A Low-Energy Room-Temperature Hydrogen Nanosensor: Utilizing The Schottky Barriers At The Electrode/Sensing-Material Interfaces

The hydrogen-sensing performance of a nanosensor integrating interdigitated electrodes with a gap of 100 nm and indium-oxide-doped tin dioxide nanoparticles is investigated at room temperature. The nonlinear behavior observed from the I/V curves of the sensor in air atmosphere indicated the presence of a Schottky barrier contact at the electrode/sensing-material interface. The linear I/V response obtained in hydrogen atmosphere suggested that the Schottky barrier height could be modulated in the presence of hydrogen. At a low applied voltage of 0.4 V and 0.09-vol% hydrogen gas exposure, a very large sensitivity of ∼ 2300 and a short response time of ∼127 s were recorded. © 2010 IEEE