Effects of UV Irradiation on the Sensing Properties of In(2)O(3) for CO Detection at Low Temperature

In this study, UV irradiation was used to improve the response of indium oxide (In(2)O(3)) used as a CO sensing material for a resistive sensor operating in a low temperature range, from 25 °C to 150 °C. Different experimental conditions have been compared, varying UV irradiation mode and sensor operating temperature. Results demonstrated that operating the sensor under continuous UV radiation did not improve the response to target gas. The most advantageous condition was obtained when the UV LED irradiated the sensor in regeneration and was turned off during CO detection. In this operating mode, the semiconductor layer showed an apparent “p-type” behavior due to the UV irradiation. Overall, the effect was an improvement of the indium oxide response at 100 °C toward low CO concentrations (from 1 to 10 ppm) that showed higher results than in the dark, which is promising to extend the detection of CO with an In(2)O(3)-based sensor in the sub-ppm range.