The role of substrate temperature on the performance of humidity sensors manufactured from cerium oxide thin films

Abstract

Cerium oxide (CeO2) thin films as humidity sensors are obtained by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) grown on Si (100) substrate. CeO2 nanoparticles were taken as target materials for PLD technique. The effect of film deposition condition, such as deposition temperature on performance sensor, was explored. The substrate temperature ranges varied from 300 to 700 °C. The structural and surface morphologies were examined by X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), respectively. The capacitance and resistance of the sensors were tested. The sensor utilizing CeO2 films exhibited high sensitivity, and the increase in humidity led to a gradual increase in sensitivity and decreased resistance. The sensor performance is highly dependent on morphology and surface, which in turn is affected by the change in electrical properties of the film.