AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT)-based sensors with catalytic platinum gate were micro-fabricated on commercially available epitaxial wafers and extensively characterized for ppm level hydrogen sulfide (H2S) detection for industrial safety applications. High operating temperature above 150 °C enabled large signal variation (ΔIDS) of 2.17 and sensing response of 112% for 90 ppm H2S in dry air as well as high stability across a wide range of biasing conditions. Transient response measurements demonstrated stable operation, superb response and recovery, with good repeatability. The measured sensing signal rise (fall) times reduced from 476 (1316) s to 219 (507) s when the temperature was increased from 200 °C to 250 °C. The response to 90 ppm H2S was 4.5x larger than to H2 and the device showed stable operation over an extended time period.@en

This paper reports on the layout optimization of Pt-AlGaN/GaN HEMT-sensors for enhancing hydrogen sensor performance. Sensors with gate width and length ratios Wg/Lg from 0.25 to 10 were designed, fabricated and tested for the detection of hydrogen gas at 200 °C. Sensitivity, sensing current variation and transient response are directly related to the sensor gate electrode Wg/Lg ratio. The obtained results demonstrated a 217 % increase in sensitivity and 4630 % increase in sensing current variation at 500 ppm H2 for a Wg/Lg from 0.25 to 10. In addition, the detection limit was lowered to 5 ppm. Transient characteristics demonstrated faster sensor response to H2, but slower recovery rates with increasing ratio.@en