Growth In-Place Integration of Metallic Nanowires into MEMS Gas Flow Sensors

Abstract:
This work demonstrates a process for the in-place growth of metallic nanowires in microsystems. The wires are arranged in bunches, the so called nanowire arrays. The process expands the established ion track etch method and combines it with conventional MEMS technologies like photolithography. The process is described in detail and demonstrated by fabricating a calorimetric gas flow sensor with nanowire arrays. Two serially connected nanowire arrays are placed before and behind an electrically heated conductor on a glass substrate. The nanowire arrays work as fast temperature sensing elements to determine the gas flow over the sensor. The steady state sensor characteristics are measured, the time constant is estimated by a numerical simulation.