Effect of aluminium doping on structural and gas sensing properties of zinc oxide thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis

A facile spray pyrolysis route is used to deposit aluminium doped ZnO (AZO) thin films on to the glass substrates. It is observed that on aluminium doping the particle size of ZnO reduces significantly; moreover, uniformity of particle also gets enhanced. Their XRD study reveals that intensity ratio of crystal planes depend on the aluminium doping concentration. The gas response studies of; ∼800 nm thick Al-doped ZnO films at different operating temperatures show that 5 at% Al-doped ZnO thin film exhibits highest response towards H₂S gas at 200 °C. The results suggest that the gas response strongly depends on the particle size and aluminium doping in the ZnO.     

Improving the ethanol sensing of ZnO nano-particle thin films—The correlation between the grain size and the sensing mechanism

ZnO and Sn doped ZnO (ZnO:Sn) thin films at various doping concentrations from 1 to 10 at.% were prepared by the sol-gel method for an ethanol sensing application. The Sn doping significantly influenced the film growth, grain size and response of the films. The XRD patterns showed that the hexagonal wurtzite structure of the ZnO film was retained even after the Sn doping. The crystallite grain sizes of the ZnO:Sn thin films at 0, 2 and 4 at.% were estimated by using the typical Scherrer's equation. The crystalline quality of the films at 6, 8 and 10 at.% of Sn was degenerated. Typical FESEM images demonstrated the different morphologies for the ZnO:Sn thin films at various Sn concentrations; many pores of various dimensions were observed depending on the doping level. A TEM analysis of the ZnO:Sn thin films at 0, 2 and 4 at.% was performed to verify the grain size. The optimum Sn doping level of ZnO:Sn thin film for ethanol sensing was estimated to be 4 at.%. The 4 at.% sample obtained the highest response to ethanol vapor in the 10-400 ppm level range at a low operating temperature of 250 °C. The sensing mechanism was explained by a variation in the sensitivity model from a neck-grain-boundary controlled sensitivity to a neck-controlled sensitivity. Our work demonstrates the ability to reduce the working temperature as well as to increase the response of ZnO thin film based gas sensors to detect ethanol, which would be of great merit for commercialized applications.     

Large area Ag-TiO2 UV radiation sensor fabricated on a thermally oxidized titanium chip

A Schottky-type ultraviolet (UV) light sensor is fabricated on a thermally oxidized titanium chip. The device is of Ag-TiO₂-Ti structure, and the Schottky junction between silver and rutile is formed subsequent to the vacuum deposition of silver on the thermally grown rutile layer by a controlled thermal annealing in air. The device operates at −300 mV biasing established between silver and titanium electrodes. The dark reverse current of this diode increases four orders of magnitude when illuminated with UV light (355 nm) of 10 μW/mm² intensity. The device is almost insensitive to visible light and requires no filtering when used for ambient UV level detection. The operation mechanism of the device is described by photonic electron-hole pair generation in the carrier depleted titanium dioxide layer adjacent to the silver electrode. The electrode-to-electrode distance is 1 μm only affording much faster performance compared to photoconductive UV detectors fabricated based on titanium dioxide; the response and recovery times of the device are 10 ms and 17 ms, respectively. At its standby mode, a 1 mm² active area device consumes less than 10 pW of electric power. Sensors with sensitive areas as large as ∼10 mm² are easy to fabricate. The fabricated devices are rugged, resistant to UV degradation, and cost effective.     

Evaluation of photoresponse in solution-processable ZnO thin film transistor for radiative sensor applications

Thin film transistor based on the spin-cast ZnO channel layer was fabricated with SiO₂ dielectric layer on Si substrate. The ZnO active layer grown by sol-gel spin-cast caused an increase in the field-effect mobility compared to those of the ZnO TFTs with the channel layer grown by zinc acetate precursor. Under light illumination, the ZnO-TFT in turn-off state exhibited a high drain current, which is 12.82 times higher than dark drain current, whereas in turn-on state is 9.43 times. The photosensing behavior of thin film transistor based on the spin-cast ZnO channel layer indicated more pronounced under a depletion region of 0 V gate bias. The obtained results indicate that the ZnO layer spin coated on SiO₂ gate layer can be an effective and promising way to increase factor for improving the device performance and for light detecting of ZnO thin film transistor and the studied thin film phototransistor can be used in optoelectronic applications.     

基于微接触印刷的ZnO紫外传感器特性研究

采用微接触印刷技术和水热生长方法在硅基底上实现了ZnO种子层的图案化转移与纳米线阵列的可控制备。利用X射线衍射(XRD)、能量色散谱(EDS)和扫描电子显微镜(SEM)等测试手段对制备的ZnO纳米线晶体结构、化学组分以及表面形貌进行了表征,并对制备的ZnO纳米线传感器进行了紫外特性测试。测试结果表明:随着紫外光强度的增加,传感器的光暗电流比和光响应度也随之增加。当紫外传感器偏压在4.5 V时,其光暗电流比为80.8,响应度可达4.05 A/W。     

Selective potentiometric determination of uric acid with uricase immobilized on ZnO nanowires

In this study, a potentiometric uric acid biosensor was fabricated by immobilization of uricase onto zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowires. Zinc oxide nanowires with 80-150 nm in diameter and 900 nm to 1.5 μm in lengths were grown on the surface of a gold coated flexible plastic substrate. Uricase was electrostatically immobilized on the surface of well aligned ZnO nanowires resulting in a sensitive, selective, stable and reproducible uric acid biosensor. The potentiometric response of the ZnO sensor vs Ag/AgCl reference electrode was found to be linear over a relatively wide logarithmic concentration range (1-650 μM) suitable for human blood serum. By applying a Nafion^® membrane on the sensor the linear range could be extended to 1-1000 μM at the expense of an increased response time from 6.25 s to less than 9 s. On the other hand the membrane increased the sensor durability considerably. The sensor response was unaffected by normal concentrations of common interferents such as ascorbic acid, glucose, and urea.     

Enhanced room temperature response of SnO2 thin film sensor loaded with Pt catalyst clusters under UV radiation for LPG

The room temperature response characteristics of SnO₂ thin film sensor loaded with platinum catalyst clusters are investigated for LPG under the exposure of ultraviolet radiation. The SnO₂-Pt cluster sensor structures have been prepared using rf sputtering. Combined effect of UV radiation exposure (λ = 365 nm) and presence of Pt catalyst clusters (10 nm thick) on SnO₂ thin film sensor surface is seen to lead to an enhanced response (4.4 × 10³) for the detection of LPG (200 ppm) at room temperature whereas in the absence of UV illumination a comparable response (∼5 × 10³) could be obtained but only at an elevated temperature of 220 °C. The present study therefore investigates the effect of UV illumination on LPG sensing characteristics of SnO₂ sensors loaded with Pt clusters of varying thickness values. Results indicate the possibility of utilizing the sensor structure with novel dispersal of Pt catalyst clusters on SnO₂ film surface for efficient detection of LPG at room temperature under the illumination of UV radiations.     

Love wave hydrogen sensors based on ZnO nanorod film/36°YX-LiTaO3 substrate structures operated at room temperature

Love wave hydrogen sensors based on ZnO nanorod layers deposited on 36°YX-LiTaO₃ substrates have been studied. The ZnO nanorod layers are prepared by two steps: first, the seed layers, as well the guiding layers of the Love wave devices, are deposited by RF magnetron sputtering; second, the nanostructural layers, as well the sensing layers of the sensors, are grown by hydrothermal synthesis. Two kinds of ZnO layers have been analyzed by XRD, SEM and XPS. The XRD shows that both ZnO layers have (0 0 2) oriented wurtzite structures. The SEM results reveal that the morphologies of the deposited ZnO seed layers are continuous and compact, while the hydrothermal treated layers are with nanorods almost perpendicular to the substrate surfaces. Finally, the hydrogen sensing responses of the Love wave sensors activated by Pt catalysts are measured for various concentrations of hydrogen in synthetic air at room temperature. The results show that the sensors have high sensitivity and repeatability as the nanorod layers are optimized, such as the frequency shift 8 kHz toward 0.04% of H₂ in synthetic air is obtained while the height of the nanorod layer is about 2.1 μm and the central frequency of the sensor is about 125.5 MHz. The XPS analyses of the sensitive layers show that there are oxygen vacancies in the layers, so the oxygen vacancy model is used to explain the hydrogen sensing mechanism of the Love wave sensors.     

Fabrication at wafer level of miniaturized gas sensors based on SnO2 nanorods deposited by PECVD and gas sensing characteristics

SnO₂ nanorods were successfully deposited on 3″ Si/SiO₂ wafers by inductively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) and a wafer-level patterning of nanorods layer for miniaturized solid state gas sensor fabrication were performed. Uniform needle-shaped SnO₂ nanorods in situ grown were obtained under catalyst- and high temperature treatment-free growth condition. These nanorods have an average diameter between 5 and 15 nm and a length of 160-300 nm. The SnO₂-nanorods based gas sensors were tested towards NH₃ and CH₃OH and gas sensing tests show remarkable response, showing promising and repeatable results compared with the SnO₂ thin films gas sensors.     

Microstructural and electrical properties of 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.35PbTiO3 (PMN-PT) epitaxial films grown on Si substrates

Epitaxially grown PMN-PT thin films using the PMN-PT single crystal targets were prepared at 550 °C on appropriate buffer layers of LSCO/CeO₂/YSZ deposited on a Si substrate using pulsed laser deposition. The micro-structural and the electrical properties of the films were investigated as a function of the film thickness. The PMN-PT films with the thickness from 200 to 600 nm exhibited an epitaxial nature with a pure perovskite structure. On the other hand, the films above 700 nm included a pyrochlore phase embedded in the perovskite structure although they exhibited an epitaxial nature. A pyrochlore phase included in the films above 700 nm thickness decreased the dielectric constant and the ferroelectric properties of the PMN-PT films.     

Nanostructural ZnO based coplanar gas sensor arrays from the injection of metal chloride solutions: Device processing, gas-sensing properties and selectivity in liquors applications

A new coplanar gas sensor array of ZnO was fabricated by injecting different volumes of 0.01 mol/L AlCl₃, CuCl₂, SnCl₄, TiCl₄, PdCl₂ and WCl₆ solutions and post treatment to improve the selectivity in liquor. The new four-sensor array was optimized by maximizing Sum of Euclidean distances (SED) of the gases of liquor. The morphology of films was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results showed that ZnO nanostructures were formed on the surface of films after the injecting process. Nanowires, 100 nm in diameter and 3 μm in length, were found when the solutions included AlCl₃, CuCl₂, SnCl₄ and PdCl₂. However, when the injecting solution was TiCl₄, nanotowers with 500 nm in diameter and 4 μm in length appeared. No new structures appeared when the WCl₆ solution was injected. The results of testing gases of liquor revealed that the injecting process could improve the response of the sensors array effectively. Through calculating the value of the SED, the best array was confirmed whose SED value would be three times the worst one.     

退火对ZnO薄膜特性的影响与紫外探测器的研制

利用射频磁控溅射技术在SiO2/n-Si和石英玻璃衬底上制备了具有C轴择优取向的ZnO薄膜,研究了退火对ZnO薄膜特性的影响,并在以SiO2/n-Si为衬底、退火温度为900℃的薄膜上制作了Ag-ZnO-Ag肖特基型和Au-ZnO-Au光电导型MSM叉指结构的紫外探测器。所制作的两种MSM紫外探测器在350 nm波长紫外光照下电流增加,在紫外波段有较高的响应度,光响应度峰值在370 nm附近。     

Impact of ZnO gate interfacial layer on piezoelectric response of AlGaN/GaN C-HEMT based ring gate capacitor

We report on a piezoelectric response investigation of AlGaN/GaN circular high electron mobility transistor (C-HEMT) based ring gate capacitor as a new stress sensor device to be potentially applied for dynamic high-pressure sensing. A ring gate capacitor of C-HEMT with an additional ZnO gate interfacial layer was used to measure the changes in the piezoelectric charge induced directly by the variation of piezoelectric polarization of both gate piezoelectric layers (AlGaN, ZnO) for harmonic loading at different excitation frequences. Our experimental results show that about 10 nm thick piezoelectric ZnO layer grown on ring gate/AlGaN interface of C-HEMT can yield almost a 60% increase in the piezoelectric detection sensitivity of the device due to its higher piezoelectric coefficient. A three-dimensional CoventorWare simulation is carried out to confirm the increase in the measured piezoelectric response of ZnO based ring gate capacitor of C-HEMT.     

Oriented growth of A2Te3 (A = Sb, Bi) films and their devices with enhanced thermoelectric performance

Oriented thermoelectric (TE) p-Sb₂Te₃ and n-Bi₂Te₃ thin films with special nanostructures have been synthesized by a simple vacuum thermal evaporation technique. The composition and microstructure of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), presenting a well preferential crystal growth with dense slender columnar grains grown perpendicular to the substrate, and energy dispersive X-ray spectrum (EDX) indicating the compositions distribution in the films. The electric transport properties, i.e., conductivity and Seebeck coefficient, and the thermal transportation of the oriented films show optimized properties. Prototype devices were built up by p and n elements in series and parallel circuits. The largest output power and cooling could be achieved in Sb₂Te₃ parallel device with P_max = 6.51 μW at ΔT = 106 K, and cooling of 4.1 K at 2 V. The 24-pair p-n couples series device could output maximum voltage of 313 mV at ΔT = 102 K. The power generation and the cooling of the devices show times enhanced TE performances than those consisting of common films. The results proved that introducing nanostructures into films is an effective choice to obtain high-efficient micro TE device.     

Acetylene sensor based on Pt/ZnO thick films as prepared by flame spray pyrolysis

ZnO nanoparticles loaded with 0.2-2.0 at.% Pt have been successfully produced in a single step by flame spray pyrolysis (FSP) technique using zinc naphthenate and platinum(II) acetylacetonate, as precursors dissolved in xylene and their acetylene sensing characteristics have been investigated. The particle properties were analyzed by XRD, BET, TEM, SEM and EDS. Under the 5/5 (precursor/oxygen) flame condition, ZnO nanoparticles and nanorods were observed. The crystallite sizes of ZnO spherical and hexagonal particles were found to be ranging from 5 to 20 nm while ZnO nanorods were seen to be 5-20 nm in width and 20-40 nm in length. In addition, very fine Pt nanoparticles with diameter of ∼1 nm were uniformly deposited on the surface of ZnO particles. From gas-sensing characterization, acetylene sensing characteristics of ZnO nanoparticles is significantly improved as Pt content increased from 0 to 2  at.%. The 2 at.% Pt loaded ZnO sensing film showed an optimum C₂H₂ response of ∼836 at 1% acetylene concentration and 300 °C operating temperature. A low detection limit of 50 ppm was obtained at 300 °C operating temperature. In addition, Pt loaded ZnO sensing films exhibited good selectivity towards hydrogen, methane and carbon monoxide.     

Fabrication and gas-sensing properties of hierarchically porous ZnO architectures

Hierarchically three-dimensional (3D) porous ZnO architectures are synthesized by a template-free, economical aqueous solution method combined with subsequent calcination. First, the precursors of interlaced and monodisperse basic zinc nitrate (BZN) nanosheets are prepared. Then calcination of the precursors produces hierarchically 3D porous ZnO architectures composed of interlaced ZnO nanosheets with high porosity resulting from the thermal decomposition of the precursors. The products are characterized by X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric-differential thermalgravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller N₂ adsorption-desorption analyses. The BET surface area of the hierarchically porous ZnO nanostructures was calculated to be 12.8 m² g⁻¹. Compared with ZnO rods, the as-prepared porous ZnO nanosheets exhibit a good response and reversibility to some organic gases, such as ethanol and acetone. The responses to 100 ppm ethanol and acetone are 24.3 and 31.6, respectively, at a working temperature of 320 °C. These results show that the porous ZnO architectures are highly promising for gas sensor applications, as the gas diffusion and mass transportation in sensing materials are significantly enhanced by their unique structures. Moreover, it is believed that this solution-based approach can be extended to fabricate other porous metal oxide materials with a unique morphology or shape.     

Synthesis of ZnO thin films and their application as humidity sensors

Humidity sensors were fabricated using ZnO thin films synthesized on a Si wafer substrate. The ZnO thin films were grown via a vapor solid (VS) approach at temperatures ranging from 400 to 700 °C. Experiments were executed to observe the relationships between the relative humidity (RH) and resistance of these devices fabricated under various VS temperatures. Experimental results show that the ZnO thin films grown at a temperature of 700 °C using the VS approach exhibits an optimum sensitivity to humidity. The measured sensor resistance ranges from 495 × 10⁶ to 46 × 10³ Ω for RH ranging from 11 to 95 % at room temperature. The variance of sensor resistance exceeds 10⁴ times, indicating that the proposed method can produce a highly sensitive humidity sensor.     

Fabrication and characteristics of ZnO thin films deposited by RF sputtering on plastic substrates for flexible display

ZnO thin films were successfully grown on flexible plastic substrates using radio-frequency mag-netron sputtering method at room temperature.The effects of the sputtering power on the quality of the ZnO films have been investigated.The results show that thin films were polycrystalline,with wurtzite structure and a strong preferred c-axis orientation (002).The root-mean-square (rms) surface roughness of the ZnO thin films is 22.1 nm.The ZnO thin films fabricated by sputtering with 70 W sputtering power have a high mobility of 34.33 cm 2 /V·s.The ZnO films are shown to be compatible with flexible display on plastic substrates.     

Synthesis and characterisation of nanosized TiO2-ZrO2 binary system prepared by an aqueous sol-gel process: Physical and sensing properties

Nanostructured TiO₂-ZrO₂ thin films and powders were prepared by a straightforward aqueous particulate sol-gel route. Titanium (IV) isopropoxide and zirconium (IV) acetate hydrate were used as precursors, and hydroxypropyl cellulose was used as a polymeric fugitive agent in order to increase the specific surface area. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy revealed that the powder were crystallised at the low temperature of 500 °C, containing anatase-TiO₂ and tetragonal-ZrO₂ phases. Furthermore, it was found that ZrO₂ retarded the anatase-to-rutile transformation up to 900 °C. The activation energies for crystallite growth of TiO₂ and ZrO₂ components in the binary system were calculated 10.16 and 3.12 kJ/mol, respectively. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image showed that one of the smallest crystallite sizes was obtained for TiO₂-ZrO₂ binary mixed oxide, being 5 nm at 500 °C. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) analysis revealed that the deposited thin films had nanostructured morphology with the average grain size of 20 nm at 500 °C and 36 nm at 900 °C. Thin films produced under optimised conditions showed excellent microstructural properties for gas sensing applications. They exhibited a remarkable response towards low concentrations of CO and NO₂ gases at low operating temperature of 150 °C, resulted in an increase of thermal stability of sensing films as well as a decrease in the power consumption. Furthermore, calibration curves revealed that TiO₂-ZrO₂ sensor follows the power law, S = A[gas]^B (where S is sensor response, coefficients A and B are constants and [gas] is gas concentration) for the two types of gases, and it has excellent capability for the detection of low gas concentrations.     

ZnO nanowires for LED and field‐emission displays

Abstract— The use of ZnO nanostructures in various display applications is reported. Single‐crystalline vertically oriented nanowires with typical diameters of 100 nm and a length of 1–2 μm were grown at deposition temperatures below 100°C. Homogeneous growth over areas up to 50 cm² on Si as well as on various metallic, transparent, and flexible substrates were obtained. Visible electroluminescence in the region between 400 and 900 nm and narrow‐line near‐ultraviolet (UV) electroluminescence is demonstrated. The physical conditions leading to single‐crystalline growth at low temperature, the role of defects, and the possibility of doping are discussed. These issues present the main challenges on the road towards high emission rates in LED operation. Under certain conditions, sharply tipped wires can be grown that hold promise for field‐emission applications.