Indium-tin-oxide single-nanowire gas sensor fabricated via laser writing and subsequent etching

Abstract We report on the design and nanofabrication of a single nanowire (NW) indium-tin-oxide (ITO) gas sensor and on test results obtained with an oxidizing and a reducing gas. As a novel fabrication approach, direct laser writing and a subsequent etching process on sputtered ITO thin-film layers is applied. For this technique a near-infrared Ti:sapphire laser with sub-15 fs pulses and a repetition rate of 85 MHz is used. NWs for gas sensors are realized in two versions with a thickness of 125 ± 25 nm; one with 350 nm in width and 90 μm in length the other with 700 nm in width and 200 μm in length. The sensors are exposed to nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) in synthetic air with concentrations from 1 ppm to 50 ppm showing a significant change in resistance (up to 15.8%), whereas the reaction to 2000 ppm carbon monoxide (CO) turns out to be negligible (0.05%). At ambient temperature, the sensor exhibits integrating dosimeter-like behavior with relaxation times of more than 20 h. By self-heating, the NW can be reset to its initial condition, thus enabling a new dosimeter run at room-temperature. When the sensors are operated in self-heating mode, a conventional behavior is observed, enabling the detection of NO 2 concentrations down to about 1 ppm at a stationary temperature below 200 °C.