Integration of ZnO nano-tetrapods onto a micro hot plate structure for H2S sensing

ZnO nanostructures are widely employed in micro and nano devices, such as light emitting or laser diodes, field effect transistors, piezoelectric devices and many others. A nanostructures top down integration approach enables VLSI production scaling up since, in principle, more compatible with standard IC fabrication. In this view, a novel H2S MEMS based sensor that integrates a nanostructured ZnO film has a great potential in this field [1,2]. The integration of nanotetrapods on a thin membrane allows for increasing the sensing performance, and obtaining a detection of H2S gas at the ppb order with a much faster response than that of standard sensors [3,4]. In this work a micro hot plate on a suspended Si3N4 membrane embedding a nanostuctured film of TPs (Tetrapods) was developed.