Powder Pre-Treatment for Aerosol Deposition of Tin Dioxide Coatings for Gas Sensors

The Aerosol Deposition (AD) method has the unique property to allow for manufacturing dense ceramic films at room temperature. As found in many publications, the deposition process is very sensitive to powder properties. In particular, powders of nano-sized particles and grains, e.g., from precipitation, are usually beyond the conventional size range of AD processability, yielding chalk-like films of low mechanical stability. Thus, the conventional AD process is limited in applicability. In this study, we try to overcome this problem by adapting the standard milling treatment of powders for improved deposition by additional temperature pre-treatment. Using commercial tin dioxide and including a temperature treatment for grain growth, makes the powder accessible to deposition. In this way, we achieve optically translucent and conductive SnO2 thick films. With the application such as a gas sensitive film as one of many possible applications for SnO2 thick-films, the sensors show excellent response to various reducing gases. This study shows one exemplary way of extending the range of adequate powder and applications for the AD method.