In this paper, we investigate the electrical, optical and structural properties of Li-doped SnO 2 transparent conducting films deposited on glass substrates by the spray pyrolysis technique. The SnO 2 :Li thin films were deposited at a substrate temperature of 480 • C using an aqueous ethanol solution consisting of tin and lithium chloride with various doping levels from 0 to 25 wt% in solution. The effect of increasing Li concentration on the electrical, optical and structural properties of SnO 2 films has been studied. The results of x-ray diffraction have shown that the deposited films are polycrystalline without any second phases with preferential orientations along the (110) and (211) planes and an average grain size of 28.7 nm. Also, the Hall effect and resistivity measurements of the films show that for a specific acceptor dopant concentration of ∼2 wt% or [Li]/[Sn] atomic ratio equal to 37 at% in solution, the majority of carriers convert from electrons to holes and for a Li concentration of ∼15 wt% in solution, p-conductivity increases sharply. The optical absorption edge for undoped SnO 2 films lies at 4.11 eV, whereas for high acceptor doped films it shifts towards lower energies (longer wavelengths) in the range of 4.11 to 3.61 eV.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.