UV-LED Photo-Activated Room Temperature NO2 Sensors Based on Nanostructured ZnO/AlN Thin Films

Abstract

UV-light emitting diodes (395–278 nm) were used to investigate the gas sensing attributes of planar and nanostructured ZnO/AlN thin films on Si substrate towards NO2 at room temperature. A significant increased sensitivity ((Rg − Ra)/Ra = 65.3 ppm NO2 in air) and a strong reduction in recovery time (Trec = 14 min) were already observed for the planar ZnO/AlN thin films under UV-B (305 nm) irradiation compared to the other UV wavelengths, while the device showed no obvious response in dark. By enlarging the surface-to-volume ratio of the sensors (i.e., creating nanostructured ZnO/AlN thin films), an increased response time is expected to be observed.

Keywords

• gas sensor
• ZnO nanowire
• nanostructure
• photo-activation
• AlN-on-Si
• NO2 detection