Seminars Archive

Pulsed laser deposition of nanostructured SnO2 thin films and Pt nanoclusters for the development of gas sensors

Abstract


Monday, March 31, 2003, 14:30
Seminar Room, ground floor, Building "T"
Sincrotrone Trieste, Basovizza

Pulsed laser deposition of nanostructured SnO

2

thin films and Pt nanoclusters for the development of gas sensors


Richard Dolbec

(Universit du Qubec-Canada)
Abstract
Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a versatile method that has been used to deposit a variety of materials under a wide range of growth conditions, offering thereby the prospect of growing new nanostructures. In the case of tin oxide (SnO2) thin films, the process parameters (namely background gas pressure, substrate temperature and number of laser pulses) has been varied in order to control the nanostructure of the deposited films and consequently optimize their gas sensing properties. Similarly, by carefully choosing the deposition parameters, the PLD technique can be satisfactorily used to deposit Pt nanoclusters (used as catalyst in gas sensing applications) presenting a mean size that can be changed from 1.20.2 nm to 245 nm. Results concerning the characterization of both the nanostructure and the gas sensing properties of PLD SnO2 films, as well as the influence of Pt nanoclusters on the sensitivity of the films, will be presented.