KeV ion beam induced surface modification of SiC hydrogen sensor

Silicon carbide, a wide-bandgap semiconductor, is currently used to fabricate an efficient high temperature hydrogen sensor. When a palladium coating is applied on the exposed surface of silicon carbide, the chemical reaction between palladium and hydrogen produces a detectable change in the surface chemical potential. Rather than applying a palladium film, we have implanted palladium ions into the silicon face of 6H, n-type SiC samples. The implantation energies and fluences, as well as the results obtained by monitoring the current through the sample in the presence of hydrogen are included below. The exposure to hydrogen of this kind of sensor while monitoring the current flow with respect to time, has revealed a completely different behavior than the samples that have Pd deposited as a surface layer.