Evaluation of sensor property for hydrogen and ethanol of zinc-doped tin-dioxide thin films fabricated by RF sputtering

Abstract

Zinc-doped Tin-dioxide thin (SnO2) films were synthesized on c-alumina substrates by radio-frequency (rf ) sputtering. To fabricate zinc-doped SnO2 thin films with different concentrations of zinc, an insulating zinc-doped SnO2 target was placed on a conductive non-doped target. Thin films were then deposited at different flow rates of argon gas. Zinc concentration in the deposited SnO2 thin films increased with increasing flow rate of argon gas. Moreover, the SnO2 thin film with a zinc concentration of 2.2 × 1019/cm3 showed the highest gas-sensor response. It is concluded that this rf-sputtering growth method is a useful tool for identifying suitable materials compositions for creating gas sensor with response for hydrogen and ethanol.