Enhanced room-temperature ammonia sensing facilitated by dual depletion layer modulation of β-Ga2O3 p-n homojunction

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2025.06.005

J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 246: 161-166.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.06.005

• Letter • Previous Articles Next Articles

Enhanced room-temperature ammonia sensing facilitated by dual depletion layer modulation of β-Ga₂O₃ p-n homojunction

Hongchao Zhai^a, Yushi Wang^a, Chenxing Liu^a, Zhengyuan Wu^b, Pengfei Tian^a, Daoyou Guo^c, Weihua Tang^d, Zhilai Fang^a,b,*

^aAcademy for Engineering and Technology, and School of Information Science and Technology, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China;
^bInstitute of Optoelectronics, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China;
^cDepartment of Physics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China;
^dInnovation Center of Gallium Oxide Semiconductor (IC-GAO), College of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing 210023, China

Received:2025-05-29 Published:2026-03-01 Online:2026-03-13
Contact: *E-mail address: zlfang@fudan.edu.cn (Z. Fang).

Abstract

Abstract: Ammonia (NH₃) gas sensors play a critical role in enabling real-time detection of NH₃ emissions across industrial, agricultural, and environmental sectors, safeguarding human health and environmental sustainability. Critical limitations persist in conventional metal oxide-based gas sensors, such as high operational temperature, high power consumption, and low sensing performance. p-n homojunction gas sensors are promising to achieve high sensing performance based on the depletion region and the combination of bipolar materials. In this study, β-Ga₂O₃ p-n homojunction diode NH₃ gas sensors have been fabricated based on the p-type Ga₂O₃. The β-Ga₂O₃ diode gas sensors exhibit a response and short response/recovery time of 18.2 and 20.4/121.7 s to 50 ppm NH₃. A limit of detection (LOD) of 0.5 ppm is achieved by the β-Ga₂O₃ p-n homojunction diode NH₃ gas sensors and the response time to 0.5 ppm NH₃ is 0.2 s. This work demonstrates the first implementation of p-n homojunction architecture in Ga₂O₃-based gas sensors, providing a possible enhancing method for gas sensors.

Key words: β-Ga₂O₃, p-n homojunction, Dual depletion layer modulation, Built-in potential, Response speed

Hongchao Zhai, Yushi Wang, Chenxing Liu, Zhengyuan Wu, Pengfei Tian, Daoyou Guo, Weihua Tang, Zhilai Fang. Enhanced room-temperature ammonia sensing facilitated by dual depletion layer modulation of β-Ga₂O₃ p-n homojunction[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2026, 246: 161-166.

References

[1] in: Workplace Exposure Limits, Fourth Ed., TSO (The Stationery Office), part of Williams Lea, London, 2020, p. 9.
[2] A.R. Cadore, E. Mania, A.B. Alencar, N.P. Rezende, S. de Oliveira, K.Watanabe, T. Taniguchi, H. Chacham, L.C. Campos, R.G. Lacerda, Sens. Actuators B-Chem. 266 (2018) 438-446.
[3] W.Y. Weng, S.J. Chang, T.J. Hsueh, C.L. Hsu, M.J. Li, W.C. Lai, Sens. Actuat. B-Chem. 140 (2009) 139-142.
[4] T. Fu, Electrochim. Acta 121 (2014) 168-174.
[5] T.Y. Chen, H.I. Chen, C.S. Hsu, C.C. Huang, C.F. Chang, P.C. Chou, W.C. Liu, IEEE Electr. Dev. Lett. 33 (2012) 612-614.
[6] B. Zhang, H.J. Lin, H. Gao, X. Lu, C.Y. Nam, P.X. Gao, J. Mater. Chem. A 8 (2020) 10845-10854.
[7] H. Kim, C. Jin, S. An, C. Lee, Ceram. Int. 38 (2012) 3563-3567.
[8] K. Liu, M. Sakurai, M. Aono, J. Mater. Chem. 22 (2012) 12882-12887.
[9] S. Manandhar, A.K. Battu, A. Devaraj, V. Shutthanandan, S. Thevuthasan, C. V. Ramana, Sci. Rep. 10 (2020) 178.
[10] R. Pilliadugula, N. Gopalakrishnan, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 135 (2021) 106086.
[11] K. Liu, M. Sakurai, M. Aono, Small 8 (2012) 3599-3604.
[12] J.H. Tsai, J.S. Niu, W.C. Shao, W.C. Liu, Sens. Actuators B-Chem. 371 (2022) 132589.
[13] C.X. Wu, B.E. Chen, J.H. Tsai, Sens. Actuat. B-Chem. 402 (2024) 135108.
[14] R. Pandeeswari, B.G. Jeyaprakash, P. Veluswamy, D. Balamurugan, Ceram. Int. 48 (2022) 29067-29080.
[15] R. Jansi, M.S. Revathy, S. Vinoth, R.S.R.Isaac, I.M. Ashraf, M. Shkir, Phys. Scr. 99 (2024) 035905.
[16] D. Alagarasan, S.S. Hegde, R. Naik, P. Murahari, H.D. Shetty, S. Prasad Hb, F. Maiz, M. Shkir, Opt. Mater. 147 (2024) 114705.
[17] G.S. Natarajamani, V.P. Kannan, S. Madanagurusamy, Mater. Chem. Phys. 316 (2024) 129036.
[18] V.S. Chandak, M.B. Kumbhar, S.V. Talekar, J.L. Gunjakar, P.M. Kulal, Mater. Sci. Process. 130 (2024) 1-15.
[19] H. Zhai, Z. Wu, K. Xiao, M. Ge, C. Liu, P.F. Tian, J. Wan, J. Wang, J. Kang, J. Chu, Z. Fang, J. Mater. Chem. C (2024) 21-26.
[20] X.T. Yin, J. Li, D. Dastan, W.D. Zhou, H. Garmestani, F.M. Alamgir, Sens. Actuat. B-Chem. 319 (2020) 128330.
[21] K. Dyndal, A. Zarzycki, W. Andrysiewicz, D. Grochala, K. Marszalek, A. Rydosz, Sensors 20 (2020) 3142.
[22] L. Song, K. Dou, R. Wang, P. Leng, L. Luo, Y. Xi, C.C. Kaun, N. Han, F. Wang, Y. Chen, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 12 (2020) 1270-1279.
[23] I. Sil, B. Chakraborty, K. Dutta, H. Awasthi, S. Goel, P. Bhattacharyya, IEEE Sens. J. 22 (2022) 9483-9490.
[24] S. Wei, Z. Li, K. Murugappan, Z. Li, F. Zhang, A.G. Saraswathyvilasam, M. Ly-sevych, H.H. Tan, C. Jagadish, A. Tricoli, L. Fu, Adv. Mater. (2022) 2207199.
[25] Z. Sun, L. Huang, Y. Zhang, X. Wu, M. Zhang, J. Liang, Y. Bao, X. Xia, H. Gu, K. Homewood, M. Lourenco, Y. Gao, Sens. Actuators B-Chem. 398 (2024) 134675.
[26] Z.Y. Wu, Z.X. Jiang, C.C. Ma, W. Ruan, Y. Chen, H. Zhang, G.Q. Zhang, Z.L. Fang, J.Y. Kang, T.Y. Zhang, Mater. Today Phys. 17 (2021) 100356.
[27] H. Zhai, Z. Wu, Z. Fang, Ceram. Int. 48 (2022) 24213-24233.
[28] N. Bârsan, M. Hübner, U. Weimar, Sens. Actuators B-Chem. 157 (2011) 510-517.
[29] S. Nakata, M. Shiomi, Y. Fujita, T. Arie, S. Akita, K. Takei, Nat. Electron. 1 (2018) 596-603.
[30] R. Pilliadugula, N.G. Krishnan, Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 112 (2020) 105007.
[31] B.R. Sivasankaran, M. Balaji, Mater. Lett. 288 (2021) 129386.
[32] Z. Ye, H. Tai, R. Guo, Z. Yuan, C. Liu, Y. Su, Z. Chen, Y. Jiang, Appl. Surf. Sci. 419 (2017) 84-90.
[33] Y.-M. Yeh, S.-J. Chang, P.H. Wang, T.-J. Hsueh, ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol. 11 (2022) 067002.
[34] Y. Fu, T. Wang, X. Wang, X. Li, Y. Zhao, F. Li, G. Zhao, X. Xu, Chem. Eng. J. 471 (2023) 14 4 499.
[35] K.K. Pawar, A. Mirzaei, S. Sub Kim, H.W. Kim, Chem. Eng. J. 482 (2024) 148890.
[36] L. Van Duy, T.T. Nguyet, D.T.T. Le, N. Van Duy, H. Nguyen, F. Biasioli, M. Tonezzer, C. Di Natale, N.D. Hoa, Nanomaterials 13 (2022) 146.

Enhanced room-temperature ammonia sensing facilitated by dual depletion layer modulation of β-Ga₂O₃ p-n homojunction

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

References

Related Articles 4

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments

[1]	Xiongxin Luo, Yueming Zhang, Lindong Liu, Andy Berbille, Kaixuan Wang, Gaosi Han, Laipan Zhu, Zhong Lin Wang. A self-powered Ag/β-Ga₂O₃ photodetector with broadband response from 200 to 980 nm based on the photovoltaic and pyro-phototronic effects [J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2025, 206(0): 125-134.
[2]	Chenxing Liu, Zhengyuan Wu, Hongchao Zhai, Jason Hoo, Shiping Guo, Jing Wan, Junyong Kang, Junhao Chu, Zhilai Fang. N-doped β-Ga₂O₃/Si-doped β-Ga₂O₃ linearly-graded p-n junction by a one-step integrated approach [J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2025, 209(0): 196-206.
[3]	Muhammad Imran Saleem, Shangyi Yang, Attia Batool, Muhammad Sulaman, Chandrasekar Perumal Veeramalai, Yurong Jiang, Yi Tang, Yanyan Cui, Libin Tang, Bingsuo Zou. CsPbI₃ nanorods as the interfacial layer for high-performance, all-solution-processed self-powered photodetectors [J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2021, 75(0): 196-204.
[4]	Jinming Hu, Shengyi Yang, Zhenheng Zhang, Hailong Li, Chandrasekar Perumal Veeramalai, Muhammad Sulaman, Muhammad Imran Saleem, Yi Tang, Yurong Jiang, Libin Tang, Bingsuo Zou. Solution-processed, flexible and broadband photodetector based on CsPbBr₃/PbSe quantum dot heterostructures [J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2021, 68(0): 216-226.