Surface Acoustic Wave Humidity Sensors Based on (1120) ZnO Piezoelectric Films Sputtered on R-Sapphire Substrates

ZnO films on R-sapphire substrates are prepared and characterized by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, which indicate that the thin films are well crystallized with (1120) texture. Love wave and Rayleigh wave are used for fabrications of humidity sensors, which are excited in 1100 and 0001 directions of the (1120) ZnO piezoelectric films, respectively. The experimental results show that both kinds of sensors have good humidity response and repeatability, and the performances of the Love wave sensors are better than those of the Rayleigh wave sensors at room temperature. Moreover, the theoretical calculations of the mass sensitivity of the sensors are also carried out and the calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental measurements.