Effect of dysprosium doping on the structural and gas sensing properties of SnO2 thin films

Abstract

Metal oxides are wide-bandgap n-type semiconductors and most frequently used as a sensitive material for the gas sensors. It has been found that doping has a crucial role in modifying the structural and morphological properties of SnO2 thin films. Rare earth materials are good candidates for this purpose. In this work, Dysprosium (Dy) doped nanostructured SnO2 thin films are grown using spray pyrolysis technique. The effect of Dysprosium incorporation on the structural properties of the films are studied using X- Ray Diffraction(XRD).UV-Vis absorbance properties are analyzed to estimate the bandgap variation upon doping. The gas sensing properties of the prepared samples are studied using Keithley2400 sourcemeter and correlated with the characterizations. The studies confirm that Dy doping has a positive influence on the gas sensing properties.