Aerosol-deposited BaFe_0.7Ta_0.3O_3-δ for nitrogen monoxide and temperature-independent oxygen sensing

• Main Authors: M. Bektas, D. Hanft, D. Schönauer-Kamin, T. Stöcker, G. Hagen, R. Moos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2014-09-01
• Series: Journal of Sensors and Sensor Systems
• Online Access: http://www.j-sens-sens-syst.net/3/223/2014/jsss-3-223-2014.pdf
• ISSN: 2194-8771; 2194-878X

The gas sensing properties of resistive gas sensors of BaFe_0.7Ta_0.3O_3-δ (BFT30) prepared by the so-called aerosol deposition method, a method to manufacture dense ceramic films at room temperature, were investigated. The electrical response of the films was investigated first under various oxygen concentrations and in a wide temperature range between 350 and 900 °C. Between 700 and 900 °C, the conductivity of BaFe_0.7Ta_0.3O_3-δ (BFT30) depends on the oxygen concentration with a slope of almost 1/4 in the double-logarithmic plot vs. oxygen partial pressure. In addition, the sensor response is temperature independent. BFT30 responds fast and reproducibly to changing oxygen partial pressures even at 350 °C. The cross-sensitivity has been investigated in environments with various gases (C₃H₈, NO, NO₂, H₂, CO, CO₂, and H₂O) in synthetic air between 350 and 800 °C. BFT30 exhibits good sensing properties to NO between 350 and 400 °C in the range from 1.5 to 2000 ppm with a high selectivity to the other investigated gas species. Thus this semiconducting ceramic material is a good candidate for a temperature-independent oxygen sensor at high temperatures with the application in exhausts and for a selective nitrogen monoxide (NO) sensor at low temperatures for air quality monitoring.