(La_1-xBi_xSr_0.3)FeO₃ ceramics exhibiting excellent magnetoresistance were synthesized via the conventional solid-state reaction method. The structural and electrical properties were investigated as a function of Bi³⁺ content to evaluate their potential application as temperature sensors. And the sintering temperature and time were 1,200℃ and 4 h, respectively. The structural and electrical properties were investigated as a function of Bi content. With increasing Bi substitution, a slight enhancement in both average grain size and relative sintered density was observed. In particular, the specimen with x = 0.3 exhibited an average grain size of approximately 0.82 μm. All samples demonstrated negative temperature coefficient of resistance (NTCR) behavior, and the electrical resistivity decreased with increasing Bi content. The resistivity of the (La_0.4Bi_0.3Sr_0.3)FeO₃ composition was 4.68 mΩ-cm at 25°C. Additionally, the temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) and the B_25/75-value, which quantify the sensitivity of resistivity to temperature variations, were found to increase with Bi content. (La_0.4Bi_0.3Sr_0.3)FeO₃ sample exhibited a TCR of 0.43%/°C and a B_25/75-value of 1,096 K at room temperature. The electrical conduction mechanism of the (La_1-xBi_xSr_0.3)FeO₃ system was well described by the small polaron hopping model, wherein thermally activated charge carriers hop between localized Fe-O-Fe sites via electron-phonon interactions.

The composite specimens of (1-x)(La_0.7Sr_0.3)MnO₃-xBaTiO₃ (x = 0.05 ~ 0.3) were synthesized using the conventional solid-state reaction method, and the sintering temperature and time were 1,300℃ and 3 hours, respectively. As a result of observing the structural characteristics, the crystal structure of LSMO-BT solid solution was shown in which the rhombohedral LSMO phase and the tetragonal BT phase were separated and distributed, respectively. And fine grains having relatively small and uniformly distributed grains with sizes ranging from approximately 0.4 to 0.5 μm and pores within the specimens were observed. Notably, variations in the BT content did not significantly affect the grain size or porosity distribution, and a relative density of about 90% or more was shown. The resistivity, temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), and B_25/65-value of the 0.7LSMO-0.3BT specimen at room temperature showed the highest values of 1.94 Ω-cm, 0.292 %/℃, and 464 K, respectively. The resistivity behavior of the LSMO-BT composites matched well with the small polaron hopping conduction model.

Piezoelectric ceramics play an important role in various electronic applications. However, traditional ceramics are difficult to be used in some complicated structures, due to their low flexibility and high brittleness. To solve this problem, this study prepared and investigated ceramic/polymer composites that can utilize a good flexibility of polymers. Polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE) and 0.77(Bi_1/2Na_1/2)TiO₃-0.23SrTiO₃ (BNST23) ceramics were selected to fabricate the composites. Ceramic/polymer composites were prepared using various volume fractions of BNST23 ceramics. The distribution of piezoceramic particles in BNST23/PVDF-TrFE composites was investigated using optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The dielectric and piezoelectric properties of the composites were significantly influenced by the volume fraction of the piezoelectric ceramics. As a result, the highest piezoelectric constant (d33) of 56 pC/N was obtained in a composites with 70% volume fraction of BNST23 ceramics. Accordingly, it is expected that BNST23/PVDF-TrFE composites can be applied to various sensor applications.

Piezoelectric ceramics play an important role in electrical and electronic devices such as sensors, actuators, and microelectronic devices. However, traditional ceramics are difficult to be used in various process industries due to their high brittleness and low flexibility. Therefore, piezoelectric paint sensors have been designed for application to the curved surfaces of complicated structures. Furthermore, recently, significant attention has been focused on the development of paint sensors that can be used as structure health monitoring sensors for vibration, impact, and acoustic emission. Several studies have successfully demonstrated the possibility that smart paint sensors can take the place of traditional ceramic sensors. In this review, we briefly introduce the concept of the piezoelectric paint sensors and the expected application field as well as their preparation and history.

In this study, ZnxMn_3-xO₄ (x=0.95~1.20) specimens were prepared by using a conventional mixed oxide method. All specimens were sintered in air at 1,200℃ for 12 h and cooled at a rate of 2℃/min to 800℃, subsequently quenching to room temperature. We investigated the structural and electrical properties of Zn_xMn_3-xO₄ specimens with variation of ZnO amount for the application of NTC thermistors. As results of X-ray diffraction patterns, all specimens showed the formation of a complete solid solution with tetragonal spinel phase. And, the second phase was observed by the solubility limit of Zn ions in x≥1.10 composition. The average grain size was increased from 2.72 μm to 4.18 μm with increasing the compositional ratio of Zn ion from x=0.95 to 1.20, respectively. Zn_1.10 Mn_1.90 O₄ specimen showed the minimum electrical resistance of 57.5 kΩ at room temperature and activation energy of 0.392 eV.

Embossed TiO2 thin films with high surface areas are achieved using soft-templates composed of monolayer polystyrene beads. The form of links between the beads in the templates is controlled by varying the O2 plasma etching time on the templates, resulting in various templates with close-linked, nano-linked, and isolated beads. Room-temperature deposition of TiO2 on the plasma-treated templates and calcination at 550℃ result in embossed films with tailored links between anatase TiO2 hollow hemispheres. Although all the embossed films have similar surface areas, the sensitivity of films with nano-linked TiO2 hollow hemispheres to 500 ppm CO and ethanol gases are much higher than that of films with close-linked and isolated hollow hemispheres, and the detection limits of them are as low as 0.6 ppm for CO and 0.1 ppm for ethanol. The strong correlation of sensitivity with the form of links between hollow hemispheres reveals the critical role of potential barriers formed at the links. The facile, large-scale, and on-chip fabrication of embossed TiO2 films with nano-linked hollow hemispheres on Si substrate and the high sensitivity without the aid of additives give us a sustainable competitive advantage over various methods for the fabrication of highly sensitive TiO2-based sensors.

Multifunctional structures with two kinds of materials have been intensively investigated in order to improve their electrical characteristic with two functions simultaneously. However, the research regarding of multifunctional ceramic sensor is still in a preliminary stage and how to integrate them with low-cost and high-yield mass production process remains a challenge issue. In this study, we fabricated the multifunctional ceramic sensor composed of temperature and gas sensors. Moreover, we investigated the CO sensing properties of three dimensional nanostuctured Nb2O5 thin film gas sensors fabricated with silica (SiO2) nanosphere (Ø= 750 nm). Compared to plain films, the nanostructured films show enhanced gas sensing of greater sensitivity and a faster response. This result reveals that significantly increased sensitivity is an increase in the effective surface area for the adsorption of gas molecules.

Recently the solution-based thin film technology has often been treated in the field of device fabrication owing to easy process and convenience for the development of various semiconductor devices and sensors. We deposited on glass substrate single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs)/silane hybrid thin films by multiple spray-coating which is one of solution-based processes, and examined their electrical response for humidity. Generally silane binders which are often mixed in carbon nanotube (CNT) solution to adhere CNTs to substrate well form easily each own functionalized group on the surface of CNTs after they are hardened by way of the hydrolysis reaction. In this work, we investigated how silane binders (TEOS (tetraethoxy silane), MTMS (methyltrimethoxysilane) and VTMS (vinyltrimethoxysilane)) in CNT thin films make effect to their electrical response on humidity. As the result, we found that the resistance in the samples using TEOS was changed dramatically while it was almost invariant in the samples using MTMS and VTMS for increasing humidity.