Abstract
Thin-film structures based on gas-sensitive tungsten oxide Ag/WO x /W exhibiting a bipolar resistive switching effect were prepared. The current-voltage characteristics of the structures were studied in air with laboratory humidity and after hydrogen feeding into the chamber to a concentration of 2% in the air. The chemical state of the surface layers of the resulting structures was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The morphology and structural condition were studied by atomic force and scanning electron microscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy. A severe reaction to hydrogen was found in the Ag/WO x /W structure subjected to additional heat treatment in the air at 200°C. The annealing of this structure gave rise to the formation of silver nanoparticles with an oxide coating on the surface of tungsten oxide. The formation of nano-particles resulted in a change in contact properties and offered hydrogen efficient access to the contact areas, as is evidenced by an increase in the flow of current in the low- and high-resistive states of this structure. A comparison of the reaction to hydrogen exhibited by WO x /W and Ag/WO x /W structures suggested that hydrogen had a significant effect on the mechanism of formation of conductive silver threads in the oxide layer and the chemical state of the interface owing to a change in the kinetics of the electrochemical oxidation-reduction processes in the contact areas of Ag/WO x . The results show the possibility of designing hydrogen sensors operating on new physical principles.
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Original Russian Text © R.I. Romanov, V.V. Zuev, V.Yu. Fominskii, A.G. Gnedovets, M.I. Alymov, 2013, published in Rossiiskie Nanotekhnologii, 2013, Vol. 8, Nos. 7–8.
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Romanov, R.I., Zuev, V.V., Fominskii, V.Y. et al. Effect of hydrogen on the electrical properties of a Ag/WO x /W thin-film structure exhibiting resistive switching behavior. Nanotechnol Russia 8, 437–444 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995078013040149
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1995078013040149