Growth and fabrication method of CdTe and its performance as a radiation detector

Abstract

We report the nitrogen-monoxide (NO) gas-sensing properties of transparent p-type copper-oxide (CuO) nanorod arrays synthesized by using the hydrothermal method with a CuO nanoparticle seed layer deposited on a glass substrate via sputtering process. We synthesized polycrystalline CuO nanorods measuring 200 to 300 nm in length and 20 to 30 nm in diameter for three controlled molarity ratios of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:4 between copper nitrate trihydrate [Cu(NO2)2·3H2O] and hexamethylenetetramine (C6H12N4). The crystal structures and morphologies of the synthesized CuO nanorod arrays were examined using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The gas-sensing measurements for NO gas in dry air indicated that the CuO nanorodarray-based gas sensors synthesized under hydrothermal condition at a molarity ratio of 1:2 showed the best gas sensing response to NO gas. These CuO nanorod-array gas sensors exhibited a highly sensitive response to NO gas, with a maximum sensitivity of about 650% for 10 ppm NO in dry air at an operating temperature of 100 ℃. These transparent p-type CuO nanorod-array gas sensors have shown a reversible and reliable response to NO gas over a range of operating temperatures. These results indicate certain potential use of p-type oxide semiconductor CuO nanorods as sensing materials for several types of gas sensors, including p — n junction gas sensors.