Publications Details

A forest without trees: Development of high-surface-area materials for enhanced-sensitivity SAW arrays

Ricco, A.J.

Chemical sensor arrays are an alternative to the tedious development of highly specific single-analyte detectors. Recent efforts have focused on the chemical and physical diversity of interface materials for SAW sensor arrays. However, the issues of wide dynamic range and high sensitivity must also be addressed for sensor arrays to compete in applications requiring low detection limits. Because SAW devices respond in proportion to change in mass per nominal unit area of the device surface, sensitivity is enhanced by surface modification with high-area, thin-film coating materials: a greater mass of analyte is adsorbed at a given ambient concentration. The authors are exploring several classes of electrochemically prepared high-area films, materials whose formulations and processing are well documented for applications other than chemical sensors. They present results from films formed by anodization, chemical conversion, and electroplating, yielding surface area enhancements as high as 170x.