Conductometric sensors

The realization of all-electrical devices using semiconducting nanowires as the sensing element is particularly attractive because it enables ready signal transduction and integration into miniaturized systems. The interaction between the NW surface and the adsorbed molecules causes a local modification of the energy band structure in the semiconductor, which affects the electrical transport properties.

In this context, nanowires (NWs) are emerging as promising platforms for the development of ultrasensitive sensors for the direct detection of biological and chemical species. The large surface-to-volume ratio is considered as one of the key advantages for the increased sensor response of nanowire-based devices.

In our group we have strong expertise in preparation and characterization of chemical sensor based on semiconducting material. They were investigated as thin films [1] and as NWs [2]. NWs can be investigated as bundle of NWs [3],[4] or single NW [5] and aligned [6] NWs, in order to gain information on their diameter dependent properties.