Optical gas sensing responses in transparent conducting oxides with large free carrier density

Inherent advantages of optical-based sensing devices motivate a need for materials with useful optical responses that can be utilized as thin film functional sensor layers. Transparent conducting metal oxides with large electrical conductivities as typified by Al-doped ZnO (AZO) display attractive properties for high temperature optical gas sensing through strong optical transduction of responses conventionally monitored through changes in measured electrical resistivity. An enhanced optical sensing response in the near-infrared and ultraviolet/visible wavelength ranges is demonstrated experimentally and linked with characteristic modifications to the dielectric constant due to a relatively high concentration of free charge carriers. The impact of light scattering on the magnitude and wavelength dependence of the sensing response is also discussed highlighting the potential for tuning the optical sensing response by controlling the surface roughness of a continuous film or the average particle size of a nanoparticle-based film. The physics underpinning the optical sensing response for AZO films on planar substrates yields significant insight into the measured sensing response for optical fiber-based evanescent wave absorption spectroscopy sensors employing an AZO sensing layer. The physics of optical gas sensing discussed here provides a pathway towards development of sensing materials for extreme temperature optical gas sensing applications. As one example, preliminary results are presented for a Nb-doped TiO2 film with sufficient stability and relatively large sensing responses at sensing temperatures greater than 500 °C.