Microstructure and Gas Sensing Property of Porous SnO2 Sputtered Films

Abstract

It is often said that the sensitivity of a gas sensor made of an oxide semiconductor film is enhanced by making the film porous. However, the porosity of sensor films has not been sufficiently examined. In this study, SnO2 films were deposited using DC magnetron sputtering under various substrate temperatures and discharge gas pressures. In addition to the structural analysis by means of X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, the density and the BET surface area were measured to clarify the film porosity. The sensitivity to H2 gas of undoped and Pd-doped SnO2 films upon exposure to 1000 ppm H2 was measured at 300 . SnO2 films generally showed a columnar structure. The film deposited at a low temperature and a high pressure showed a low density and a large effective surface area. The H2 sensitivity increased as the density decreased, that is, as the effective surface area increased.