Room temperature ammonia sensing performances of pure and Sn doped β-Ga2O3

Sn, being an excellent donor, has been doped into beta-Ga2O3 lattice through hydrothermal method at 2 mol% and 4 mol% concentrations. Prior to this, Sn is primarily doped into Gallium. Oxy Hydrate (GaOOH) which is then thermally treated and transformed into beta-Ga2O3. The obtained samples were characterized by TGA, XRD, SEM, EDAX, TEM, XPS, UV-Visible spectroscopy and BET surface analysis to assess their structural, morphological, optical and surface properties. Pure and Sn doped samples were used for room temperature NH3 vapour sensing. Among all samples, 2 mol% Sn doped sample showed enhanced sensing capability due to its prosperous materialistic properties attained through optimum doping into host material. Humidity dependent sensing studies have been done for 2 mol% Sn doped beta-Ga2O3. Humidity mediated and oxygen mediated sensing mechanisms along with chemical & electronic sensitization effects of Sn in favor of enhanced room temperature NH3 sensing have been proposed. Short-term stability studies at room temperature have been performed on 2 mol% Sn doped beta-Ga2O3 at 200 ppm of NH3 exposure for a period of 10 consecutive days and found with good stability.

Automated summary

In this study, Sn was doped into the β-Ga2O3 lattice through hydrothermal method at different concentrations, showing enhanced NH3 sensing capabilities in the 2% doped sample. The research also highlighted the sensitivity of the doped samples to humidity and oxygen levels.