US Patent:
20060124448, Jun 15, 2006
Inventors:
RaviPrakash Jayaraman - State College PA, US
Mark Horn - Port Matilda PA, US
Lawrence Pilione - State College PA, US
Russell Messier - State College PA, US
Anthony McDaniel - Livermore CA, US
International Classification:
C23C 14/00
G01N 27/26
Abstract:
The invention relates to novel sensors of the catalytic gas-sensing thin-film metal surface type wherein the surface has an inorganic protective membrane coating formed by a pulsed dc sputtering technique. Preferably, the thin-film metal surface is a Pd, Pt, Ni, Au, Ag or an alloy thereof. The inorganic membrane is of the formula MaObNcCd where M is a metal or semiconductor, O is oxygen, N is nitrogen, and C is carbon and a, b, c, and d can each independently range from zero to seven with the proviso that at least two of a, b, c, and d are non-zero. The sensor design is particularly useful for various hydrogen sensing applications. The invention also includes their method of manufacture.