Considering the adverse effect of rising air pollution on environment and human health, highly selective and trace level sensors are needed. Herein, yttrium (Y) incorporated tin oxide (SnO₂) thin film gas sensors have been developed for sub-ppb level detection of NO₂ at room-temperature. The undoped and Y-doped (1, 3 and 5 wt%) thin films have been prepared via electron beam deposition technique. The XPS studies confirmed the substitution of Sn with Y in SnO₂ lattice. The morphological and structural characterizations reveal smooth and crystalline thin films, while Raman and PL spectroscopic studies confirm the presence and growth of oxygen vacancies (OVs), specifically in-plane OVs, in doped samples. Moreover, narrowing of electron absorption spectra in doped samples implied the formation of mid-gap states in energy bandgap of SnO₂ leading to enhanced electron transfer. The 3 wt% Y-doped SnO₂ sensor exhibited excellent sensing response with high selectivity towards NO₂ in 15–240 ppb range. The sensors also showed high stability and repeatability along with humidity insensitivity. Notably, the sensor was observed to be highly sensitive to 0.6 ppb NO₂ exhibiting a 26 % response along with response/recovery time of 4/2 min. The improved sensing characteristics have been ascribed to reduced crystallite size, elevated in-plane OVs, enhanced charge transfer and increased specific surface area due to Y integration.

考虑到不断上升的空气污染对环境和人类健康的不利影响，需要高度选择性和痕量水平的传感器。在此，已经开发了掺有钇（Y）的氧化锡（SnO ₂）薄膜气体传感器，用于在室温下亚ppb水平的NO ₂检测。通过电子束沉积技术已经制备了未掺杂和Y掺杂的（1、3和5wt％）薄膜。XPS研究证实了SnO _2中的Y取代了Sn格子。形态和结构表征揭示了光滑且结晶的薄膜，而拉曼光谱和PL光谱研究证实了掺杂样品中氧空位（OVs），特别是面内OVs的存在和增长。此外，掺杂样品中电子吸收光谱的变窄意味着SnO _2的能带隙中带隙态的形成，导致电子转移增强。3 wt％的Y掺杂SnO ₂传感器表现出出色的感测响应，并且在15–240 ppb范围内对NO ₂具有高选择性。传感器还显示出高稳定性和可重复性，以及对湿度不敏感。值得注意的是，观察到该传感器对0.6 ppb NO ₂高度敏感表现出26％的响应以及4/2分钟的响应/恢复时间。改善的感测特性归因于由于Y集成而导致的微晶尺寸减小，面内OV升高，电荷转移增强以及比表面积增大。