Electrostatic Spray Deposition of Al-Doped ZnO Thin Films for Acetone Gas Detection

Abstract

In this study, pure ZnO and Al-doped ZnO(AZO) thin films were coated onto a SiO2 wafer using the electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) process for acetone gas detection under laboratory conditions. Voltage levels were varied to determine the optimal conditions for producing thin films with the highest uniformity. The results indicate that the optimal coating voltage for achieving the highest uniformity of the coated films is 2.9 kV for ZnO and 2.6 kV for AZO. The thin films were produced under these optimal ESD conditions by adjusting the coating time, and gas sensors were fabricated by printing electrodes using a reverse offset process on top of the thin films. Analysis of the sensing response revealed that the AZO-coated gas sensor with a 200 s deposition exhibited the best acetone-sensing ability at 300 °C, with a maximum response of 13.41 at 10 ppm. Furthermore, the fabricated gas sensors effectively detected acetone gas even at a low concentration of 2 ppm, demonstrating high selectivity in comparison to other gases.