A miniature, ultra-low power, sensitive, microbridge gas sensor has been developed.The heat loss from the bridge is a function of the thermal conductivity of thegas ambient. Miniature thermal conductivity sensors have been developed for gaschromatography systems [1] and microhotplates have been built with MEMS technologywhich operates within the mW range of power [2]. In this work a lower power microbridgewas built which allowed for the amplification of the effect of gas thermalconductivity on heat loss from the heated microbridge due to the increase inthe surface-to-volume ratio of the sensing element. For the bridge fabrication,CMOS compatible technology, nanolithography, and polysilicon surfacemicromachining were employed. Eight microbridges were fabricated on each die,of varying lengths and widths, and with a thickness of 1 μm. A voltagewas applied to the sensor and the resistance was calculated based upon thecurrent flow. The response has been tested with air, carbon dioxide, helium,and nitrogen. The resistance and temperature change for carbon dioxide was thegreatest, while the corresponding change for helium was the least. Thus the selectivity of the sensor todifferent gases was shown, as well as the robustness of the sensor. Another aspect of the sensor is that it hasvery low power consumption. The measuredpower consumption at 4 Volts is that of 11.5 mJ for Nitrogen, and 16.1 mJ forHelium. Thesensor responds to ambient gas very rapidly. The time constant not only showsthe fast response of the sensor, but it also allows for more accuratedetection, given that each different gas produces a different correspondingtime constant from the sensor. The sensor is able to detect differentconcentrations of the same gas as well. Fromthe slopes that were calculated, the resistance change at 5 Volts operation wasfound to be 2.05mΩ/ppm, 1.14 mΩ/ppm at 4.5 Volts, and 0.7 mΩ/ppm at 4 Volts. Thehigher voltages yielded higher resistance changes for all of the gases thatwere tested. Theversatility of the microbridge has been studied as well. Experiments were donein order to research the ability of a deposited film on the microbridge, inthis case tin oxide, to act as a sensing element for specific gases. In thissetup, the microbridge no longer is the sensing element, but instead acts as aheating element, whose sole purpose is to keep a constant temperature at whichit can then activate the SnO film, making it able to sense methane. In conclusion,the microbridge was designed, fabricated, and tested for use as an electrothermalgas sensor. The sensor responds to ambient gas very rapidly with differentlevels of resistance change for different gases, purely due to the differencein thermal conductivity of each of the gases. Not only does it have a fastresponse, but it also operates at low power levels. Further research has beendone in the microbridge's ability to act as a heating element, in which the useof a SnO film as the sensing element, activated by the microbridge, was studied. REFERENCES: 1. D. Cruz,J.P. Chang, S.K. Showalter, F. Gelbard, R.P. Manginell, M.G. Blain," Microfabricated thermal conductivity detector for themicro-ChemLabTM," Sensors andActuators B, Vol. 121 pp. 414-422, (2007). 2. A. G. Shirke, R. E. Cavicchi, S. Semancik, R. H. Jackson, B.G. Frederick, M. C. Wheeler. "Femtomolar isothermal desorption usingmicrohotplate sensors," J Vac Sci TechnolA, Vol. 25, pp. 514-526 (2007).

Les nanofils semiconducteurs sont aujourd’hui le sujet de nombreuses recherches pour leurs propriétés physiques intéressantes. S’appuyant plus spécifiquement sur les propriétés thermiques des nanostructures, l’objectif de cette thèse est de démontrer la faisabilité d’un capteur de conductivité thermique conçu à partir de nanofils de silicium pour des applications en tant que jauge Pirani ou détecteur de gaz. Le travail réalisé aborde les questions posées par la réduction de taille des objets telles que l’augmentation du bruit ou la conduction thermique en régime de raréfaction et élabore des solutions à ces problématiques. Le manuscrit aborde l’ensemble des étapes nécessaires à la réalisation d’un capteur, à savoir la conception des dispositifs, s’appuyant sur une étude détaillée du comportement physique des objets utilisés, la fabrication sur plaque 200mm de ces capteurs par la salle blanche du CEA-Leti en ayant recours aux techniques classiques de la microélectronique et enfin leur caractérisation en tant qu’instrument de mesure de pression (jauge Pirani) ou en tant que capteur de concentration de gaz. Le travail réalisé s’intègre dans un projet plus global de réalisation d’un système de détection de gaz portatif pour l’analyse de l’air ou de l’eau / Semiconducting nanowires are nowadays the topic of numerous research for their interesting physical properties. Relying more specifically on the thermal properties of nanostructures, the purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the feasibility of a thermal conductivity detector based on silicon nanowires for pressure sensing (Pirani gauge) or gas detection. The work presented herein addresses the questions raised by the reduction of the objects size such as the increase of the noise or the thermal conduction in a rarefied gas and tries to bring a solution to those problematics. This work deals with all the steps required for the realization of such devices. That is, the design and simulation of the sensor, based on a detailed study of the physical behavior of the objects, the fabrication of such devices on 200mm wafers by the CEA-Leti cleanroom using standard microelectronics processes and finally their characterization as a pressure sensor and gas detector. The work presented here is part of a wider project that aims at developing of a portable gas detection system for air or water analysis.