Silicon Carbide Micro-Devices for Combustion Gas Sensing Under Harsh Conditions

Abstract

A sensor based on the wide bandgap semiconductor, silicon carbide (SiC), has been developed for the detection of combustion products in power plant environments. The sensor is a catalytic gate field effect device that can detect hydrogen containing species in chemically reactive, high temperature environments. Robust metallization and electrical contacting techniques have been developed for device operation at elevated temperatures. To characterize the time response of the sensor responses in the millisecond range, a conceptually new apparatus has been built. Software has been developed to cope with the requirements of fast sensor control and data recording. In addition user friendly software has been developed to facilitate use of the SiC sensors for industrial process control applications.3