Theoretical approaches to receptor function and response of semiconductor gas sensor are described, following the illustrations of some relevant key issues such as tunneling transport. Depletion in small semiconductor crystals is characterized by the occurrence of new type depletion (volume depletion) after conventional one (regional depletion), and inclusion of both types makes it possible to formulate the receptor function and response to oxygen (air base), oxidizing gas (nitrogen dioxide), and reducing gas (hydrogen). The equations derived theoretically using physical parameters of the semiconductor side and chemical parameters of the gases side appear to reproduce satisfactorily the sensing behavior to the aforementioned gases as well as the influence of changes in physical parameters such as grain size and donor density. Extension to the semiconductor crystals dispersed with surface electron-traps shows that the traps act as a sensitizer to promote sensor response.

1. Introduction

A semiconductor gas sensor (called device hereafter) possesses an electrical resistance made with a porous assembly of tiny crystals of an n-type metal oxide semiconductor, typically SnO2, In2O3, or WO3. The crystals are often loaded with a small amount of foreign substance (noble metals or their oxides) called a sensitizer. When operated at adequate temperature in air, the resistor changes its resistance sharply on contact with a small concentration of reducing gas or oxidizing gas, enabling us to know the concentration from the resistance change. For its inauguration with a report by Seiyama et al. and a patent by Taguchi, this group of sensors has been subjected to a tremendous amount of R&D efforts world wide aiming at improvements of sensing performances and extensions to new applications. Thanks to these researches, the group not only has grown to provide important tools to detect and/or control gases in places in modern society but also has pioneered to founding a new technology field where the devices are called chemical sensors. Speaking more exactly, semiconductor gas sensors have been classified into two subtypes, that is, surface-sensitive type operating at temperatures below 500∘C and bulk-sensitive one operating at high temperature (typically at 800∘C) . This article is concerned with those of the former type only.

Apart from such remarkable achievements in practical applications, basic understandings of this group of sensors have hardly been satisfactory, despite tremendous efforts of so many researchers as summarized in reviews [5–8]. This is partly because there are many complex factors which affect sensing properties. Not only the selection of a proper oxide semiconductor is important but also the methods and conditions for fabricating sensor devices exert profound influences on gas sensing properties through changes in donor density, crystallite size, contacting geometry between crystals, packing density (or porosity), packing thickness, and so on [7]. In addition, the sensing properties are often modified largely with loading with foreign substances such as sensitizers. Understandings of these phenomena indeed have required interdisciplinary knowledge among semiconductor physics, surface chemistry, solid-state chemistry, and so on. In order to facilitate the understandings, we have proposed to assume that the sensing properties are determined by three main factors, that is, receptor function, transducer function, and utility factor, as schematically shown in Figure 1 [4]. The first factor is concerned with how each constituent crystal responds to the surrounding atmosphere containing oxygen and target gases (intraparticle issue). It is unanimous that oxygen is adsorbed on the crystals as negatively charged species, accompanied by the formation of a depletion layer inside the crystals. The target gases disturb the equilibrium through being adsorbed competitively or reacting with the adsorbed oxygen. The foreign substances like sensitizers dispersed on the crystals are assumed to affect these processes anyhow. The second factor is concerned with how the response of each particle is transformed into that of the whole device, and apparently this is related with the mechanism of electron transport between adjacent crystals (inter-particle issue). For a long time a double Schottky barrier model [9], which assumes migration transport of electrons over the barrier as shown, has been advocated for this process without critical check. The third one is concerned with the attenuation of the response due to the effect of diffusion and reaction of reactive target gases through the pores of the assembly of crystals (assembly issue) [10–12]. The above scheme has explained rather well qualitative nature of semiconductor gas sensors in several respects. However, it has failed to give quantitative understandings and, most importantly, to give new insights leading to innovations of this group of sensors. There should have been some serious defaults included in the scheme, particularly regarding the receptor and transducer functions.

Figure 1: Three factors determining the response of semiconductor gas sensors.

Fortunately, we encountered an interesting finding several years ago that thin film devices fabricated from hydrothermally prepared colloidal suspensions of SnO2 by a spin-coating technique showed temperature—almost independent resistances in air in the temperature range 150–400∘C, as shown in Figure 2. Such thermal behavior of resistances is hardly consistent with the double Schottky barrier model mentioned above. Instead, tunneling transport of electrons across the contacts (or gaps) between adjacent crystals is strongly suggested. In addition, this transport mechanism has made much easier the theoretical modeling of receptor and transducer functions recently carried out [14–16], because the constituent crystals can now be treated independently from each other. As revealed during this process, depletion in small crystals easily goes beyond conventional one (regional depletion) to enter new type one (volume depletion). Obviously, it is a lack of such information that has delayed fundamental understandings of this group of sensors, for most of their valuable gas sensing properties show up in the stage of volume depletion or nearby.