Title :
Sensing by
-ZnO Thin Films
Author :
Balakrishnan, L.N. ; Gowrishankar, S. ; Gopalakrishnan, N.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Phys., Nat. Inst. of Technol., Tiruchirappalli, India
Abstract :
AlN and AlAs codoped p -ZnO thin films are fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering for gas sensing applications. For comparison, Al monodoped n-ZnO film is also grown. The conductivity of the films is confirmed by the Van der Pauw Hall effect measurement system. The structural and elemental properties of the films are studied by X-ray diffraction and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy. Sensitivity measurements are performed with the fabricated p-and n-ZnO films for different concentrations of ammonia (200-1200 ppm) at different operating temperatures (room temperature: 100°C and 150°C). It is found that both p-ZnO films have higher sensitivity than that of the n-ZnO film. Furthermore, both p-ZnO films exhibit lower response and recovery times than n-ZnO film.
Keywords :
II-VI semiconductors; X-ray diffraction; aluminium compounds; ammonia; chemical variables measurement; gas sensors; secondary ion mass spectroscopy; sputter deposition; thin film sensors; time of flight mass spectroscopy; wide band gap semiconductors; zinc compounds; NH3; RF magnetron sputtering; Van der Pauw Hall effect measurement system; X-ray diffraction; ZnO:AlN,AlAs; ammonia concentration; gas sensing application; temperature 100 degC; temperature 150 degC; temperature 293 K to 298 K; thin film sensing; time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy; Films; Gas detectors; Sensitivity; Substrates; Temperature sensors; Zinc oxide; $p$-conductivity; Ammonia sensing; ZnO; codoping;
Journal_Title :
Sensors Journal, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/JSEN.2013.2244592