• Journal of Sensor Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.383-387
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• 2016

Well-ordered nanocolumnar indium oxide ($In_2O_3$) thin films have been successfully fabricated by glancing angle deposition (GAD) using an e-beam evaporator. Nanocolumnar structures have a porous and large surface area with a narrow neck between nanocolumns, which allows them to detect minute amounts of gases. The nanocolumnar $In_2O_3$ thin films were fabricated by the GAD process at five different positions, viz. top, bottom, center, left, and right in a four inch substrate holder. There was a divergence in the thickness and the base resistance of each sensor. However, all the sensors exhibited extremely high sensitivity that was greater than $10^3$ times the change in electrical resistance after being exposed to 50 ppm of acetone gas at $300^{\circ}C$. Furthermore, the nanocolumnar $In_2O_3$ sensors displayed an extremely low detection limit (1.2 ppb) in dry atmosphere as well as in high humidity (80%). We demonstrated that the GAD nanocolumnar $In_2O_3$ sensors have an enormous potential for many applications owing to their particularly simple and reliable fabrication process.