【正文】
ductive metal oxide, typically SnO2. Although sensors utilizing γFe2O3 or αFe2O3 have been put into practical use, SnO2 sensor still has an overwhelming market share. The production of semiconductor gas sensors has grown into a large industry: more than 5 million pieces were produced in 1983. Most of them have been used in domestic homes as detectors or alarms for gas leakage. Field statistics has shown that gas alarms are quite effective to prevent an outbreak of gas leakage accident。 the accident rate sharply decreases with an increase in gas alarm installation rate. It is useful to know actual Ltd. has analyzed the cases where gas alarms were effective for prevention of disastorous gas accidents. The result is shown in . The causes are associated dominantly with mishanding or defects of gas appliances (%), and then with stopcocks (%), suicides (%), gas pipes (%), connectors (%), and the others (%). It is rather surprising that suicides are ranked in the third place in this analysis. Anyway semiconductor gas sensors have been so far given much credit as an important device f