle or not available MEMS TGA devices are a valuable option. To realize a MEMS TGA device a number of challenges arise: the decoupling of the sample mass and temperature dependence of the resonance frequency of the device; the mass and the temperature calibration of the device. In this thesis, these issues are addressed and a new MEMS TGA device is presented.ECTMElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

Suspended AlGaN/GaN HEMT NO₂ Gas Sensor Integrated with Micro-heater

We developed an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) sensor with a tungsten trioxide (WO3) nano-film modified gate for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) detection. The device has a suspended circular membrane structure and an integrated micro-heater. The thermal characteristic of the Platinum (Pt) micro-heater and the HEMT self-heating are studied and modeled. A significant detection is observed for exposure to a low concentration of 100 ppb NO2 /N2 at ∼300 °C. For a 1 ppm NO2 gas, a high sensitivity of 1.1% with a response (recovery) time of 88 second (132 second) is obtained. The effects of relative humidity and temperature on the gas sensor response properties in air are also studied. Based on the excellent sensing performance and inherent advantages of low power consumption, the investigated sensor provides a viable alternative high performance NO2 sensing applications. It is suitable for continuous environmental monitoring system or high temperature applications.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Analyzing Protein Denaturation using Fast Differential Scanning Calorimetry

This paper investigates the possibility to measure protein denaturation with Fast Differential Scanning Calorimetry (FDSC). Cancer can be diagnosed by measuring protein denaturation in blood plasma using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). FDSC can reduce diagnosis time from hours to minutes, requiring significantly smaller sample quantities. To show the feasibility of measuring protein denaturation with FDSC, protein denaturation in human hair is measured. We have been able to observe the phenomena of water evaporation and pyrolysis as they were measured in hair by DSC, however, the protein denaturation peaks are largely obscured by the water evaporation and pyrolysis phenomena, as the current set up only allows dry measurements.MicroelectronicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

Characterization of an Acetone Detector based on a Suspended WO3-Gate AlGaN/GaN HEMT Integrated with Micro-heater

A suspended AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) sensor with a tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) nanofilm modified gate was microfabricated and characterized for ppm-level acetone gas detection. The sensor featured a suspended circular membrane structure and an integrated microheater to select the optimum working temperature. High working temperature (300°C) increased the sensitivity to up to 25.7% and drain current change I DS to 0.31 mA for 1000-ppm acetone in dry air. The transient characteristics of the sensor exhibited stable operation and good repeatability at different temperatures. For 1000-ppm acetone concentration, the measured response and recovery times reduced from 148 and 656 to 48 and 320 s as the temperature increased from 210 °C to 300 °C. The sensitivity to 1000-ppm acetone gas was significantly greater than the sensitivity to ethanol, ammonia, and CO gases, showing low cross-sensitivity. These results demonstrate a promising step toward the realization of an acetone sensor based on the suspended AlGaN/GaN HEMTs.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Temperature dependence of the resonance frequency of thermogravimetric devices

This paper investigates the temperature dependence of the resonance frequency of thermogravimetric (TG) devices for tip heating over the temperature range of View the MathML source 25–600?C. The resonance frequency of a fabricated TG device shows to be temperature independent for tip heating up to about View the MathML source600?C. This allows a direct TG measurement without any temperature calibration of the resonance frequency.MicroelectronicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

Pt-AlGaN/GaN HEMT-sensor layout optimization for enhancement of hydrogen detection

This paper reports on the layout optimization of Pt-AlGaN/GaN HEMT-sensors for enhancing hydrogen sensor performance. Sensors with gate width and length ratios Wg/Lg from 0.25 to 10 were designed, fabricated and tested for the detection of hydrogen gas at 200 °C. Sensitivity, sensing current variation and transient response are directly related to the sensor gate electrode Wg/Lg ratio. The obtained results demonstrated a 217 % increase in sensitivity and 4630 % increase in sensing current variation at 500 ppm H2 for a Wg/Lg from 0.25 to 10. In addition, the detection limit was lowered to 5 ppm. Transient characteristics demonstrated faster sensor response to H2, but slower recovery rates with increasing ratio.Accepted author manuscriptElectronic Components, Technology and Material

Precision Recess of AlGaN/GaN with Controllable Etching Rate Using ICP-RIE Oxidation and Wet Etching

A method for highly controllable etching of AlGaN/GaN for the fabrication of high sensitivity HEMT based sensors is developed. The process consists of cyclic oxidation of nitride with O2 plasma using ICP-RIE etcher followed by wet etching of the oxidized layer. Previously reported cyclic oxidation-based GaN etching obtained very slow etching rate (∼0.38nm/cycle), limited by oxidation depth. The proposed approach allows fine control of the oxidation enabling the formation of accurately controlled recess of very thin (20∼30nm) barrier layers. With optimized power settings, etch rates from ∼0.6 to ∼11nm/cycle were obtained. AFM results did not show any increase in surface roughness after etching, indicating that surface quality of the etched layer was not affected by the etching process.Beijing Delft Institute of Intelligent Science and TechnologyElectronic Components, Technology and Material

System in package (SiP) technology: Fundamentals, design and applications

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a novel 3D system-in-package (SiP) approach. This new packaging approach is based on stacked silicon submount technology. As demonstrators, a smart lighting module and a sensor systems were successfully developed by using the fabrication and assembly process described in this paper. Design/methodology/approach: The stacked module consists of multiple layers of silicon submounts which can be designed and fabricated in parallel. The 3D stacking design offers higher silicon efficiency and miniaturized package form factor. This platform consists of silicon submount design and fabrication, module packaging, system assembling and testing and analyzing. Findings: In this paper, a smart light emitting diode system and sensor system will be described based on stacked silicon submount and 3D SiP technology. The integrated smart lighting module meets the optical requirements of general lighting applications. The developed SiP design is also implemented into the miniaturization of particular matter sensors and gas sensor detection system. Originality/value: SiP has great potential of integrating multiple components into a single compact package, which has potential implementation in intelligent applications.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material

Electro-thermal analysis of MEMS microhotplates for the optimization of temperature uniformity

This paper presents a microhotplate working up to 1200 °C with improved temperature uniformity by optimizing the geometry of the thin-film resistor. By varying the linewidth of meandering resistive tracks, heat is generated in such a way to have more homogenous temperature distribution. The microhotplates are fabricated using molybdenum as conductive material for the heater. Infrared thermal mapping shows that the temperature variation over the heated area is reduced from an initial 13% to 4%.MicroelectronicsElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

Hydrogen sulfide detection properties of Pt-gated AlGaN/GaN HEMT-sensor

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT)-based sensors with catalytic platinum gate were micro-fabricated on commercially available epitaxial wafers and extensively characterized for ppm level hydrogen sulfide (H2S) detection for industrial safety applications. High operating temperature above 150 °C enabled large signal variation (ΔIDS) of 2.17 and sensing response of 112% for 90 ppm H2S in dry air as well as high stability across a wide range of biasing conditions. Transient response measurements demonstrated stable operation, superb response and recovery, with good repeatability. The measured sensing signal rise (fall) times reduced from 476 (1316) s to 219 (507) s when the temperature was increased from 200 °C to 250 °C. The response to 90 ppm H2S was 4.5x larger than to H2 and the device showed stable operation over an extended time period.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Electronic Components, Technology and Material