title: Water vapor detection with individual tin oxide nanowires.
abstract: Individual tin oxide nanowires (NWs), contacted to platinum electrodes using focused ion beam assisted nanolithography, were used for detecting water vapor (1500-32 000 ppm) in different gaseous environments. Responses obtained in synthetic air (SA) and nitrogen atmospheres suggested differences in the sensing mechanism, which were related to changes in surface density of the adsorbed oxygen species in the two cases. A model describing the different behaviors has been proposed together with comparative evaluation of NW responses against sensors based on bulk tin oxide. The results obtained on ten individual devices (tested >6 times) revealed the interfering effect of water in the detection of carbon monoxide and illustrated the intrinsic potential of nanowire-based devices as humidity sensors. Investigations were made on sensitivity, recovery time and device stability as well as surface-humidity interactions. This is the first step towards fundamental understanding of single-crystalline one-dimensional (1D) tin oxide nanostructures for sensor applications, which could lead to integration in real devices.
authors: IN2UB and EME/CErMAE/CEMIC Departament d'Electrònica, Universitat de Barcelona UB, C/MartíI Franqués 1, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Hernandez-Ramirez
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Barth
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Tarancon
authors: O
authors: O
authors: Casals
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Pellicer
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Rodriguez
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Romano-Rodriguez
authors: J R
authors: JR
authors: Morante
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Mathur