Solid State Gas Sensors

The Editors of this book have compiled a review of the current status and future potential of solid state gas sensors, based on material presented at a symposium held in Oxford. It bridges the gap between the technical literature and equipment manuals on one side and detailed papers on sensor science found in the literature on the other side. The awareness of the broader aspects of gas sensor design and function and details of chemical processes at the surface are basic to the achievement of advances in gas sensor technology. The galvanic oxygen sensor, the catalytic gas detector and the semiconducting oxide gas sensor are the principal types of commercial solid state gas sensor available at present and these are described in such a way so as to emphasise their potential for development. The Nernst galvanic oxygen sensor is reviewed first and then catalytic gas detectors are described from the point of view of fabrication and application and the design of poison-resistant devices. This is followed by a major section of the volume dealing with sensors which depend on the conductivity of semiconducting oxides (including the understanding of sensor response mechanisms and a review of techniques and methods used to characterise sensor behaviour in detail). New device concepts are reviewed and the final chapter provides an overview of the manner in which the various gas sensor types available match the requirements of present and future applications. The book will prove valuable to process control engineers, environmental monitoring agencies, researchers in relevant university departments, electronic engineers and employees in government departments and in the oil and gas industries. The Sensor Series includes books on all aspects of the science and technology of sensors, measuring transducers, sensing systems and their applications. Titles in the series are written mainly at the graduate and professional level and are suitable for instrument and measurement scientists, engineers and technologists in both academe and industry.