Minimum Detection Concentration of Hydrogen in Air Depending on Substrate Type and Design of the 3ω Sensor.

Hydrogen has emerged as a promising carbon-neutral fuel source, spurring research and development efforts to facilitate its widespread adoption. However, the safe handling of hydrogen requires precise leak detection sensors due to its low activation energy and explosive potential. Various detection methods exist, with thermal conductivity measurement being a prominent technique for quantifying hydrogen concentrations. However, challenges remain in achieving high measurement sensitivity at low hydrogen concentrations below 1% for thermal-conductivity-based hydrogen sensors. Recent research explores the 3ω method's application for measuring hydrogen concentrations in ambient air, offering high spatial and temporal resolutions. This study aims to enhance hydrogen leak detection sensitivity using the 3ω method by conducting thermal analyses on sensor design variables. Factors including substrate material, type, and sensor geometry significantly impact the measurement sensitivity. Comparative evaluations consider the minimum detectable hydrogen concentration while accounting for the uncertainty of the 3ω signal. The proposed suspended-type 3ω sensor is capable of detecting hydrogen leaks in ambient air and provides real-time measurements that are ideal for monitoring hydrogen diffusion. This research serves to bridge the gap between precision and real-time monitoring of hydrogen leak detection, promising significant advancements in the related safety applications.

Investigation of Heater Structures for Thermal Conductivity Measurements of SiO2 and Al2O3 Thin Films Using the 3-Omega Method.

A well-known method for measuring thermal conductivity is the 3-Omega (3ω) method. A prerequisite for it is the deposition of a metal heater on top of the sample surface. The known design rules for the heater geometry, however, are not yet sufficient. In this work, heaters with different lengths and widths within the known restrictions were investigated. The measurements were carried out on SiO2 thin films with different film thicknesses as a reference. There was a significant difference between theoretical deposited heater width and real heater width, which could lead to errors of up to 50% for the determined thermal conductivity. Heaters with lengths between 11 and 13 mm and widths of 6.5 µm or more proved to deliver the most trustworthy results. To verify the performance of these newfound heaters, additional investigations on Al2O3 thin films were carried out, proving our conclusions to be correct and delivering thermal conductivity values of 0.81 Wm-1 K-1 and 0.93 Wm-1 K-1 for unannealed and annealed samples, respectively. Furthermore, the effect of annealing on Al2O3 was studied, revealing a significant shrinking in film thickness of approximately 11% and an increase in thermal conductivity of 15%. The presented results on well-defined geometries will help to produce optimized heater structures for the 3ω method.

Phonon Bridge Effect in Superlattices of Thermoelectric TiNiSn/HfNiSn With Controlled Interface Intermixing.

The implementation of thermal barriers in thermoelectric materials improves their power conversion rates effectively. For this purpose, material boundaries are utilized and manipulated to affect phonon transmissivity. Specifically, interface intermixing and topography represents a useful but complex parameter for thermal transport modification. This study investigates epitaxial thin film multilayers, so called superlattices (SL), of TiNiSn/HfNiSn, both with pristine and purposefully deteriorated interfaces. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry are used to characterize their structural properties in detail. A differential 3 ω -method probes their thermal resistivity. The thermal resistivity reaches a maximum for an intermediate interface quality and decreases again for higher boundary layer intermixing. For boundaries with the lowest interface quality, the interface thermal resistance is reduced by 23% compared to a pristine SL. While an uptake of diffuse scattering likely explains the initial deterioration of thermal transport, we propose a phonon bridge interpretation for the lowered thermal resistivity of the interfaces beyond a critical intermixing. In this picture, the locally reduced acoustic contrast of the less defined boundary acts as a mediator that promotes phonon transition.