title: Direct in situ nitridation of nanostructured metal oxide deposited semiconductor interfaces: tuning the response of reversibly interacting sensor sites.
abstract: Metal-oxide nanostructure-decorated extrinsic semiconductor interfaces modified through in situ nitridation greatly expand the range of sensor interface response. Select metal-oxide sites, deposited to an n-type nanopore-coated microporous interface, direct a dominant electron-transduction process for reversible chemical sensing, which minimizes chemical-bond formation. The oxides are modified to decrease their Lewis acidity through a weak interaction to form metal oxynitride sites. Conductometric and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that in situ treatment changes the reversible interaction with the analytes NH3 and NO. The sensor range is extended, which creates a distinct new family of responses determined by the Lewis acidity/basicity of a given analyte relative to that of the nanostructures chosen to decorate the interface. The analyte response, broadened in a substantial and predictable way by nitridation, is explained by the recently developing inverse hard/soft acid/base model (IHSAB) of reversible electron transduction.
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (USA), Fax: (+1) 404-894-9958.
authors.forename: William I
authors.initials: WI
authors.lastname: Laminack
authors.forename: James L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gole
keywords: interfaces; metal oxides; nitridation; sensors; silicon