In this paper, in order to develop excellent Pb-free composition ceramics for ultrasonic sensor. The SnO2-doped (Na0.525K0.443Li0.037)(Nb0.883Sb0.08Ta0.037)O3)(abbreviated as NKL-NST) ceramics have been synthesized using the ordinary solid state reaction method. The effect of SnO2-doping on their dielectric and piezoelectric properties was investigated. The ceramics doped with 0 wt% SnO2 have the optimum values of piezoelectric constant(d33), piezoelectric figure of merit(d33·g33), planar piezoelectric coupling coefficient(kp) and density : d33= 195[pC/N], d33·g33=5.62 pm2/N.kp= 0.40, density= 4.436[g/cm3]. suitable for duplex ultrasonic sensor application.

In this paper, we carried out the investigations of both etch characteristics and mechanisms for the SnO2 thin films in O2/BCl3/Ar plasma. The dry etching characteristics of the SnO2 thin films was studied by varying the O2/BCl3/Ar gas mixing ratio. We determined the optimized process conditions that were as follows: a RF power of 700 W, a DC-bias voltage of -150 V, and a process pressure of 2 Pa. The maximum etch rate was 509.9 nm/min in O2/BCl3/Ar=(3:4:16 sccm) plasma. From XPS analysis, the etch mechanism of the SnO2 thin films in the O2/BCl3/Ar plasma can be identified as the ion-assisted chemical reaction while the role of ion bombardment includes the destruction of the metal-oxide bonds as well as the cleaning of the etched surface form the reaction products.

Indium Zinc Tin Oxide (IZTO) thin films were developed as an alternative to Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) thin films. ITO material which has been acknowledged with its low resistivity and optical transparency of 85-90% has been used as major transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials. However, due to the limited source, high price, and instability problems at high temperature of indium, many researches has been focused on indium-saving TCO materials. Mason Group of Northwestern University was reported to expand the solubility limit up to 40% by co-doping with 1:1 ratio of Zn+2 and Sn+4 ions. In this study, the properties of IZTO thin films corresponding to Zn/Sn different ratio were investigated. In addition, the effect of substrate temperature variable to the structural, optical and electrical properties of IZTO thin films was investigated.

The effect of Cu coating on the sensing properties of nano SnO2:Cu based sensors for the CH4, CH3CH2CH3 gas was studied. This work was focussed on investigating the change of sensitivity of nano SnO2:Cu based sensors for CH4, CH3CH2CH3 gas by Cu coating. Nano sized SnO2 powders were prepared by solution reduction method using stannous chloride(SnCl2·2H2O), hydrazine(N2H2) and NaOH and subsequent heat treatment. XRD patterns showed that nano SnO2 powders with rutile structure were grown with (110), (101), (211) dominant peak. The particle size of nano SnO2:Cu powders at 8 wt% Cu was about 50 nm. SnO2 particles were found to contain many pores, according to SEM analysis. The sensitivity of nano SnO2:Cu based sensors was measured for 5 ppm CH4 gas and CH3CH2CH3 gas at room temperature by comparing the resistance in air with that in target gases. The sensitivity for both CH4 and CH3CH2CH3 gases was improved by Cu coating on the nano SnO2 surface. The response time and recovery time of the SnO2:Cu gas sensors for the CH4 and CH3CH2CH3 gases were 18∼20 seconds, and 13∼15 seconds, respectively.

SnO2 nanoparticles were synthesized by flame spray pyrolysis, which were directly deposited on Pt interdigitated substrates. Gas sensing performance was evaluated for various gases such as H2, CO, H2S, and NH3, and it was compared with that of commercial SnO2 nanopowder. The synthesis of SnO2 nanoparticles was also conducted in various solvents. As a result, the primary particle size was changed with the solvent of precursor solution, and their H2 sensing properties were significantly affected.

Transparent thin film transistors (TTFT) were fabricated using the rf magnetron sputtered ZnO-SnO2 films as active layers. A ceramic target whose Zn atomic ratio to Sn is 2:1 was employed for the deposition of ZnO-SnO2 films. To study the post-annealing effects on the properties of TTFT, ZnO-SnO2 films were annealed at 200℃ or 400℃ for 5 min before In deposition for source and drain electrodes. Oxygen was added into chamber during sputtering to raise the resistivity of ZnO-SnO2 films. The effects of oxygen addition on the properties of TTFT were also investigated. 100 nm Si3N4 film grown on 100 nm SiO2 film was used as gate dielectrics. The mobility, Ion/Ioff, interface state density etc. were obtained from the transfer characteristics of ZnO-SnO2 TTFTs.

Ga-doped ZnO-SnO2 (ZSGO) films were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering and their structural and electrical properties were investigated. In order to fabricate the target for sputtering, the mixture of ZnO, SnO2 (1:1 weight ratio) and Ga2O3 (3.0 wt%) powder was calcined at 800℃ for 1 h. The substrate temperature was varied from room temperature to 300℃. The crystallographic properties and the surface morphologies of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The optical transmittances of the films were measured and the optical energy band gaps were obtained from the absorption coefficients. The resistivity variation with substrate temperature was measured. Auger electron spectroscopy was employed to find the atomic ratio of Zn, Sn, Ga and O in the film deposited at room temperature. ZSGO films exhibited the optical transmittance in the visible region of more than 80% and resistivity higher than 10 Ωcm.

SnO2 nano powders were prepared by solution reduction method using tin chloride(SnCl2·2H2O), hydrazine(N2H4) and NaOH. The SnO2 thick films for gas sensors were fabricated by screen printing method on alumina substrates and annealed at 300℃ in air, respectively. XRD patterns of the SnO2 nano powders showed the tetragonal structure with (110) dominant orientation. The particle size of SnO2 nano powders at the ratio of SnCl2:N2H4+NaOH= 1:6 was about 60 nm. The sensing characteristics were investigated by measuring the electrical resistance of each sensor in a test box. Sensitivity of SnO2 gas sensor to 5 ppm CH4 gas and 5 ppm CH3CH2CH3 gas was investigated for various SnCl2:N2H4+NaOH proportion. The highest sensitivity to CH4 gas and CH3CH2CH3 gas of SnO2 sensors was observed at the SnCl2:N2H4+NaOH= 1:8 and SnCl2:N2H4+NaOH= 1:6, respectively. Response and recovery times of SnO2 gas sensors prepared by SnCl2:N2H4+NaOH= 1:6 was about 40 s and 30 s, respectively.