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AssigneeMatsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
InventorsHideyuki Okinaka, Atsushi Iga, Masatake Ayusawa, Masatugu Yamaguchi, Seiichi Nakatani, Toshiaki Yagami
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This invention provides a reducing gas sensor which has a gas sensitive element composed of, as a main constituent, .gamma.-ferric oxide (.gamma.-Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3) and, as an additive, at least one compound in the group of WO.sub.3, MoO.sub.3, SiO.sub.2, GeO.sub.2, Li.sub.2 O, Na.sub.2 O, K.sub.2 O, CaO, SrO, BaO, Eu.sub.2 O.sub.3, La.sub.2 O.sub.3, CeO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3, In.sub.2 O.sub.3, SnO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, MgO, NiO, ZnO, Mn.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3, a pair of electrodes and a heater element. The .gamma.-ferric oxide is in the form of a thin film, a plate or a thin surface layer on a sintered plate of .gamma.-ferric oxide. The gas sensor of the invention is much improved in the stability during use and also it has a high sensitivity.
A reducing gas sensor comprising a gas sensitive element composed of, as a main constituent, .gamma.-ferric oxide (.gamma.-Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3) and, as an additive, at least one member selected from the group consisting of WO.sub.3, MoO.sub.3, SiO.sub.2, GeO.sub.2, Li.sub.2 O, Na.sub.2 O, K.sub.2 O, CaO, SrO, BaO, Eu.sub.2 O.sub.3, La.sub.2 O.sub.3, CeO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, Ga.sub.2 O.sub.3, In.sub.2 O.sub.3, SnO.sub.2, TiO.sub.2, MgO, NiO, ZnO, Mn.sub.2 O.sub.3 and Cr.sub.2 O.sub.3, a pair of electrodes on said sensitive element and a heater element adjacent said element, whereby when said gas sensitive element is heated to an elevated temperature it undergoes a rapid decrease in electrical resistance upon coming in contact with an atmosphere containing a reducing gas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.