Carbon Nanotube-Based Field-Effect Transistor-Type Sensor with a Sensing Gate for Ppb-Level Formaldehyde Detection

The detection of harmful trace gases, such as formaldehyde (HCHO), is a technical challenge in the current gas sensor field. The weak electrical signal caused by trace amounts of gases is difficult to be detected and susceptible to other gases. Based on the amplification effect of a field-effect transistor (FET), a carbon-based FET-type gas sensor with a gas-sensing gate is proposed for HCHO detection at the ppb level. Semiconducting carbon nanotubes (s-CNTs) and a catalytic metal are chosen as channel and gate materials, respectively, for the FET-type gas sensor, which makes full use of the respective advantages of the channel transport layer and the sensitive gate layer. The as-prepared carbon-based FET-type gas sensor exhibits a low detection limit toward HCHO up to 20 ppb under room temperature (RT), which can be improved to 10 ppb by a further heating strategy. It also exhibits a remarkable elevated recovery rate from 80 to 97% with almost no baseline drift (2%) compared to the RT condition, revealing excellent reproducibility, stability, and recovery. The role of sensitive function in the FET-type gas sensor is performed by means of an independent gas-sensing gate, that is, the independence of the sensitive gate and the electron transmission channel is the main reason for its high sensitivity detection. We hope our work can provide an instructive approach for designing high-performance formaldehyde sensor chips with on-chip integration potential.