Evaluation of sensor property for hydrogen and ethanol of zinc-doped tin-dioxide thin films fabricated by rf sputtering

抄録

Zinc-doped Tin-dioxide thin (SnO₂) films were synthesized on c-alumina substrates by radio-frequency (rf) sputtering. To fabricate zinc-doped SnO₂ thin films with different concentrations of zinc, an insulating zinc-doped SnO₂ target was placed on a conductive non-doped target. Thin films were then deposited at different flow rates of argon gas. Zinc concentration in the deposited SnO₂ thin films increased with increasing flow rate of argon gas. Moreover, the SnO₂ thin film with a zinc concentration of 2.2 × 10¹⁹/cm³ showed the highest gas-sensor response. It is concluded that this rf-sputtering growth method is a useful tool for identifying suitable materials compositions for creating gas sensor with response for hydrogen and ethanol.