Silicon nanowires for sequence-specific DNA sensing: device fabrication and simulation

Highly sensitive, sequence-specific and label-free DNA sensors were demonstrated by monitoring the electronic conductance of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) with chemically bonded single-stranded (ss) DNA or peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probe molecules. For a 12-mer oligonucleotide, tens of pM of target ss-DNA in solution was recognized when the complementary DNA oligonucleotide probe was attached to the SiNW surfaces. In contrast, ss-DNA samples of ×1000 concentration with a single-base mismatch produce only a weak signal due to nonspecific binding. In order to gain a physical understanding of the change in conductance of the SiNWs with the attachment of the DNA targets and the probes, process and device simulations of the two-dimensional cross sections of the SiNWs were performed. The simulations explained the width dependence of the SiNW conductance and provided understanding to improve the sensor performance. PACS 85.35.-p; 87.83.+a; 07.07.Df     

碱液修饰对硅纳米线阵列电池光谱响应的影响

采用金属催化化学腐蚀法在p型(100)硅基底上制备了硅纳米阵列,然后用碱溶液对纳米线阵列进行修饰。分别研究了碱液修饰对硅纳米线阵列形貌、光电性质的影响。研究表明: 与绒面及纳米线阵列相比,碱修饰30 s硅纳米线阵列的表面分散均匀,反射率降低;光谱响应度显著提高,并且出现最大量子效率对应波长红移现象。最后,详细讨论了碱液修饰硅纳米线阵列电池对光谱响应的影响机制。     

Modeling of a Silicon Nanowire pH Sensor with Nanoscale Side Gate Voltage

A silicon nanowire （Si-NW） sensor for pH detection is presented. The conductance of the device is analytically obtained, demonstrating that the conductance increases with decreasing oxide thickness. To calculate the electrical conductance of the sensor, the diffusion-drift model and nonlinear Poisson-Boltzmann equation are applied. To improve the conductance and sensitivity, a Si-NW sensor with nanoscaie side gate voltage is offered and its characteristics are theoretically achieved. It is revealed that the conductance and sensor sensitivity can be enhanced by adding appropriate side gate voltages. This effect is compared to a similar fabricated structure in the literature, which has a wire with a rectangular cross section. Finally, the effect of NW length on sensor performance is investigated and an inverse relation between sensor sensitivity and NW length is achieved.     

碱溶液修饰硅纳米线阵列绒面

提出用碱溶液修饰硅纳米线阵列制作太阳能绒面的方法。实验中首先采用金属催化化学腐蚀法在Si(100)基底上制备了定向排列的硅纳米线阵列,然后将纳米线阵列浸入碱溶液中进行修饰,修饰时间分别为10,30,50,60,90s。通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对硅纳米线阵列进行形貌分析,采用太阳能测试系统附带的积分球测量纳米线阵列绒面结构的反射光谱。通过测量和分析发现硅纳线阵列在碱溶液中修饰30s时表面分布均匀,在400～1000nm波段的综合反射率低于4%。结果表明碱溶液修饰纳米线阵列的方法能够有效分散束状硅纳米线阵列,明显降低绒面的反射率,并且初步分析了碱溶液修饰硅纳米线阵列的分散机理。     

Sensitivity enhancement of AZO-based ethanol sensor decorated by Au nano-islands

Detecting the hazardous gases for monitoring air pollution and medical diagnosis make highly sensitive gas sensors appeal to many researches. In this paper, benefiting from unique properties of noble metals, Al-doped ZnO based Ethanol sensors were fabricated and characterized in three structures including Al: ZnO thin film, Silver and Gold nano-islands on Al: ZnO thin film. The Silver and Gold thin films turn to nano-islands after a simple annealing process. The XRD analysis of the sputtered Al: ZnO layer indicates the wurtzite crystal structure of the layer with a peak at (002) plane. Moreover, the sensitivity study reveals that Nano-islands of noble metals substantially affects the sensitivity of the sensors. The decorated Gold nano-island Al: ZnO Ethanol sensor has the highest response showing an amount of 45. The response of Al: ZnO and Silver decorated Al: ZnO sensors are virtually identical to all concentrations of Ethanol, whereas the Al: ZnO gas sensor with Gold nano-islands has the substantial sensitivity for different concentrations. In addition, the response times of the sensors are 85, 70 and 90 s for Al: ZnO, Al: ZnO with Ag islands and Al: ZnO decorated by Au islands, respectively. The recovery time of Al: ZnO sensor decorated by Au islands is about 23s, while the recovery time of the Al: ZnO and Al: ZnO decorated by Silver islands are 360 and 370s, respectively. Hence, the simple annealing process on the sputtered gas sensor with a thin layer of Gold makes nano-islands on the sensor which elevates the performance of Ethanol sensing due to the high sensitivity and sensitivity of the sensor.     

Fabrication and field emission properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube/silicon nanowire array

Silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays were fabricated on silicon wafers by the metal-assisted chemical etching method. Varied average diameters of SiNW arrays were realized through further treatment in a mixed agent of HF and HNO₃ of certain concentrations. After the treatment, there were more than 93% SiNWs with diameters smaller than 100 nm. The tip of each SiNW was subsequently wrapped with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with chemical vapor deposition method. The as-fabricated MWCNT/SiNW arrays were fabricated into electric field emitters, with turn-on field of 2.0 V/μm (current density: 10 μA/cm²), much lower than that of SiNW array (5.0 V/μm). The turn-on electric field of MWCNT/SiNW array decreased with the decreasing of the average diameter of SiNWs, indicating the performance of the field emission is relative to the morphology of SiNWs. As the SiNW array is uniform in height and easy to fabricate, the MWCNT/SiNW array shows potential applications in flat electric display.     

High-resolution analytical electron microscopy of catalytically etched silicon nanowires

We report on the characterization of hexagonally ordered, vertically aligned silicon nanowires (SiNW) by means of analytical transmission electron microscopy. Combining colloidal lithography, plasma etching, and catalytic wet etching arrays of SiNW of a sub-50 nm diameter with an aspect ratio of up to 10 could be fabricated. Scanning transmission electron microscopy has been applied in order to investigate the morphology, the internal structure, and the composition of the catalytically etched SiNW. The analysis yielded a single-crystalline porous structure composed of crystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, and SiO _x with x≤2.     

ZnO纳米/微米结构传感器对乙醇气敏性研究

采用化学气相法分别在石英舟内表面和单晶硅衬底上制备了ZnO微米片、纳米线、微米四足体以及微米球4种结构,并制作了相应的气敏传感器。扫描电子显微镜、气敏测试仪等结果显示：合成的ZnO纳米/微米结构尺寸在200 nm~100 μm之间,传感器最佳工作电流区间为120~130 mA,其中微米四足体制备的传感器灵敏度高达127,展现出优异的气敏特性。在4种结构中,微米四足体材料内部的V_O缺陷含量最高,结合气敏测试与荧光光谱结果,我们认为材料内部的V_O缺陷含量是影响材料气敏特性的最重要因素。     

纳米多晶硅薄膜电阻压力和加速度多功能传感器（英）

基于纳米多晶硅薄膜电阻的多功能传感器由压力传感器和加速度传感器构成。纳米多晶硅薄膜电阻构成的两个惠斯通电桥结构分别设计在方形硅膜表面和悬臂梁根部。采用MEMS技术和CMOS工艺在〈100〉晶向单晶硅片上实现压力/加速度传感器芯片制作,利用内引线技术将芯片封装在一个印刷电路板（PCB）上。在室温下,工作电压为5.0 V时,实验结果给出压力传感器灵敏度(a=0)为1.0 mV/kPa,加速度传感器灵敏度(p=0)为0.92 mV/g,可实现外加压力和加速度的测量,具有较好的灵敏度特性且交叉干扰较弱。     

纳米多晶硅薄膜电阻压力和加速度多功能传感器（英）

基于纳米多晶硅薄膜电阻的多功能传感器由压力传感器和加速度传感器构成。纳米多晶硅薄膜电阻构成的两个惠斯通电桥结构分别设计在方形硅膜表面和悬臂梁根部。采用MEMS技术和CMOS工艺在〈100〉晶向单晶硅片上实现压力/加速度传感器芯片制作,利用内引线技术将芯片封装在一个印刷电路板（PCB）上。在室温下,工作电压为5.0 V时,实验结果给出压力传感器灵敏度(a=0)为1.0 mV/kPa,加速度传感器灵敏度(p=0)为0.92 mV/g,可实现外加压力和加速度的测量,具有较好的灵敏度特性且交叉干扰较弱。     

基于银纳米线电极-rGO敏感材料的柔性NO2气体传感器

使用银纳米线作为材料制备柔性叉指电极,用还原氧化石墨烯(reduced graphene oxide, rGO)作为气体敏感材料制备出柔性气体传感器,并研究其对二氧化氮气体的响应特性以及柔韧性能.实验结果表明,制备的以银纳米线作为电极的r GO气体传感器可以实现室温下对浓度为5-50 ppm (1 ppm=10^–6)的NO2气体的检测,对50 ppm的NO2的响应能够达到1.19,传感器的重复性较好,恢复率能够保持在76%以上,传感器的灵敏度是0.00281 ppm^-1,对浓度为5 ppm的NO2气体的响应时间是990 s,恢复时间是1566 s.此外,传感器在0°-45°的弯曲角度下仍表现出优异的电学特性与气体传感性能,所制备的器件具有相对稳定的导电性和较好的弯曲耐受性.     

Effects of silver and gold catalytic activities on the structural and optical properties of silicon nanowires

The metal-assisted chemical etching of silicon in an aqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide is established for the fabrication of large area, uniform silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays. In this study, silver (Ag) and gold (Au) are considered as catalysts and the effect of different catalysts with various thicknesses on the structural and optical properties of the fabricated SiNWs is investigated. The morphology of deposited catalysts on the silicon wafer is characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). It is shown that the morphology of the fabricated silicon nanostructures remarkably depends upon the catalyst layer thickness, and the catalyst etching time directly affects the structural and optical properties of the synthesized SiNWs. FESEM images show a linear increment of the nanowire length versus time, whereas the etching rate for the Au-etched SiNWs was lower than the Ag-etched ones. Strong light scattering in SiNWs caused the total reflection to decrease in the range of visible light, and this decrement was higher for the Ag-etched SiNW sample, with a longer length than the Au-etched one. A broadband visible photoluminescence (PL) with different peak positions is observed for the Au- and Ag-etched samples. The synthesized optically active SiNWs can be considered as a promising candidate for a new generation of nano-scale opto-electronic devices.     

Simulation and fabrication of carbon nanotubes field emission pressure sensors

A novel field emission pressure sensor has been achieved utilizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the electron source. The sensor consists of the anode sensing film fabricated by wet etching process and multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) cathode in the micro-vacuum chamber. MWNTs on the silicon substrate were grown by thermal CVD. The prototype pressure sensor has a measured sensitivity of about 0.17-0.77 nA/Pa (101-550 KPa). The work shows the potential use of CNTs-based field-emitter in microsensors, such as accelerometers and tactile sensors.     

Sulfur-doped black silicon formed by metal-assist chemical etching and ion implanting

We fabricated sulfur-doped black silicon by metal-assist chemical etching (MCE) and ion implanting. The morphologies of silicon nanowire (SiNW) arrays and the concentration of sulfur in black silicon were analyzed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Sulfur-doped black silicon shows higher absorption in entire 0.3–2.5 μm wavelength range as compared to undoped SiNW arrays and flat silicon. The changes in the absorption spectra of black silicon with different etching durations and annealing temperature are also shown. Upon annealing, the absorption decreases significantly in 2–2.5 μm wavelength region. The novel results clearly indicate that sulfur implanting could produce below band gap absorption in the silicon substrate.     

Electrochemical albumin sensing based on silicon nanowires modified by gold nanoparticles

Si nanowires (SiNWs) were modified by Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) using a self-assembled monolayer of aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and used for direct sensing of the bovine serum albumin (BSA). It was shown that repeated thermal treatment of the sensor greatly enhanced the reliability of the SiNW sensor by increasing the electrical conductivity largely from carbonization of the APTES molecules and from bringing the AuNPs in intimate contact with the SiNW surface. The AuNP-modified SiNW array sensor was able to detect 1-7 μM of BSA. The sensor exhibited a good sensitivity over the tested concentration range and linear behavior. It is expected that the proposed label-free biosensor can be further developed to selectively detect and quantify biomolecules other than BSA.     

A Facile Strategy for Low Young's Modulus PDMS Microbeads Enhanced Flexible Capacitive Pressure Sensors

Flexible pressure sensors are widely demanded in human care systems. A simple and effective strategy for sensor fabrication can markedly promote its application. Herein, a facile strategy is employed to prepare a flexible capacitive pressure sensor with a polydimethylsiloxane microbeads-modified dielectric layer. Owing to the microbeads structure, the proposed sensor achieves a sensitivity of 0.048 kPa⁻¹ in the range of 0–10 kPa with a wide dynamic range (up to 100 kPa). The sensitivity is nine times higher than that of the planar structure. Moreover, the microbeads structured sensor obtains a low limit of detection (0.2 kPa), fast response time (120 ms), and good stability (variation lower than 3.30% after 1000 loading/unloading cycles at 20 kPa). The finite-elemental analysis reveals that the microbeads structure is critical to enhance the performance of sensors. Finally, the pressure sensor is successfully applied to detect touch signal, joints movement, and breathing, exhibiting its promising prospects as smart wearable devices. Furthermore, the strategy may provide a new idea for the microstructural design of capacitive pressure sensors.     

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering in silicon nanowire ensembles

In this letter, we, for the first time, report on coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy of an ensemble of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) formed by wet chemical etching of crystalline silicon with a mask of silver nanoparticles. The fabricated SiNWs have diameter ranged from 30 to 200 nm and demonstrate both visible and infrared photolumine cence (PL) and spontaneous Raman signal, with their intensities depending on presence of silver nanoparticles in SiNWs. The efficiency of CARS in SiNW ensembles is found to be significantly higher than that in crystalline silicon. The results of CARS and PL measurements are explained in terms of resonant excitation of the electron states attributed to silicon nanoparticles.     

Impact of graphene nanoplatelet concentration and film thickness on vapor detection for polymer based chemiresistive sensors

Chemiresistive gas sensors utilizing graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)-polymer film coated electrodes have great promise for electronic nose applications. In this study GNP-polycaprolactone (PCL) based sensors fabricated using airbrush deposition are exposed to ethanol as an example target analyte to investigate ideal parameters for sensing performance maximization. The ratio of GNP to PCL was investigated from 3 to 21 wt% with sensing response maximized at 15 wt% and signal to noise ratio (SNR) maximized at 18 wt%. The effect of average coating thickness on the sensing performance was investigated by depositing 50–250 μL of 18 wt% GNP solution (852–2030 nm). The response was maximized at 150 μL (1370 nm) and the SNR was maximized at 200 μL (1680 nm). The results are consistent with previous studies of vapor sensors that employ carbon black-polymer films as sensing materials. The fabricated devices were robust and repeatable with respect to initial resistance, depth, roughness, sensor response, and SNR. Overall the results elucidate important parameters for fabrication and development of GNP-polymer gas sensors for detection and discrimination of target analytes with electronic nose systems.     

微剪切应力传感器的加工工艺

提出了一种感测单元不直接接触流场的微剪切应力传感器结构,详细阐述了其感测单元MEMS制作工艺。采用热氧化硅掩膜方法解决了硅深刻蚀的选择比问题;优化后的硅深刻蚀工艺参数：刻蚀功率1600 W、低频(LF)功率100 W,SF6流量360 cm3/min,C4F8流量300 cm3/min,O2流量300 cm3/min。采用Cr/Au掩膜,30 ℃恒温低浓度HF溶液解决了玻璃浅槽腐蚀深度控制问题;喷淋腐蚀和基片旋转等措施提高了玻璃浅槽腐蚀表面质量。采用上述MEMS工艺制作了微剪切应力传感器样品,样品测试结果表明：弹性悬梁长度和宽度误差均在2 m以内、玻璃浅槽深度误差在0.03 m以内、静态电容误差在0.2 pF以内,满足了设计要求。     

Temperature dependence of a nanoporous Pd film hydrogen sensor based on an AAO template on Si

In this study, hydrogen sensing properties of nanoporous Pd films based on Anodic Aluminium Oxide (AAO) templates grown on a silicon substrate have been investigated at various temperatures (25–100°C) and hydrogen concentrations (100–1000 ppm) to determine the temperature-sensitivity relationship. For this purpose, a hexagonally shaped AAO template of approximately 50 nm in diameter and 700 nm in length with 80 nm interpore distances was fabricated using two-step anodization of an Al film deposited on an n-type (100) oriented oxidized Si substrate. Then, the nanoporous surface of the AAO template was used as a substrate for supporting a nanoporous Pd film of an approximately thickness of 60 nm. The morphologies of the AAO template and Pd film coated on the AAO template were studied mainly by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Hydrogen sensing properties of the nanoporous Pd film were measured using a resistance transient method. It was found that the sensor response of the nanoporous Pd films on the AAO template was better than the traditional Pd thin film sensors, the sensitivity of the sensor was approximately 1.8% for 1000 ppm H₂, and the detection limit was lower than 100 ppm at room temperature. The highest sensitivity was measured at room temperature.