Thin oxide films as surface modifiers of MIS field effect gas sensors

The catalytic activity at the surface of Pt based MIS field effect gas sensors is modified by the deposition of thin films of SnO2, Al2O3 and SiO2, grown by reactive sputtering. It is found that a very thin layer (<10 nm) of SiO2 and SnO2 changes the catalytic activity towards higher NH3 selectivity, but with thicker films the sensor response vanishes. Since the response mechanism for these sensors is dependent on dissociation of molecules, it is likely that at low temperatures (140 degreesC), neither dissociation on nor transport/diffusion through the thicker films takes place. However, with Pt in conjunction with SiO2 or SnO2, the surface reactions will be altered, with enhanced NH3 selectivity as a result. A thin film of Al2O3, on the other hand, has a much smaller influence on the gas response to the test gases used in this work. Furthermore the sputtering process is found to strongly influence the sensor responses, and specifically reduce the sensitivity of the sensor. A thin intermediate layer of evaporated Pt does not completely protect the underlying structure from sputter induced damage. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.