Plasma treatment and surface sensibilization of tin dioxide films for enhancement of gas sensitivity

Abstract

This paper presents result of investigation aimed at the improvement of gas sensitive properties of SnO2 thin film gas sensors (TFGS) by means of high frequency (HF) oxygen plasma treatment and its surface doping. Used in experiments SnO2 films were deposited by spray pyrolysis method. It is shown that plasma treatment provides 3-4 times growth of thin film gas sensitivity. Surface doping of SnO2 films with Pd leads to gas sensitivity increasing by order. It is concluded that combination of HF oxygen plasma treatment and surface sensibilization through surface doping is an effective way to considerable improvement of gas sensitive properties of tin dioxide based TFGS.