Low temperature hydrogen sensor with high sensitivity based on CeOx thin film

In this work, a 500 nm-thick cerium oxide thin film was prepared by electron beam evaporation. It was found that the deposition of 7 nm thick Pd catalyst was required for obtaining a sensor response to hydrogen. The Pd/CeOx sensing structure has a high response of 5000 to 25 ppm H2 at a working temperature of 200 °C and exhibits a sensor response of 1.3 at temperatures near ambient. Furthermore, the sensing structure exhibited excellent response/recovery kinetics. The results confirm that the CeOx-based materials are a promising material for the fabrication of room-temperature hydrogen sensors.