Gas-Sensing Performance of M-Doped CuO-Based Thin Films Working at Different Temperatures upon Exposure to Propane.
Cupric oxide (CuO) thin films are promising materials in gas sensor applications. The CuO-based gas sensors behaved as p-type semiconductors and can be used as part of an e-nose or smart sensor array for breath analysis. The authors present the investigation results on M-doped CuO-based (M = Ag, Au, Cr, Pd, Pt, Sb, Si) sensors working at various temperatures upon exposure to a low concentration of C3H8, which can be found in exhaled human breath, and it can be considered as a one of the biomarkers of several diseases. The films have been deposited in magnetron sputtering technology on low temperature cofired ceramics substrates. The results of the gas sensors' response are also presented and discussed. The Cr:CuO-based structure, annealed at 400 °C for 4 h in air, showed the highest sensor response, of the order of 2.7 at an operation temperature of 250 °C. The response and recovery time(s) were 10 s and 24 s, respectively. The results show that the addition of M-dopants in the cupric oxide films effectively act as catalysts in propane sensors and improve the gas sensing properties. The films' phase composition, microstructure and surface topography have been assessed by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) methods.
AGH University of Science and Technology, Av. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland. artur.rydosz@agh.edu.pl.
Artur
A
Rydosz
Academic Centre for Materials and Nanotechnology, AGH University of Science and Technology, Av. Mickiewicza 30, 30-059 Krakow, Poland. aleksandra.szkudlarek@agh.edu.pl.
Aleksandra
A
Szkudlarek
D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D017097:Electric Impedance; D004581:Electronics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005740:Gases / Q000032:analysis*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D011407:Propane / Q000737:chemistry*; D013052:Spectrometry, X-Ray Emission; D013696:Temperature; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
D005740:Gases; D003300:Copper; D011407:Propane; C030973:cupric oxide
CuO films; gas sensor applications; magnetron sputtering; metal doping thin films; propane