Wayne State University

Flaminia Serina

Gregory William Auner

Ratna Naik

Ka Yuen Simon Ng

Hydrogen gas sensors employ an epitaxial layer of the thermodynamically stable form of aluminum nitride (AlN) as the 'insulator' in an MIS structure having a thin metal gate electrode suitable for catalytic dissociate of hydrogen, such as palladium, on a semiconductor substrate. The AlN is deposited by a low temperature technique known as Plasma Source Molecular Beam Epitaxy (PSMBE). When silicon (Si) is used the semiconducting substrate, the electrical behavior of the device is that of a normal nonlinear MIS capacitor. When a silicon carbide (SiC) is used, the electrical behavior of the device is that of a rectifying diode. Preferred structures are Pd/AlN/Si and Pd/AlN/SiC wherein the SiC is preferably 6H&#x2014;SiC.

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Grosse Pointe Farms, MI, United States of America

Flaminia Serina