Silicon Carbide to Improve Sensor Technology

Research from Griffith University, in Australia, has indicated that silicon carbide has the potential to replace silicon as the semiconductor in mechanical and electrical sensor devices.

The alternative material has been shown to improve the reliability of sensor technology in the harshest industrial environments. Researchers from the Queensland Micro and Nanotechnology Centre at Griffith University have used silicon carbide deposited on silicon wafer as part of tests to establish performance differences between silicon and silicon carbide.

The finding of the research have been published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry and has detailed the advantages of using silicon carbide, which has been a key component of power electronics, in sensor technology.

Dr Dzung Dao, from Griffith's School of Engineering and one of the lead researchers said that although silicon has been the dominant material as a semiconductor in sensor technologies, it is not suited for high temperatures and the harshest industrial conditions. However, silicon carbide has increased mechanical strength, chemical inertness, thermal durability and electrical stability which could make it a more favourable material.

Dr Dao said silicon carbide "holds promise as the material for high performance sensors in, for example, deep-oil and coal mining". The device-grade silicon carbide for this research was grown on six inches of silicon wafer at low temperature by Professor Sima Dimitrijev's team at QMNC.