A novel ethanol gas sensor based on ZnO-microwire

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics Vol. 24; no. 12; pp. 4812 - 4816
• Main Authors: Li, Fei, Zhang, Heqiu, Hu, Lizhong, Luo, Yingmin, Zhao, Yu, Qiu, Yu, Ji, Jiuyu, Yue, Lunlun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.12.2013; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemical industries; Chemical vapor deposition (including plasma-enhanced cvd, mocvd, etc.); Chemistry and Materials Science; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; General equipment and techniques; Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Materials; Materials Science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Microelectronic fabrication (materials and surfaces technology); Optical and Electronic Materials; Physics; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Sensors (chemical, optical, electrical, movement, gas, etc.); remote sensing; Horizontal Tube Furnace; Small Quartz Tube; Seal Chamber; Maximum Detection Limit; Ultra Violet; Performance evaluation; Microelectronic fabrication; Natural environment; Detection limit; Electric power consumption; Zinc oxide; Cost lowering; Natural lighting; Scanning electron microscopy; Ethanol; Measurement sensor; Temperature sensor; Recovery time; X ray diffraction; Chemical vapor deposition; Single crystal; Thread; Hexagonal lattices; Driving device; Response time; One dimensional model; Low-power electronics; Reliability; Microstructure; Gas sensors; Smooth surface; Gas detector; Room temperature; Microwire
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-013-1480-z

One-dimensional (1D) ZnO microwires were successfully synthesized by chemical vapor deposition and their structural and morphological properties were analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, demonstrating that the microwires were single crystalline with perfect hexagonal structure and smooth surface. Using these 1D microstructures, we fabricated a novel ZnO-based ethanol gas sensor. Operating at room temperature, the sensor was found to have good sensing characteristics. The reliability and stability of the sensor could be improved by connecting multiple 1-wire devices (1-WD) in parallel into a multi-wires device. In interior natural lighting environment and under 3 V bias, the response and recovery time of the 1-WD to 200 ppm ethanol gas were <10 s and about 300 s, respectively, and the minimum and maximum detection limit were about 2 and 200 ppm, respectively. A sensing model was proposed for discussing the performance of the sensor. The simplicity in fabrication, low power consumption and low cost make the sensor suitable for practical application in many fields, especially in identifying driving under the influence and chemical industry monitoring.