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research article

Ultra-low power hydrogen sensing based on a palladium-coated nanomechanical beam resonator

Henriksson, Jonas  
•
Villanueva, Luis Guillermo  
•
Brugger, Jürgen  
2012
Nanoscale

Hydrogen sensing is essential to ensure safety in near-future zero-emission fuel cell powered vehicles. Here, we present a novel hydrogen sensor based on the resonant frequency change of a nanoelectromechanical clamped-clamped beam. The beam is coated with a Pd layer, which expands in the presence of H2, therefore generating a stress build-up that causes the frequency of the device to drop. The devices are able to detect H2 concentrations below 0.5% within 1 s of the onset of the exposure using only a few hundreds of pW of power, matching the industry requirements for H2 safety sensors. In addition, we investigate the strongly detrimental effect that relative humidity (RH) has on the Pd responsivity to H2, showing that the response is almost nullified at about 70% RH. As a remedy for this intrinsic limitation, we applied a mild heating current through the beam, generating a few micro-W of power, whereby the responsivity of the sensors is fully restored and the chemo-mechanical process is accelerated, significantly decreasing response times. The sensors are fabricated using standard processes, facilitating their eventual mass-production.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1039/C2NR30639E
Web of Science ID

WOS:000306855500031

Author(s)
Henriksson, Jonas  
Villanueva, Luis Guillermo  
Brugger, Jürgen  
Date Issued

2012

Publisher

Royal Soc Chemistry

Published in
Nanoscale
Volume

4

Issue

16

Start page

5059

End page

5064

Subjects

sensor

•

gas

•

films

•

nanowire

•

arrays

Note

Villanueva, LG Tech Univ Denmark, DTU Nanotech, Copenhagen, Denmark Tech Univ Denmark, DTU Nanotech, Copenhagen, Denmark Ecole Polytech Fed Lausanne, Microsyst Lab, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

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Available on Infoscience
July 30, 2012
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/84298
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