The present work reports the good sensing characteristics of ternary CuO:SnO₂:ZnO (1:1:1) thin films prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique towards the detection of NH₃ gas. The crystalline nature of the films was observed after annealing the films at 1000 °C. A remarkable variation was observed in the surface morphology (tiny spherical particle, hexagon and cauliflower shaped structure) of the films due to sputtering power/annealing temperature. The existence of Cu²⁺, Sn⁴⁺ and Zn²⁺ states in the films was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The highest optical transmittance of 87 % was obtained in the visible region. A decrease in energy band gap with increasing sputtering power may be due to the formation of localised state near the band edges of the film. The as-deposited and annealed (1000 °C) films showed an excellent sensitivity towards ammonia (NH₃) at room temperature. The annealed film showed a highest response of 2057 towards 100 ppm of NH₃. Interestingly, the annealed film is able sense the NH₃ gas even from 5 ppm concentration onwards. The films also showed an excellent operational stability and repeatability with appropriate response/recovery time. Based on the results, it may be stated that the CuO:SnO₂:ZnO (1:1:1) films can function as a most suitable ternary metal oxide in the detection of NH₃ at room temperature.

本工作报道了通过射频磁控溅射技术制备的三元CuO：SnO ₂：ZnO（1：1：1）薄膜对NH ₃气体的良好传感特性。在将膜在1000℃下退火之后，观察到膜的晶体性质。由于溅射功率/退火温度，在膜的表面形态（微小的球形颗粒，六边形和花椰菜形状的结构）中观察到显着的变化。Cu 2 ⁺，Sn ⁴⁺和Zn ^2+的存在膜中的状态通过X射线光电子能谱确认。在可见光区域获得了最高的透光率87％。随着溅射功率的增加，能带隙的减小可能是由于在膜的带边缘附近形成了局部状态。沉积和退火（1000°C）的薄膜在室温下对氨（NH ₃）表现出极好的敏感性。退火后的薄膜对100 ppm NH _3的响应最高为2057 。有趣的是，即使从5 ppm浓度开始，退火膜也能检测到NH ₃气体。该膜还显示出出色的操作稳定性和可重复性，并具有适当的响应/恢复时间。根据结果​​，可以说CuO：SnO₂：ZnO（1：1：1）膜可在室温下检测NH _3时，充当最合适的三元金属氧化物。