• 센서학회지
• /
• 제28권6호
• /
• pp.377-384
• /
• 2019

People currently spend more than 80% of their time indoors; therefore, the management of indoor air quality has become an important issue. The contamination of indoor air can cause sick house syndrome and various environmental diseases such as atopy and nephropathy. Formaldehyde gas, which is the main contaminant of indoor air, is lethal even with microscopic exposure; however, it is commonly used as an adhesive and waterproofing agent for indoor building materials. Therefore, there is a need for a gas sensor capable of detecting trace amounts of formaldehyde gas. In this review, we summarize recent studies on metal oxide-based semiconductor gas sensors for formaldehyde gas detection, methods to improve the gas-sensing properties of metal oxides of various dimensions, and the effects of catalysts for the detection of parts-per-billion level gases. Through this, we discuss the necessary characteristics of the metal oxidebased semiconductors for gas sensors for the development of next-generation sensors.

• 한국전기전자재료학회논문지
• /
• 제37권4호
• /
• pp.347-357
• /
• 2024

Oxide semiconductor gas sensors are widely used for detecting toxic, explosive, and flammable gases due to their simple structure, cost-effectiveness, and potential integration into compact devices. However, their reliable gas detection is hindered by a longstanding issue known as humidity dependence, wherein the sensor resistance and gas response change significantly in the presence of moisture. This problem has persisted since the inception of oxide semiconductor gas sensors in the 1960s. This paper explores the root causes of humidity dependence in oxide semiconductor gas sensors and presents strategies to address this challenge. Mitigation strategies include functionalizing the gas-sensing material with noble metal/transition metal oxides and rare-earth/rare-earth oxides, as well as implementing a moisture barrier layer to prevent moisture diffusion into the gas-sensing film. Developing oxide semiconductor gas sensors immune to humidity dependence is expected to yield substantial socioeconomic benefits by enabling medical diagnosis, food quality assessment, environmental monitoring, and sensor network establishment.

• 열처리공학회지
• /
• 제23권5호
• /
• pp.245-248
• /
• 2010

Sn doped $In_2O_3$ (ITO) and ITO/Ni/ITO (INI) multilayer films were deposited on the glass substrates with a reactive magnetron sputtering system without intentional substrate heating and then the influence of the Ni interlayer on the methanol gas sensitivity of ITO and INI film sensors were investigated. Although both ITO and INI film sensors have the same thickness of 100 nm, INI sensors have a sandwich structure of ITO 50 nm/Ni 5 nm/ITO 45 nm. The changes in the gas sensitivity of the film sensors caused by methanol gas ranging from 100 to 1000 ppm were measured. It is observed that the INI film sensors show the higher sensitivity than that of the ITO single layer sensors. Finally, it can be concluded that the INI film sensor have the potential to be used as improved methanol gas sensors.

• 센서학회지
• /
• 제27권4호
• /
• pp.221-226
• /
• 2018

Misfueling accidents significantly damage the engines of both gasoline and diesel vehicles, and should be avoided by rapid and accurate fuel discrimination. Gasoline fuel contains bioethanol. Thus, the detection of ethanol vapor produced by gasoline can be used to distinguish between gasoline and diesel. In the present study, Pt-doped $SnO_2$ hollow nanospheres, Mg-doped $In_2O_3$ hollow microspheres, and Pt-doped ZnO nanostructures have been used as gas sensors to discriminate between gasoline and diesel fuels. All three sensors are able to detect and discriminate between gases evaporating from gasoline and diesel. Among the sensors, the Mg-doped $In_2O_3$ hollow microspheres show a significant gas response (resistance ratio = 4.97) quickly (~3 s) after exposure to gasoline-evaporated gas at $225^{\circ}C$, but did not show any substantial response to diesel-evaporated gas. This demonstrates that gasoline and diesel fuels can be discriminated using small and cost-effective oxide semiconductor gas sensors.

• 센서학회지
• /
• 제26권4호
• /
• pp.228-234
• /
• 2017

Gas sensors based on metal-oxide-semiconductors are predominantly used in numerous applications including monitoring indoor air quality and detecting harmful substances such as volatile organic compounds. Nanostructures, e.g., nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanodomes, or nanofibers, have been widely utilized to improve the gas sensing properties of metal-oxide-semiconductors by increasing the effective surface area participating in the surface reaction with target gas molecules. Recently, 1-dimensional (1D) metal oxide nanostructures fabricated using glancing angle deposition (GAD) method with e-beam evaporation have been widely employed to increase the surface-to-volume ratio significantly with large-area uniformity and reproducibility, leading to promising gas sensing properties. Herein, we provide a brief overview of 1D metal oxide nanostructures fabricated using GAD and their gas sensing properties in terms of fabrication methods, morphologies, and additives. Moreover, the gas sensing mechanisms and perspectives are presented.

• 센서학회지
• /
• 제30권5호
• /
• pp.314-319
• /
• 2021

In this study, biomarkers were analyzed and segmented using tunable infrared gas sensors after performing the principal component analysis. The free spectral range of the device under test (DUT) was around 30 nm and DUT-5580 yielded the highest output voltage property among the others. The biomarkers (isoprophyl alcohol, ethanol, methanol, and acetone solutions) were sequentially mixed with deionized water and their mists were carried into the gas chamber using high-purity nitrogen gas. A total of 17 different mixed gases were tested with three tunable infrared gas sensors, namely DUT-3144, DUT-5580, and DUT-8010. DUT-8010 resolved the infrared absorption spectra of whole mixed gases. Based on the principal component analysis with each DUT and their combinations, each mixed gas and the trends in increasing gas concentration could be well analyzed when the contributions of the eigenvalues of the first and second were higher than 70% and 10%, respectively, and their sum was greater than 90%.

• 한국재료학회지
• /
• 제21권4호
• /
• pp.232-235
• /
• 2011

ZnO nanorods for gas sensors were prepared by a hydrothermal method. The ZnO gas sensors were fabricated on alumina substrates by a screen printing method. The gas-sensing properties of the ZnO nanorods were investigated for $CH_4$ gas. The effects of growth time on the structural and morphological properties of the ZnO nanorods were investigated by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope. The XRD patterns of the nanocrystallized ZnO nanorods showed a wurtzite structure with the (002) predominant orientation. The diameter and length of the ZnO nanorods increased in proportion to the growth time. The sensitivity of the ZnO sensors to 5 ppm $CH_4$ gas was investigated for various growth times. The ZnO sensors exhibited good sensitivity and rapid response-recovery characteristics to $CH_4$ gas, and both traits were dependent on the growth time. The highest sensitivity of the ZnO sensors to $CH_4$ gas was observed with the growth time of 7 h. The response and recovery times were 13 s and 6 s, respectively.

• 한국전기전자재료학회논문지
• /
• 제24권4호
• /
• pp.290-296
• /
• 2011

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have excellent electrical, chemical stability, mechanical and thermal properties. In this paper, networks of Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) materials were investigated as a resistive gas sensors for the $H_2$ gas detection. Sensor films were fabricated by the air spray method using the multi-walled CNTs dispersion solution on the glass substrates cured with plasma and nitrocellulose. Sensors were characterized by the resistance measurements in the self-fabricated oven in order to find the optimum detection properties for the hydrogen gas molecular. The sensitivity and the linearity of the MWVNT sensors using the glass substrate cured with plasma for the $H_2$ gas concentration of 0.06~0.6 ppm are 0.013~0.097%/sec and 0.131~0.959%FS, respectively. The MWCNT film was excellent in the response for the hydrogen gas moleculars and its reaction speed was very fast, which could be using as hydrogen gas sensor. The resistance of the fabricated sensors decreases when the sensors are exposed to $H_2$ gas.

• 한국재료학회지
• /
• 제23권9호
• /
• pp.477-482
• /
• 2013

We investigated the detection properties of nitrogen monoxide (NO) gas using transparent p-type $CuAlO_2$ thin film gas sensors. The $CuAlO_2$ film was fabricated on an indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), and then the transparent p-type $CuAlO_2$ active layer was formed by annealing. Structural and optical characterizations revealed that the transparent p-type $CuAlO_2$ layer with a thickness of around 200 nm had a non-crystalline structure, showing a quite flat surface and a high transparency above 65 % in the range of visible light. From the NO gas sensing measurements, it was found that the transparent p-type $CuAlO_2$ thin film gas sensors exhibited the maximum sensitivity to NO gas in dry air at an operating temperature of $180^{\circ}C$. We also found that these $CuAlO_2$ thin film gas sensors showed reversible and reliable electrical resistance-response to NO gas in the operating temperature range. These results indicate that the transparent p-type semiconductor $CuAlO_2$ thin films are very promising for application as sensing materials for gas sensors, in particular, various types of transparent p-n junction gas sensors. Also, these transparent p-type semiconductor $CuAlO_2$ thin films could be combined with an n-type oxide semiconductor to fabricate p-n heterojunction oxide semiconductor gas sensors.

• 한국재료학회지
• /
• 제22권7호
• /
• pp.358-361
• /
• 2012

Co and Ni as catalysts in $SnO_2$ sensors to improve the sensitivity for $CH_4$ gas and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gas were coated by a solution reduction method. $SnO_2$ thick films were prepared by a screen-printing method onto $Al_2O_3$ substrates with an electrode. The sensing characteristics were investigated by measuring the electrical resistance of each sensor in a chamber. The structural properties of $SnO_2$ with a rutile structure investigated by XRD showed a (110) dominant $SnO_2$ peak. The particle size of the $SnO_2$:Ni powders with Ni at 6 wt% was about 0.1 ${\mu}m$. The $SnO_2$ particles were found to contain many pores according to a SEM analysis. The sensitivity of $SnO_2$-based sensors was measured for 5 ppm of $CH_4$ gas and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gas at room temperature by comparing the resistance in air to that in the target gases. The results showed that the best sensitivity of $SnO_2$:Ni and $SnO_2$:Co sensors for $CH_4$ gas and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gas at room temperature was observed in $SnO_2$:Ni sensors coated with 6 wt% Ni. The $SnO_2$:Ni gas sensors showed good selectivity to $CH_4$ gas. The response time and recovery time of the $SnO_2$:Ni gas sensors for the $CH_4$ and $CH_3CH_2CH_3$ gases were 20 seconds and 9 seconds, respectively.