Sensor component for a gas and/or liquid sensor, production method for a sensor component for a gas and/or liquid sensor, and method for detecting at least one material in a gaseous and/or liquid medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9418857-B2
Application number	US-201414313569-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 24, 2014
Priority date	Jun 28, 2013
Publication date	Aug 16, 2016
Grant date	Aug 16, 2016

Abstract

A sensor component is described for a gas and/or liquid sensor having a substrate having at least one first printed conductor and a second printed conductor, which are fashioned such that a voltage can be applied, and having at least one sensitive semiconductor material, additionally including at least one trench a contact segment of the first printed conductor and a contact segment of the second printed conductor being situated on two inner side surfaces at a distance from one another, and the at least one sensitive semiconductor material being filled into the at least one trench in the form of at least one particle, grain, and/or crystal, at least between the first contact segment of the first printed conductor and the first contact segment of the second printed conductor. Also described is a production method for a sensor component for a gas and/or liquid sensor. In addition, also described is a method for detecting at least one material in a gaseous and/or liquid medium.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensor component for a sensor that senses at least one of a gas and a liquid, comprising:
a substrate including at least one first printed conductor and a second printed conductor that are fashioned in such a way that a voltage can be applied between the first printed conductor and the second printed conductor;
at least one sensitive semiconductor material present between a first contact segment of the first printed conductor and a first contact segment of the second printed conductor; and
at least one trench arranged on a side of the substrate, the trench including at least one trench wall and at least one trench floor made of at least one electrically insulating material, wherein:
the first contact segment of the first printed conductor and the first contact segment of the second printed conductor are situated on two inner side surfaces, at a distance from one another, of the at least one trench wall, and
the at least one sensitive semiconductor material, in the form of at least one of a particle, a grain, and a crystal, being filled into the at least one trench at least between the first contact segment of the first printed conductor and the first contact segment of the second printed conductor.

2. The sensor component as recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the two inner side surfaces parallel to the side of the substrate are contacted by the first contact segment of the first printed conductor and by the first contact segment of the second printed conductor, and
the two inner side surfaces are separated from one another by a distance that is one of:
equal to a diameter of one of a single particle, grain, and crystal of the at least one sensitive semiconductor material filled into the respective trench, and
larger by at most a factor of 3 than an average diameter of the at least one of the particle, grain, and crystal of the at least one sensitive semiconductor material filled into the at least one trench.

3. The sensor component as recited in claim 1 , wherein at most a number of ten of at least one of particles, grains, and crystals per trench are filled into the at least one trench.

4. The sensor component as recited in claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one of at least one surface-active glue and an adhesive bond disposed at least one of:
between a roughened surface of the first contact segment of the first printed conductor and at least one of the particle, grain, and crystal, contacted thereby, of the at least one sensitive semiconductor material, and
between a roughened surface of the first contact segment of the second printed conductor and at least one of the particle, grain, and crystal, contacted thereby, of the at least one sensitive semiconductor material.

5. The sensor component as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensitive semiconductor material includes at least one of tin oxide, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, indium oxide, and tungsten oxide.

6. The sensor component as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensitive semiconductor material is doped with at least one of tantalum and niobium.

7. The sensor component as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensitive semiconductor material is doped with at least one of at least one alkaline earth metal and at least one rare earth metal.

8. The sensor component as recited in claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the particle, the grain, and the crystal of the at least one sensitive semiconductor material is at least partly coated with at least one of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, rhodium, and ruthenium.

9. The sensor component as recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the at least one trench parallel to the side of the substrate includes a U-shaped cross-section,
the inner side surfaces having the first contact segment of the first printed conductor and having the first contact segment of the second printed conductor are situated on a first limb of the U-shaped cross-section, and
a second contact segment of the first printed conductor and a second contact segment of the second printed conductor are disposed at a distance from one another on two other inner side surfaces of the at least one trench wall, the two other inner side surfaces being situated on a second limb of the U-shaped cross-section.

10. A sensor for sensing at least one of a gas and a liquid, comprising:
a sensor component that includes:
a substrate including at least one first printed conductor and a second printed conductor that are fashioned in such a way that a voltage can be applied between the first printed conductor and the second printed conductor;
at least one sensitive semiconductor material present between a first contact segment of the first printed conductor and a first contact segment of the second printed conductor; and
at least one trench arranged on a side of the substrate, the trench including at least one trench wall and at least one trench floor made of at least one electrically insulating material, wherein:
the first contact segment of the first printed conductor and the first contact segment of the second printed conductor are situated on two inner side surfaces, at a distance from one another, of the at least one trench wall, and
the at least one sensitive semiconductor material, in the form of at least one of a particle, a grain, and a crystal, being filled into the at least one trench at least between the first contact segment of the first printed conductor and the first contact segment of the second printed conductor.

11. A production method for a sensor component for a sensor that senses at least one of a gas and a liquid, comprising:
forming at least one first printed conductor and a second printed conductor on a substrate for application of a voltage between the first printed conductor and the second printed conductor during operation of the sensor;
situating at least one sensitive semiconductor material between the first printed conductor and the second printed conductor;
forming at least one trench, going through a side of the substrate, the trench having at least one trench wall and at least one trench floor made of at least one electrically insulating material;
forming a contact segment of the first printed conductor and a contact segment of the second printed conductor on two inner side surfaces, at a distance from one another, of the at least one trench wall; and
filling the at least one sensitive semiconductor material into the at least one trench, in the form of at least one of a particle, a grain, and a crystal, at least between the contact segment of the first printed conductor and the contact segment of the second printed conductor.

12. The production method as recited in claim 11 , further comprising:
heating the sensor component to a temperature between 400° C. and 700° C. after the respective filling into the at least one trench of the at least one of the particle, the grain, and the at least one crystal made of the at least one sensitive semiconductor material.

13. The production method as recited in claim 11 , further comprising:
situating the sensor component at least one of in and on the sensor.

14. A method for detecting at least one material in a medium having at least one of a gas and a liquid, comprising:
conducting the medium in at least one trench going through a side of a substrate, the trench having at least one trench wall and at least one trench floor made of at least one electrically insulating material, and having a contact segment of a first printed conductor and a contact segment of a second printed conductor on two inner side surfaces, at a distance from one another,

Assignees

• Fix Richard
• Schumann Bernd
• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Fix Richard
• Schumann Bernd

Classifications

• H10P52/00 Primary

  Grinding, lapping or polishing of wafers, substrates or parts of devices · CPC title

• H01L21/3043 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• G01N27/128 Primary

  Microapparatus · CPC title