Nano sensor

• US 9,453,814 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2015
• Issued: 09/27/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bao Tran
• Original Assignee: Bao Tran
• Inventors: Tran, Bao
• Primary Examiner(s): Mandala, Victor A
• Application Number:
  US14/802,174
• Publication Number:
  US 20150323494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 438 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 10/00 Nanotechnology for information processing, storage or transmission, e.g. quantum computing or single electron logic
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 15/00 Nanotechnology for interacting, sensing or actuating, e.g. quantum dots as markers in protein assays or molecular motors
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 40/00 Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/122 Circuits particularly adapted therefor, e.g. linearising circuits
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/128 Microapparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4146 involving nanosized elements, e.g. nanotubes, nanowires
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4148 Integrated circuits therefor, e.g. fabricated by CMOS processing CMOS processing per se H01L21/82
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0034 comprising neural networks or related mathematical techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 9/14 using microscopic probe means , i.e. recording or reproducing by means directly associated with the tip of a microscopic electrical probe as used in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy [STM] or Atomic Force Microscopy [AFM] for inducing physical or electrical perturbations in a recording medium; Record carriers or media specially adapted for such transducing of information marking using electrical current B41M5/20; measuring roughness or irregularity of surfaces G01B7/34; details of scanning-probe microscopes G01Q
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/21 using electric elements
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 11/54 using elements simulating biological cells, e.g. neuron
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/0023 Address circuits or decoders
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/004 Reading or sensing circuits or methods
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/02 using elements whose operation depends upon chemical change G11C13/0009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 13/04 using optical elements ; using other beam accessed elements, e.g. electron or ion beam
• CPC Class Codes: H10B 63/80 Arrangements comprising multiple bistable or multi-stable switching components of the same type on a plane parallel to the substrate, e.g. cross-point arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/151 the wide bandgap semiconductor comprising titanium oxide, e.g. TiO2
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 30/30 comprising bulk heterojunctions, e.g. interpenetrating networks of donor and acceptor material domains
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/011 Manufacture or treatment of multistable switching devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/801 Constructional details of multistable switching devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/826 : adapted for essentially vertical current flow, e.g. sandwich or pillar type devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 70/841 : Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 : Organic PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/762 : Nanowire or quantum wire, i.e. axially elongated structure having two dimensions of 100 nm or less
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/775 : Nanosized powder or flake, e.g. nanosized catalyst
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/938 : Field effect transistors, FETS, with nanowire- or nanotube-channel region
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 977/957 : Of chemical property or presence

Abstract

A device includes an upper metallic layer, a lower layer, and a nano sensor array positioned between the upper and lower layers to detect a presence of a gas, a chemical, or a biological object, wherein each sensor'"'"'s electrical characteristic changes when encountering the gas, chemical or biological object.

Claims

1. A device, comprising:

an upper metallic layer,

a lower layer,

a nano sensor array positioned between the upper and lower layers to detect a presence of a gas, a chemical, or a biological object, wherein each sensor'"'"'s electrical characteristic changes when encountering the gas, chemical or biological object, and

a matrix film on the nano sensor array wherein a physical parameter of the matrix film changes to measure gas or liquid concentration.

2. The device of claim 1, comprising an array of switching medium sandwiched between the upper and lower layers and disposed in rows and columns and constructed either above or below the matrix.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising a driver circuit for selectively controlling first signal electrodes or second signal electrodes.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the circuit includes one or more of a sense amplifier, an input-output buffer, an X address decoder, a Y address decoder, and an address buffer.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein a substrate includes a silicon-on-insulator wafer.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein a switching medium is deposited on the substrate or spin-coated over the substrate.

7. The device of claim 1, comprising multiple levels of stacked cells each having a switching medium sandwiched between the upper and lower layers.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the nano sensor is compatible with CMOS fabrication.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising an array of redundant sensor elements.

10. The device of claim 1, comprising gold electrodes where the nano-sensors self-assemble.

11. The device of claim 1 comprising a permeable layer is formed above the nano-sensors to protect the nano sensor array and semiconductor elements while allowing the gas, chemical or biological object to get to the nano sensor array.

12. The device of claim 11, the layer is comprising a gas sensitive film containing or covering nano sensors and when the gas sensitive film is exposed to different the gas, chemical or biological object, a resistance changes.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein for sensing air quality, comprising a sensor film readily oxidized (by NO₂ or O₂) or reduced (by CO or NH₃).

14. The device of claim 1, wherein upon oxidation or reduction, the physical parameter of the matrix film changes to measure gas concentration.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the nano sensor array is ultrasonically activated to detect the gas, chemical or biological object.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the nano sensor array is deposited over an ultrasonic vibrator.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein when the gas, chemical or biological object is absorbed by the nano sensor array and change mechanical property that influence vibration amplitude or phase and detected by monitoring vibrational characteristics of an oscillator.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein bulk wave detection is used to detect mass loading that occurs when minute quantities of materials are deposited over the surface of the oscillator.

19. A device, comprising:

an upper metallic layer,

a lower layer, and

a resistive, optical or magnetic nano sensor positioned between the upper and lower layers wherein nanoparticles form a conduction path between the upper and lower layers, and

a matrix film on the nanoparticles, wherein a physical parameter of the matrix film changes to measure gas or liquid concentration.

20. A electronic device, comprising:

a first layer fabricated in silicon using semiconductor fabrication techniques;

a second layer formed next to the first layer to provide data storage, the second layer having a lower layer formed next to the first layer;

a resistive sensor element; and

an upper layer formed next to the resistive element, wherein resistance changes when encountering a gas, a chemical, or a biological object, and

a matrix film on the second layer wherein a physical parameter of the matrix film changes to measure gas or liquid concentration.