Highly selective and sensitive gas sensors for exhaled breath analysis using CuBr thin film

Abstract

We have examined a p-type semi-conductor CuBr thin film used for sensor devices that indicates the order of sensitivity to ammonia in parts per billion (ppb). The CuBr thin film also indicates excellent selectivity to ammonia among reductive gases, which additionally suggests its capacity for fast quantification of the order of seconds. Moreover, CuBr thin film can be adapted to a high-sensitivity aldehyde sensor by a surface modification. Since the fabrication process of CuBr thin film is compatible with an ordinal CMOS process, there is a potential for development into highly integrated and low power consumption sensor devices. These properties make CuBr thin film a promising candidate as a gas sensing material for human-breath analysis.