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Fundamentals and Recent Developments of Homogeneous Semiconducting Sensors

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Sensors and Sensory Systems for an Electronic Nose

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSE,volume 212))

Abstract

Semiconductor gas sensor devices employing metal oxides exhibit a high sensitivity in the ppm range and can be applied for the detection of noxious or explosive gases and vapours in air. For an improvement of gas sensing properties surface reactions of gases on SnO2 have been studied in our group. The experimental methods, thermal desorption spectroscopy and reactive scattering, both used a mass spectrometer under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Complementary information is derived from photoemission spectoscopy. Simultaneous conductance measurements allow us to attribute the electrical response to certain reaction steps. Surface reactions for methane, ethanol, arsine, phenylarsine and hydrogen sulphide are discussed. Ion exchange on the SnO2 surface can vary the relative importance of parallel surface reaction paths dramatically altering the electrical response to some gases. Spillover reactions and electronic interactions of deposits on the oxide are illustrated with examples.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Applied Physics, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 16, D-6300, Gießen, Germany

    D. Kohl

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  1. D. Kohl
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK

    Julian W. Gardner

  2. School of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath, UK

    Philip N. Bartlett

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© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

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Kohl, D. (1992). Fundamentals and Recent Developments of Homogeneous Semiconducting Sensors. In: Gardner, J.W., Bartlett, P.N. (eds) Sensors and Sensory Systems for an Electronic Nose. NATO ASI Series, vol 212. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7985-8_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7985-8_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4150-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-7985-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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