Gas sensor applications of porous Si layers

The porous silicone (PSi) is a relatively new and promising semiconductor material with special physical and chemical properties which somewhat differ from the properties of single crystal Si. Some of these properties are valuable in the field of gas sensor technology, but a lot of questions arise in connection with its application. Do we really need porous semiconductor material for proper gas sensing function? How can electrical properties of the PSi layer be measured if the electrical contacting is problematic? Is it possible to activate the PSi with catalytic noble metal layers or particles? What about the Fermi-level pinning in the PSi layer? The main target of this article is to seek answers to questions listed above and to give a short, but still comprehensive review of the application of the PSi layers on the field of the gas sensor technology, with special care on electrical output signal giving sensors. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.