Fabrication of a gas sensor with a piezoelectric PZT film deposited by a novel hydrothermal microwave-assisted annealing

In this article, we use the piezoelectric material of PbZrxTi(1-x)O3 (PZT) to fabricate a thin film by sol-gel technique. The novel hydrothermal annealing under microwave system substitutes the conventional furnace annealing. The films from various reaction conditions are analyzed by scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction. In addition, the PZT film is used to fabricate the gas sensor. The resonant frequency of the developed PZT sensor is about 30 MHz and the sensing limit for organic vapour is estimated to be about 1 ppm. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.