Nanosecond pulsed laser induced generation of open macro porosity on sintered ZnO pellet surface

Surface porosity and pore size distribution of sensing material greatly influence performance parameters such as sensitivity, reproducibility and response time of sensors. Various approaches have been employed to generate surface porosity having varying pore size distribution. This paper presents our results on pulsed laser irradiation based surface microstructuring of sintered zinc oxide (ZnO) pellets leading to generation of enhanced surface porosity. ZnO targets have been surface treated using a frequency doubled nanosecond pulsed Nd:YAG laser at laser fluence levels ranging between 2 and 9 J/cm2. Our observations establish that laser irradiation provides an effective technique for generation of surface macro porosity in case of ZnO pellets. Also, extent of surface porosity and the mean pore size could be controlled by appropriately varying the incident laser fluence. Such laser treated ZnO surfaces with enhanced surface porosity and large size pores can serve as potential candidate for humidity sensors with high sensitivity and fast response time, particularly in high humidity range.