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The growing demand for the integration of functionalities on a single device is peaking with the rise of IoT. We are near to having multiple sensors in portable and wearable technologies, made possible through integration of sensor fabrication with mature CMOS manufacturing. In this paper we address semiconductor metal oxide sensors, which have the potential to become a universal sensor since they can be used in many emerging applications. This review concentrates on the gas sensing capabilities of the sensor and summarizes achievements in modeling relevant materials and processes for these emerging devices. Recent advances in sensor fabrication and the modeling thereof are further discussed, followed by a description of the essential electro-thermal-mechanical analyses, employed to estimate the devices' mechanical reliability. We further address advances made in understanding the sensing layer, which can be modeled similar to a transistor, where instead of a gate contact, the ionosorped gas ions create a surface potential, changing the film's conduction. Due to the intricate nature of the porous sensing films and the reception-transduction mechanism, many added complexities must be addressed. The importance of a thorough understanding of the electro-thermal-mechanical problem and how it links to the operation of the sensing film is thereby highlighted.

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Semiconducting metal oxide (SMO) gas sensors were designed, fabricated, and characterized in terms of their sensing capability and the thermo-mechanical behavior of the micro-hotplate. The sensors demonstrate high sensitivity at low concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at a low power consumption of 10.5 mW. In addition, the sensors realize fast response and recovery times of 20 s and 2.3 min, respectively. To further improve the baseline stability and sensing response characteristics at low power consumption, a novel sensor is conceived of and proposed. Tantalum aluminum (TaAl) is used as a microheater, whereas Pt-doped SnO2 is used as a thin film sensing layer. Both layers were deposited on top of a porous silicon nitride membrane. In this paper, two designs are characterized by simulations and experimental measurements, and the results are comparatively reported. Simultaneously, the impact of a heat pulsing mode and rubber smartphone cases on the sensing performance of the gas sensor are highlighted.