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Improving the H2 Gas Sensitivity of ZnO Thin Films by Modifying the Annealing Conditions

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Abstract

This paper explains the influence of annealing conditions on the sensing properties of ZnO thin films that can be used for the development of H2 gas sensors. Zn thin films were deposited by the e-beam deposition technique and subsequently annealed using different temperatures (400°C and 500°C), times (30 min and 60 min), and environments (air and oxygen flow). Detailed morphological, chemical, and structural investigations were carried out on all samples by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and x-ray diffraction analysis. The electrical response of the ZnO films was tested for H2 gas (40 ppm, 80 ppm, and 120 ppm concentrations) in the temperature range of 200°C to 450°C. Results showed that the maximum response for all samples was reached at operating temperature of 400°C and variation of the annealing conditions resulted in improvement of the H2 gas sensitivity of the ZnO thin films due to a change in the concentration of carriers.

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Acknowledgements

This work was carried out with the support of the Islamic Azad University, Chalous Branch. H.S. acknowledges the University of Tehran (Research Contract Number: 6101027/1/9) and is grateful to the Iran National Science Foundation (INSF) and the Centre of Excellence for Physics of Structure and Microscopic Properties of Matter, Department of Physics, University of Tehran, for partial support of this work.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Chalous Branch, Islamic Azad University, Chalous, Iran

    K. Khojier

  2. Department of Physics, University of Tehran, North Kargar Street, Tehran, Iran

    H. Savaloni

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  1. K. Khojier
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  2. H. Savaloni
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Correspondence to K. Khojier.

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Khojier, K., Savaloni, H. Improving the H2 Gas Sensitivity of ZnO Thin Films by Modifying the Annealing Conditions. J. Electron. Mater. 44, 3458–3464 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-015-3833-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-015-3833-2

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