Gas sensor
US8826726B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 29, 2010 |
| Grant date | Sep 9, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 20, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N27/74
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A gas sensor is described which incorporates a sensor stack comprising a first film layer of a ferromagnetic material, a spacer layer, and a second film layer of the ferromagnetic material. The first film layer is fabricated so that it exhibits a dependence of its magnetic anisotropy direction on the presence of a gas, That is, the orientation of the easy axis of magnetization will flip from out-of-plane to in-plane when the gas to be detected is present in sufficient concentration. By monitoring the change in resistance of the sensor stack when the orientation of the first layer's magnetization changes, and correlating that change with temperature one can determine both the identity and relative concentration of the detected gas. In one embodiment the stack sensor comprises a top ferromagnetic layer two mono layers thick of cobalt deposited upon a spacer layer of ruthenium, which in turn has a second layer of cobalt disposed on its other side, this second cobalt layer in contact with a programmable heater chip.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.