Effects of Ag nanoparticles decorated on ZnO nanorods under visible light illumination on flexible acetylene gas sensing properties

In this work, piezoelectric and plasmonic effects on a flexible acetylene (C₂H₂) gas sensor based on silver (Ag) nanparticles (NPs)-coated ZnO nanorods (Ag-ZnO) were realized. Using visible light illumination, the sensing properties can be modulated and the power consumption can be reduced significantly. Upon exposure to 1000 ppm C₂H₂ under 8.36 mW cm^?2 light illumination, the power consumption of the sensor noticeably reduced from 3.48 W (in dark) to 1.64 W. A large number of light-induced chemisorbed oxygen ions were generated in the Ag-ZnO forest due to the strong coupling effect between the plasmonic Ag NPs and the ZnO NRs. This resulted in increased surface charge densities, which facilitated the sensor to react with the C₂H₂ molecules at lower operating temperature, hence reduced the power requirement. Moreover, the sensor exhibited reliable detection of C₂H₂ gas within the concentration of 3–1000 ppm including a maximum sensor response of 26.2, response-recovery time of 66/68 s, the excellent mechanical stability at a bending angle up to 90^o, and 10⁴ cycles of repeated deformation processes. These results might facilitate research in developing a low power C₂H₂ gas sensor and will open up new approaches for future light modulated gas sensors.     

Effects of rapid thermal annealing on surface acoustic wave ultraviolet sensors using ZnO nanorods grown on AlN/Si structures

In this study, we demonstrate a high sensitivity of surface acoustic wave (SAW) ultraviolet (UV) sensor based on ZnO nanorods (NRs) grown on an aluminum nitride (AlN)/silicon (Si) layered structure. The one-dimensional ZnO NRs act as a high-UV sensing material due to their large surface-to-volume ratio. The fabrication of SAW UV sensor is entirely compatible with micro/nano electromechanical (M/NEMS) process with conventional lithography and synthesized ZnO NRs by hydrothermal method at low temperature. The rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process effectively improved the optical properties of ZnO NRs and the sensitivity of the SAW UV sensors. The resulting SAW UV sensors responded to various UV light intensities, and the RTA-processed samples showed high sensitivity. The SAW UV sensor after RTA treatment at 600 °C showed the highest sensitivity with a 130 kHz frequency shift at a UV light intensity of at 0.6 mW/cm², a 5-fold increase in sensitivity compare with as-grown sample.     

ZnO based surface acoustic wave ultraviolet photo sensor

Ultraviolet (UV) sensor based on ZnO thin film surface acoustic wave (SAW) device is reported. ZnO films were grown using an RF magnetron sputtering technique. SAW devices were made using such ZnO films exhibiting a central frequency at ～41.2 MHz. The SAW UV sensor was fabricated by depositing a 70 nm thin photoconducting ZnO overlayer on the fabricated SAW device. The SAW UV sensor was found to exhibit interesting photoresponse behavior to UV illumination, and a downshift in frequency of ～45 kHz, and a change in insertion loss ～1.1 dB were observed under UV illumination intensity of 19 mW/cm². The changes in the frequency of operation and the insertion loss have been attributed to the acoustoelectric interaction between the photogenerated charge carriers and the potential associated with the acoustic waves. Results show the promise of ZnO for the fabrication of low cost wireless SAW UV sensors.     

Effect of heat treatment of sputter deposited ZnO films co-doped with H and Al

ZnO films co-doped with H and Al (HAZO) were prepared by sputtering ZnO targets containing Al₂O₃ dcontent of 1 (HA₁ZO series) and 2 wt.% (HA₂ZO series) on Corning glass (Eagle 2000) at substrate temperature of 150 °C with Ar and H₂/Ar gas mixtures. The effects of hydrogen addition to Al-doped ZnO (AZO) films with different Al contents on the electrical, optical and structural properties of the as-grown films as well as the vacuum- and air-annealed films were examined. For the as-deposited films, the free carrier number in both series of HAZO films increased with increasing H₂ content in sputter gas. HA₂ZO film series prepared from target containing 2 wt.% Al₂O₃ showed better crystallinity and higher carrier concentration than HA₁ZO film series deposited using target containing 1 wt.% Al₂O₃. The crystallinity and the Hall mobility of HA₂ZO film series decreased with increasing H₂ content in sputter gas, while those of HA₁ZO film series showed a reversed behavior. Although HA₂ZO film series yielded lower resistivity than HA₁ZO film series due to higher carrier concentrations, the higher figure of merit (expressed as 1?/?ρα, where ρ and α represents the resistivity and absorption coefficient, respectively) was observed for HA₁ZO film series because of substantially low absorption loss in these films. When annealed in air ambient, HA₁ZO film series showed much stronger stability than HA₂ZO film series. Vacuum-annealing resulted in drop of the carrier concentrations as well as large shrinkage in lattice constant, which indicated that the hydrogen dopants are in relatively volatile state and can be removed easily from the films upon annealing.     

CO gas sensing properties in Pd-added ZnO sensors

Unadded and 0.5 mol% Pd-added ZnO bulk and thin films were prepared by sintering and sputtering, respectively, and their CO gas sensing properties were investigated. The effects of Pd addition, sensing temperature (100–500 °C), and humidity on the CO gas response were discussed. In the bulk sensors, Pd-addition lowered the temperature for the maximum CO gas response (sensitivity) from 400 to 300 °C, whereas the thin film sensors (unadded and Pd-added) exhibited maximum gas response at 200 °C. The Pd-addition enhanced the CO gas response in thin film sensors, and it was also effective for reducing the interference from humidity in both bulk and thin film sensors.     

NO2 adsorption behaviour on LaFeO3 electrodes of YSZ-based non-nernstian electrochemical sensors

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to examine the NO₂ adsorption behaviour on the LaFeO₃ and Pt electrodes of planar yttria stabilized zirconia non-Nernstian gas sensors. The electrochemical sensors were exposed to the same gas atmosphere containing 1000 ppm NO₂ at 650°C. XPS of the as-prepared sensors and sensors after exposure to NO₂ revealed bonded nitrogen peaks on the surface of the semiconducting oxide but no nitrogen peaks on the Pt electrode. Therefore, NO₂ adsorption on a LaFeO₃ electrode plays an important role in the NO₂ detection mechanism.     

Fabrication and characterization of piezoelectric driven microdiaphragm resonating sensor for a biosensing application

The detection capability of microresonating sensors is decided by the resonant properties (mass sensitivity and quality factor) because the microresonating sensors have detection principle that the target material of small amount quantitatively detect by measuring the resonant properties change of microresonators. Mass sensitivity is important factor to evaluate minimum detectable mass of microresonating sensors. For the biomolecule detection in liquid, microresonaotrs have to keep the quality factor that can discriminate small frequency change when the liquid sample injected on the microresonating sensors. In order to study mass sensitivity and quality factor of the fabricated microdiaphragm sensors, Pt thin film with different thicknesses are deposited on the our Pb(Zr_0.52Ti_0.48)O₃ layer-embedded microdiaphragm sensors. Increasing the mass sensitivity ranging from 1.68 to 36.61 Hz/ng which is found with the decreasing the width of squared microdiaphragms ranging 900 to 300 μm. The mass sensitivity of our microdiaphragm sensor stands comparison with microcantilever sensor of length scale of 200?~?300 μm. Moreover, we find that the quality factor is kept on more than 23 that was ten times better than microcantilever resonating sensor with length scale of 200 μm.     

Optical and sensor properties of ZnO nanostructure grown by thermal oxidation in dry or wet nitrogen

Zn films on glass were oxidized at 390°C in dry or wet N₂. As-prepared ZnO oxides were characterized by a scanning electron microscope (SEM), an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), a transmission electron microscope (TEN) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. Gold electrodes were deposited on ZnO films to obtain ZnO gas sensors, which were characterized by exposure to ethanol at room temperature. The results show that the specimen oxidized in dry N₂ exhibits a sharp PL peak at 380 nm whereas that oxidized in wet N₂ exhibits a broad peak at 490 nm. The sensors demonstrate significant sensitivity to ethanol vapor at room temperature with a detection limit of 200 ppm for the sensor with ZnO oxidized in wet N₂. Recovery for the sensor with ZnO oxidized in wet N₂ can be achieved by illumination with natural light. However, for the sensor with ZnO oxidized in dry N₂, ultraviolet (UV) radiation is needed for recovery.     

Structural and electrical properties of Sb-doped p-type ZnO thin films fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering

We investigated the Sb-doping effects on ZnO thin film using RF (radio frequency) magnetron sputtering and RTA (rapid thermal annealing). The structural and electrical properties of the thin films were measured by X-ray diffraction, SEM (scanning electron microscope), and Hall effect measurement. Thin films were deposited at a high temperature of 800°C in order to improve the crystal quality and were annealed for a short time of only 3 min. The structural properties of undoped and Sb-doped films were considerably improved by increasing oxygen content in the Ar-O₂ gas mixture. Sb-doping also significantly decreased the electron concentration, making the films p-type. However, the crystallinity and surface roughness of the films degraded and the mobility decreased while increasing Sb-doping content, likely as a result of the formation of smaller grain size. From this study, we observed the transition to the p-type behavior at 1.5 at.% of Sb. The thin film deposited with this doping level showed a hole concentration of 4.412?×?10¹⁷ cm^?3 and thus is considered applicable to p-type ZnO thin film.     

TiO2 Ultraviolet Detectors with Sandwich Structure

In this letter, sandwich structure TiO₂ ultraviolet detectors with Pt electrodes have been fabricated. TiO₂ thin films were prepared by sol-gel method, and Pt film was deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering directly on the semiconductor films. At 5 V bias, the dark current and photocurrent of the detectors were 6 nA and 69.2 μA, respectively. Under irradiation of 310 nm UV light, the detector with sandwich structure achieved a higher photoresponse of 197.4 A/W. The rise time of the device was 426.6 ms and the fall time was 509.2 ms, respectively.     

DC conduction behavior of Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12 thin films grown by RF-magnetron sputtering

The Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti₃O₁₂ (BNT) thin films were deposited on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by using RF-magnetron sputtering method and studied the ferroelectric and leakage current charateristics. The polarization – electric field (P-E) hysteresis loops of BNT film was well saturated with the remnant polarization (2P _r ) of 29.8 μC/cm² and a coercive field (2E _c ) of 121 kV/cm. The leakage current density – electric field (J-E) characteristics of the Pt/BNT/Pt capacitor reveals the presence of two conduction region, having Ohmic behavior at low electric field (below 50 kV/cm) and Schottky-emission or Poole-Frenkel emission at high electric field (above 60 kV/cm). The barrier height and trapped level of BNT films are estimated to be 1.11 eV and 0.90 eV, respectively.     

Characteristics of fabricated catalytic combustible micro gas sensor with low power consumption for detecting methane leakage of compressed natural gas bus

For keeping the safety of compressed natural gas-powered buses (CNG, CH₄), a small sized and low power consumption gas sensor is needed for the fuel leakage alarm system. So catalytic combustible micro gas sensors were designed and fabricated by microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology and the sensors were measured output voltage potential of the sensor circuit as sensitivities to methane. The sensor was consisted of a sensing platform and a compensation platform, and the length and width of the fabricated platform were 3 mm by 3 mm. The output voltage of a fabricated micro sensor were 0.727 mV, 0.548 mV, 0.45 mV, and 0.29 mV at methane concentrations of 4,630 ppm, 3,473 ppm, 2,315 ppm, and 1,158 ppm respectively, at the input power of 104 mW. Fabricated micro gas sensors could be operated at low power consumption and showed good selectivity. For further study, the long-term stability of micro sensors will be done before applying to CNG powered buses.     

Low operating temperature CO sensor prepared using SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles

A low operating temperature CO (carbon monoxide) sensor was fabricated from a nanometer-scale SnO₂ (tin oxide) powder. The SnO₂ nanoparticles in a size range 10–20 nm were synthesized as a function of surfactant (tri-n-octylamine, TOA) addition (0–1.5 mol%) via a simple thermal decomposition method. The resulting SnO₂ nanoparticles were first screen-printed onto an electrode patterned substrate to be a thick film. Subsequently, the composite film was heat-treated to be a device for sensing CO gas. The thermal decomposed powders were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and surface area measurements (BET). The CO-sensing performance of all the sensors was investigated. The experimental results showed that the TOA addition significantly decreased the particle size of the resulting SnO₂ nanoparticle. However, the structure of the powder coating was crucial to their sensing performance. After heat-treatment, the smaller particle tended to cause the formation of agglomeration, resulting in the decline of surface area and reducing the reaction site during sensing. However, the paths for the sensed gas entering between the agglomerated structure may influence the sensing performance. As a CO sensing material, the SnO₂ nanoparticle (~12 nm in diameter) prepared with 1.25 mol% TOA addition exhibited most stable electrical performance. The SnO₂ coating with TOA addition >0.75 mol% exhibited sensor response at a relatively low temperature of <50°C.     

Effect of a hydrogen ratio in electrical and optical properties of hydrogenated Al-doped ZnO films

This study examined the effect of the hydrogen ratio on the electrical and optical properties of hydrogenated Al-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films deposited by rf magnetron sputtering using a ceramic target (98 wt% ZnO, 2 wt% Al₂O₃). Various AZO films on glass were prepared by changing the H₂/(Ar?+?H₂) ratio at room temperature. The AZO/H films showed a lower resistivity and a higher carrier concentration and mobility than the AZO films. However, the resistivity and mobility of the AZO/H films increased and decreased with increasing H₂ flow ratio, respectively. As a result, the AZO/H films grown with 2% H₂ addition showed excellent electrical properties with a resistivity of 4.98?×?10⁴ Ωcm. The UV-measurements showed that the optical transmission of the AZO/H films was >85% in the visible range with a wide optical band gap. In addition, the effect of H₂ flow ratio on the structure and composition of hydrogenated AZO thin films have also been studied.     

Improvement of heating characteristics of molybdenum silicide thin film electric heaters

Molybdenum silicide (MoSi₂) has an electrical conductivity as high as that of a metal, and greater chemical stability than that of, for example, SiC, in various atmospheres. Therefore, many kinds of MoSi₂ bulk‐type heaters are used in practical operations up to 1800^°C, which is higher than the temperature of SiC heaters. However, MoSi₂ is fragile at room temperature and has low creep resistance at high temperature. The purpose of this study is to fabricate heaters using thin films of MoSi₂ deposited on alumina substrates and crucibles by RF magnetron sputtering and to evaluate their characteristics. MoSi₂ thin film was deposited on the outside of an alumina crucible without heating the substrate and then Pt wire was attached using a Pt paste with sintering in a vacuum. This MoSi₂ thin film heater showed almost linear resistance–temperature (R–T) characteristics and a uniform heating state. It also showed good controllability of voltage and stability in the power–T characteristics for operations up to 1000^°C. However, at a heating temperature of 1300^°C, the heating area of MoSi₂ thin film decreased because of the reaction between Pt and MoSi₂ in the case of long‐term heating. Thus, Mo thin film was deposited as a buffer layer between Pt and MoSi₂ thin film to prevent such a reaction. This thin film heater showed good linear R–T characteristics up to 1200^°C. However, the temperature coefficient of resistance changed with repeated heating operation as a result of the diffusion of Mo atoms into MoSi₂. Thus, a thin film heater was fabricated with Mo₃Si, having a higher Mo content than MoSi₂. This heater showed a low degree of diffusion of Mo or Pt atoms into the thin film and had excellent practical characteristics up to 1000^°C. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 168(2): 11–19, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20806     

Effects of the O2/Ar gas flow ratio on the electrical and transmittance properties of ZnO:Al films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

ZnO:Al thin films for transparent conductors were deposited on sapphire (0001) substrates by using an RF magnetron sputtering technique. Effects of the O₂/Ar flow ratio in the sputtering process on the crystallinity, carrier concentration, carrier mobility, and transmittance of the films were investigated. The FWHM of the (002) XRD intensity peak is minimal at the O₂/Ar flow ratio of 0.5. According to the Hall measurement results the carrier concentration and mobility of the film decrease and thus the resistivity increases as the O₂/Ar flow ratio increases. The transmittance of the ZnO:Al film deposited on the glass substrate is characteristic of standing wave. The transmittance increases as the O₂/Ar flow ratio in-RF magnetron sputtering increases up to 0.5. Considering the effects of the the O₂/Ar flow ratio on the electrical resistivity and transmittance of the ZnO:Al film the optimum O₂/Ar flow ratio is 0.5 in the RF magnetron sputter deposition of the ZnO:Al film.     

NiCr Alloy As Both Absorption Layer and Top Electrode onto Pb(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 Thin Films for Infrared Sensors

NiCr alloys prepared by dc magnetron sputtering are considered to apply simultaneously both the absorption layer and the top electrode on PZT thin films for infrared sensors. NiCr alloys deposited with dc powers of Ni 80 and Cr 50 W showed the most stable oxidation resistance even at 600°C in an oxygen ambient. They have a resistivity of approximately 70 μΩ-cm and a rms roughness of 2.0 nm in samples annealed at 600°C for 5 min in O₂. The NiCr/PZT/Pt capacitors showed a well-saturated hysteresis loop having a remanent polarization of 20 μC/cm². Ultra-thin NiCr alloys showed a possibility as a top electrode for infrared sensors.     

Microstructures and dielectric properties of Zn2SnO4 thin films by sputtering from a ZnO doped ceramic target

The dielectric properties of Zn₂SnO₄ thin films with various degrees of ZnO dopant concentration were investigated. Zn₂SnO₄ thin films were prepared using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the 0 and 75 mole % ZnO doped Zn₂SnO₄ thin films revealed that Zn₂SnO₄ is the main crystalline phase, which is accompanied by a little SnO₂ as the second phase. The second phase SnO₂ in specimens vanished when the extent of ZnO additive was increased to 100 mole%. A dielectric constant of 15–40 and a loss factor of 0.10–0.14 of Zn₂SnO₄ thin films were measured at 1 MHz with ZnO dopant concentration in the range of 0–100 mole%.     

Gas discrimination method for detecting transformer faults by neural network

This paper describes a method available for early detection of abnormality in an oil-filled transformer. In this method, four gas sensors having different characteristics and neural network are used to identify gas species (H₂, CH₄, C₂H₄, C₂H₂ and mixture of two species). To improve the selectivity of gas sensors, the time response patterns induced by changing sensor temperature and the stationary sensor output are identified by neural network. Furthermore, the mixture ratio of gases is derived by using the stationary sensor output in response to the changing sensor temperature. Gas species are well discriminated, and the mixture ratio derived from the sensor output agrees well with the measurement by gas chromatography. Therefore, it is confirmed that our method is applicable to the transformer diagnostic technology.     

Fabrication and evaluation of LaCrO3 thin film heaters

Lanthanum chromium oxide (LaCrO₃) has excellent high‐temperature properties. LaCrO₃ doped with alkaline earth metals also has high electric conductivity. The purpose of this study is to fabricate thin film heaters using LaCrO₃ doped with Ca by RF magnetron sputtering method. The crystal structure of thin films was evaluated and the surface form was studied. The results show that the thin film deposited on Si(100) single crystal and quartz glass substrates in Ar gas had a strong orientation and that its surface form was comparatively smooth. The crystal structure of the thin films deposited on Si(100) and quartz glass substrate at temperatures of 700 and 800 °C by sputtering in a mixture of Ar and O₂ gases was the same as the crystal structure of LaCrO₃. The heating characteristics of a thin film heater on Si(100) substrate with Pt electrodes were evaluated by measurement of the equilibrium temperature‐current (T–I) and resistance‐equilibrium temperature (R–T) characteristics. The maximum equilibrium heating temperature was about 1100 °C. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 139(3): 18–25, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.1156