Workpackages

In the first half of the project state-of-the-art gas sensing materials based on nanocrystalline semiconducting oxides nanocomposites will be prepared in parallel to the development of the innovative materials. This approach will allow benchmarking of the newly developed technologies with respect to more state-of-the art technologies and established commercial products.

The successful development of a new generation of mesoscopic gas sensing materials will be supported by a wide range of morphological and physico-chemical characterisation techniques like HRTEM and Raman.

The goal of the NANOS4 proposal is not limited to developing novel metal oxide gas sensor arrays; the second part of the project aims at developing a proper sensing system, including micro fluidic elements (micro-chambers and micro-pumps), control electronics and pattern recognition software and to test it in real working environments, as defined by te application partners.

WP1 User Requirements and Specifications: assessment of user requirements as well as of system and component design specifications.
The applications investigated are directly related to the companies' core activities.

WP2 Sensing materials & substrates: preparation of innovative gas sensing metal oxides capable of providing high sensitivity, structural stability and low sensor drift. State-of-the-art materials will be prepared for benchmarking with the innovative sensors provided by NANOS4 project.

WP3 Physico-Chemical and functional characterisation: detailed physico-chemical characterization is performed by TEM, HRTEM, Raman, AFM, SEM, PDS, XRD and FTIR to determine properties of nanostructures taking into account their size, crystallographic characteristics and surface performances.
Functional characterisation carried out during material development works as an effective feedback for the optimization of the sensing materials (e.g. by studying the sources of sensor performance degradation).

WP4 Photoactivation for novel sensor architectures: characterization of optical absorption in metal oxide layers and investigation of the effect of photoactivation on the electronic surface characteristics and on functional performances.

WP5 Modelling and simulation: theoretical modelling of mesoscopic gas sensors for an increased knowledge of the sensors functioning mechanism.

SEM image of a nanowire-based FET		Picture of a micro machined gas sensor array chip design

WP6 Sensor arrays, front-end electronics & statistical pattern recognition: front-end electronics and pattern recognition enclosed in the sensor system .

Output from the set WP2-5 will be an to be integrated in a micro reactor system, together with WP6 they will constitute the input forWP7.

WP7 Sensor System Integration: integration of the array of mesoscopic sensors deposited onto Si or SiC hotplates (output of WP2-6) into a micro reactor system.

WP8 Lab and Field Tests: the sensor systems output from WP7 will undergo reliability, laboratory and field tests.

In order to allow for an early start on these systems-related issues, WP6-8 will be fed in the first half of the project with state of the art gas sensing materials and heater substrates. This double track approach firstly allows all WPs to run essentially parallel in time and secondly, results obtained on newly developed gas sensing technologies can later be benchmarked against more state-of-the art technologies and established commercial products.

WP9 Exploitation and dissemination: stimulate the adoption and exploitation of the NANOS4 technology in the scientific community as well as on the commercial market at large through.

WP 10 Coordination : coordination of the project as a whole. This coordination will ensure a timely delivery of results, components and subassemblies to assure a smooth workflow in and between the different WPs.