Preparation of Antimony Tin Oxide Thin Film Using Green Synthesized Nanoparticles by E-Beam Technique for NO2 Gas Sensing

• Published in: Micro 2024-09, Vol.4 (3), p.401-411
• Main Authors: Chandraiah, Chaitra, Kalpana, Hullekere Mahadevaiah, Ananda, Challaghatta Muniyappa, Kulkarni, Madhusudan B.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: annealing; ATO thin film; E-beam evaporation; green synthesis; NO2 gas sensor
• ISSN: 2673-8023; 2673-8023
• DOI: 10.3390/micro4030025

This work delves into the preparation of ATO thin films and their characterization, fabrication, and calibration of a NO2 gas sensor, as well as the development of the packaged sensor. ATO thin films were prepared by e-beam evaporation using green synthesized ATO nanomaterials on different substrates and annealed at 500 and 600 °C for one hour. The structural and morphological properties of the developed thin films were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. An orthorhombic SnO2 crystal structure was recognized through XRD analysis. The granular-shaped nanoparticles were revealed through SEM and TEM images. The films annealed at 600 °C exhibited improved crystallinity. ATO films prepared on normal 5 µm interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) and annealed at 600 °C exhibited a response of 10.31 ± 0.25 with an optimum temperature of 200 °C for a 4.8 ppm NO2 gas concentration. The packaged NO2 gas sensor developed using IDEs with a microheater demonstrated an improved response of 16.20 ± 0.25 for 4.8 ppm of NO2 gas.