Improved Performance of Surface Acoustic Wave Sensors by Plasma Treatments for Chemical Warfare Agents Monitoring.

The effects of a plasma treatment on the sensing performance of surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors to detect chemical warfare agents (CWAs) were investigated. SAW sensors designed for an operating frequency of 250 MHz were fabricated using lift-off techniques followed by the deposition of a very thin thiourea (TU) layer as a sensing film on the sensing area of the SAW sensor. To achieve some advantages from the plasma treatment on the surface, such as cleaning, surface activation and modification, a post-plasma treatment was performed on the sensing layer and the sensing performance of the SAW sensor was measured by a comparison with the measured responses, providing different simulant gases through the gas feeding system. The sensitivity test revealed significant improvement in the sensing ability of the SAW sensor to detect DMMP, a simulant of a CWA, but with a relatively longer recovery time. The responses of other simulants at different concentrations and different simulant vapors were compared. The results showed that a plasma treatment on the sensing layer of a SAW device can improve the selectivity and sensitivity to a certain target gas or some volatile organic compounds. Therefore, a plasma treatment will be very useful for improving the selectivity and sensitivity of SAW sensors for the detection of CWAs.