We have employed Kelvin force microscopy (KFM) system to measure the potential change of a single SnO2 nanowire which had been synthesized on the Au thin film by a thermal process. By using the KFM probing technique, Rh coated conducting cantilever can approach a single SnO2 nanowire in nano scale and get the potential images with oscillating AC bias between Au electrode and cantilever. Also, during imaging the potential status, we controlled the concentration of oxygen in measuring chamber to change the ionosorption rate. From the results of such experiments, we verified that the surface potential as well as doping type of a single SnO2 nanowire could be changed by oxygen ionosorption.

Keywords: Tin-oxide (SnO2), nanowire, gas sensor, Conductive -AFM, Kelvin force microscopy (KFM)