Improved Long-Term Responses of Au-Decorated Si Nanowire FET Sensor for NH3 Detection

Abstract

Au nanoparticle (AuNP)-decorated silicon nanowire (SiNW) field-effect transistors (FETs) were made using a top-down technique to enhance the sensing responses and long-term reliability for the detection of ammonia (NH3). The as-fabricated, diluted hydrofluoric acid (dHF)-treated, and AuNP-decorated SiNW FETs were prepared and characterized at room temperature. These SiNW FETs show better sensitivity and low power consumption in the subthreshold regime than in the linear regime. To evaluate the long-term responses, devices were operated over a period of 120 days. The dHF-treated SiNW FET showed a significant degradation in sensitivity as a function of time, even though it showed the highest sensitivities in the initial stage. The SiNW with AuNPs showed the lowest long-term variation of sensitivity with sufficient linearity. The SiNW with AuNPs showed the lowest drift as low as -0.067%/day for current sensitivity and -0.024%/day for voltage sensitivity, respectively. These results suggest that the deposition of AuNPs on SiNW is very useful for improving the long-term variation in chemical sensing applications.