Highly Selective and Low-Power Carbon Monoxide Gas Sensor Based on the Chain Reaction of Oxygen and Carbon Monoxide to WO3

Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can easily occur in industrial and domestic settings, causing headaches, loss of consciousness, or death from overexposure. Commercially available CO gas sensors consume high power (typically 38 mW), whereas low-power gas sensors using nanostructured materials with catalysts lack reliability and uniformity. A low-power (1.8 mW @ 392 °C), sensitive, selective, reliable, and practical CO gas sensor is presented. The sensor adopts floated WO3 film as a sensing material to utilize the unique reaction of lattice oxide of WO3 with CO gas. The sensor locally modulates the electron concentration in the WO3 film, allowing O2 and CO gases to react primarily in different sensing areas. Electrons generated by the CO gas reaction can be consumed for O2 gas adsorption in a remote area, and this promotes the additional reaction of CO gas, boosting sensitivity and selectivity. The proposed sensor exhibits a 39.5 times higher response than the conventional resistor-type gas sensor fabricated on the same wafer. As a proof of concept, sensors with In2O3 film are fabricated, and the proposed sensor platform shows no advantage in detecting CO gas. Fabrication of the proposed sensor is reproducible and inexpensive due to conventional silicon-based processes, making it attractive for practical applications.