• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.31-36
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• 2002

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 1997

A new type SO$_2$ gas sensor with a particular inorganic thin film on SAW devices was developed. The sensor consisted of twin SAW oscillators of the center frequency of 54 MHz fabricated on the LiTaO$_3$ piezoelectric single crystal. One delay line of the sensor was coated with a CdS thin film that selectively adsorbed and desorbed SO$_2$, while the other was uncoated for use as a stable reference. Deposition of the CdS thin film was carried out by the spray pyrolysis method using an ultrasonic nozzle. The sensor could measure the concentration in air less than 0.25 parts per million of SO$_2$. Stability of the sensor turned out to be as good as less than 20ppm, recovery time after each measurement was as short as 5 minutes. Repeatability of the measurement was confirmed through so many reiterated experiments. Hence, the SAW sensor developed through this work showed promising performance as a microsensing tool of SO$_2$. Further work required to improve the performance of the sensor includes enhancement of the reactivity of the CdS thin film with SO$_2$ through appropriate dopant addition, an increase of the center frequency of the SAW device.