Abstract
We fabricated gas sensors using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as electron emitters for the purpose of detecting inert gases. By using the silicon-glass anodic bonding and glass patterning technologies with the typical Si process, we improved the compactness of the sensors and the reliability in process. The proposed sensor, based on, an electrical discharge theory known as Paschen's law in principle, works by figuring the variation of the discharge current depending on gas concentration. In the experiment, the initial breakdown characteristics were measured for air and Ar as a function of gas pressure. As the result, even though it should be realized that there are many other factors which have an effect on the breakdown of a gap, the sensors led to similar result as predicted by Paschen's law, and they showed a possibility as gas sensors which enable to detect the gas density ranged to the vacuum pressure from 1 to $10^{-3}$ Torr.