22 nm silicon nanowire gas sensor fabricated by trilayer nanoimprint and wet etching

In this work, we demonstrate the fabrication of silicon nanowires down to 22 nm wide using trilayer nanoimprint lithography and wet etching. Using the same template prepared by E-beam lithography (EBL), nanowires with top width of 22 nm and 75 nm are fabricated on boron-doped top silicon layer of SOI substrate. The two samples are tested in 250 ppm NO2 ambient for gas detection. The 22 nm wide one shows a much higher relative sensitivity than the 75 nm wide one. The simulation which calculates the carrier density by solving Poisson equation was carried out and the results well explain the sensitivity disparity between the two samples. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.