Thin-film semiconductor NO_xsensor

Abstract

A thin-film semiconductor NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">x</inf> sensor has been fabricated by reactive RF sputtering from a tin target. The gas detection is based on monitoring the sensor resistance change caused by NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">x</inf> chemisorption on the sensor surface. The sensor is highly sensitive and selective toward detecting NO <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">x</inf> in air. The chemical composition of the film was investigated by AES and ESCA. A simple chemisorption model is presented to explain the observed phenomena.