Benzene vapor sensing performance of different phases of copper oxide (CuxOy) thin films

Abstract

Three different phases of copper oxide can be grown by thin-film deposition techniques, which differ in the oxidation state of copper. However, few studies have focused on comparing and considering sensing performance of these phases. The current study scrutinizes the benzene vapor sensing properties of various phases of copper oxide that can be used for the development of sensing device based on CuxOy thin films. RF reactive sputtering technique was employed, and different phases of copper oxide (CuO, Cu2O, and Cu4O3) were grown by tuning the sputtering power and reactive gas. The samples with phases of CuO, Cu2O, and CuO/Cu2O showed the response to benzene at different operating temperatures while the sample with the Cu4O3 phase was not sensitive to target vapor. The results demonstrated that the device based on CuO thin film can be a promising candidate to detect benzene vapor due to its remarkable sensitivity, selectivity, and stability.