Optimization of the operational temperature of photoluminescence sensor field for detection of linear alcohols

Chemical sensors are used to detect the presence of chemical substances using various physical quantities. Porous silicon, prepared by electrochemically etching the surface of crystalline silicon with a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ethanol under appropriate conditions, is a porous material that contains nanocrystalline forms of silicon. Nanocrystalline silicon exhibits intense photoluminescence properties at room temperature, which strongly depend on the presence of chemical substances in its surroundings. The photoluminescence intensity of porous silicon is generally quenched in the presence of the analyte. The photoluminescence sensor response to the substances to be determined depends mainly on the concentration of the substance in question, but also on the operating conditions. Most critical is the operating temperature, which fundamentally affects the intensity of photoluminescence and the rate of sensor response when the analyte is added or removed from the system. The aim of this bachelor thesis was the preparation of porous silicon samples and their characterization by infrared (FTIR) and photoluminescence spectroscopy. These samples were tested as sensor elements of a photoluminescence sensor array for the detection of ethanol linear alcohol vapor. The main objective of the bachelor..