A nanoelectronic nose: a hybrid nanowire/carbon nanotube sensor array with integrated micromachined hotplates for sensitive gas discrimination

A novel hybrid chemical sensor array composed of individual In2O3 nanowires, SnO2 nanowires, ZnO nanowires, and single-walled carbon nanotubes with integrated micromachined hotplates for sensitive gas discrimination was demonstrated. Key features of our approach include the integration of nanowire and carbon nanotube sensors, precise control of the sensor temperature using the micromachined hotplates, and the use of principal component analysis for pattern recognition. This sensor array was exposed to important industrial gases such as hydrogen, ethanol and nitrogen dioxide at different concentrations and sensing temperatures, and an excellent selectivity was obtained to build up an interesting 'smell-print' library of these gases. Principal component analysis of the sensing results showed great discrimination of those three tested chemicals, and in-depth analysis revealed clear improvement of selectivity by the integration of carbon nanotube sensors. This nanoelectronic nose approach has great potential for detecting and discriminating between a wide variety of gases, including explosive ones and nerve agents.