Gas sensor with attenuated drift characteristic

Patent · Tue May 13 00:00:00 EDT 2008

OSTI ID:981830

Chen, Ing-Shin ^[1]; Chen, Philip S. H. ^[2]; Neuner, Jeffrey W ^[2]; Welch, James ^[3]; Hendrix, Bryan ^[1]; Dimeo, Jr., Frank ^[1]

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1. Danbury, CT
2. Bethel, CT
3. Fairfield, CT

A sensor with an attenuated drift characteristic, including a layer structure in which a sensing layer has a layer of diffusional barrier material on at least one of its faces. The sensor may for example be constituted as a hydrogen gas sensor including a palladium/yttrium layer structure formed on a micro-hotplate base, with a chromium barrier layer between the yttrium layer and the micro-hotplate, and with a tantalum barrier layer between the yttrium layer and an overlying palladium protective layer. The gas sensor is useful for detection of a target gas in environments susceptible to generation or incursion of such gas, and achieves substantial (e.g., >90%) reduction of signal drift from the gas sensor in extended operation, relative to a corresponding gas sensor lacking the diffusional barrier structure of the invention

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: FC36-99GO10451
• Assignee: MST Technology GmbH (DE)
• Patent Number(s): 7,370,511
• Application Number: 10/795,529
• OSTI ID: 981830
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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