Effect of N5+ ion implantation on optical and gas sensing properties of WO3 films

In this paper we report the optical and gas sensing behaviours of tungsten oxide (WO₃) films, implanted with 45‐keV N^{5 +} ions of different fluences in the range 1 × 10¹⁵ to 1 × 10¹⁷ cm^–2. The film with fluence 1 × 10¹⁵ cm^–2 shows the most intense PL spectrum with two prominent peaks near UV and blue regions. The morphological changes because of ion implantation are also investigated by atomic force microscopy. Because of implantation the gas sensitivity of the film, in exposure of methane, is found to increase with reasonably fast response and recovery times. With the increase of the concentration of methane, the sensors show better result. Present work also includes the effect of N^{5 +} ion implantation on the structural property of WO₃ films. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.