Titanium oxide thin film gas sensors

Solid-state gas sensors based on metal-oxide thin films offer unique advantages such as compatibility with microfabrication processes and stability at high temperatures and under harsh conditions. At the same time, the sensitivity and selectivity of metal oxide sensors should be improved to compete with alternative technologies. This paper describes titanium oxide thin films for gas sensors. Titanium oxide is particularly attractive due to its high dielectric constant, which leads to extended gas-modulated space charge effects well into the film—resulting in high sensitivity, as well as for its compatibility with Si-based microprocessing technologies. The sensing properties of polycrystalline titanium oxide films (~70 nm thick) deposited having small grain size (tens of nanometers), are described. A unique technique, using laser-induced melting and solidification of the films, that enables controlling the grain size in thin films will be discussed as a method to study grain size effects on sensing properties of titanium oxide films.