Humidity Sensing Properties of (In+Nb) Doped HfO₂ Ceramics

(In+Nb) co-doped HfO₂ ceramics, Hf_1-(In_0.5Nb_0.5)O₂ (x = 0, 0.005, 0.05, and 0.1), were prepared via a solid-state reaction method. Dielectric measurements reveal that the environmental moisture has an obvious influence on the dielectric properties of the samples. The best humidity response was found in a sample with the doping level of x = 0.005. This sample was therefore selected as a model sample to further investigate its humidity properties. In doing so, nanosized particles of Hf_0.995(In_0.5Nb_0.5)_0.005O₂ were fabricated via a hydrothermal method and the humidity sensing properties of this material were studied in the relative humidity range of 11-94% based on impedance sensor. Our results show that the material exhibits a large impedance change of nearly four orders of magnitude over the tested humidity range. It was argued that the humidity-sensing properties were related to the defects created by doping, which improves the adsorption capacity for water molecules.