Abstract
Ultra-fine particles of $SnO_{2}$ was synthersized by the sol-gel powder processing using tin(II) chloride dihydrate$(SnCl_{2}{\cdot}2H_{2}O)$ and ethanol$(C_{2}H_{5}OH)$ as raw materials. Gel powders can be obtained by drying of sol at $120^{\circ}C$ after aging 72hrs and 168hrs. The amount of $SnO_{2}$ phase was increased with temperature because of the evaporation of volatile components, and the creation of $SnO_{2}$ phase was almost done by the heat treatment at $700^{\circ}C/30min$ The grain sizes after firing are about 20-30nm, and it showed the narrow distribution of grain size. The specimens to measure electrical properties were fabricated by the thick film screen printing technique on the alumina substrates. The conductance of $SnO_{2}$ was increased with temperature up to $380^{\circ}C$ by the typical conduction mechanism of semiconducting ceramics. There was a region of constant conductance between about $200^{\circ}C$ and $380^{\circ}C$ due to the increment of electron concentration with temperature and the annihilation of conduction carriers by the absorption and electron trapped-ionization of oxygen on the surface of $SnO_{2}$, It was finally showed the intrinsic behaviors above $450^{\circ}C$. The sensing properties of response time, recovery, and sensitivity of CO were improved with aging time.
