Effect of Annealing Temperature and Oxygen Flow in the Properties of Ion Beam Sputtered SnO—2x Thin Films

Abstract

Tin oxide (SnO2−x) thin films were prepared under various flow ratios of O2/(O2 + Ar) on unheated glass substrate using the ion beam sputtering (IBS) deposition technique. This work studied the effects of the flow ratio of O2/(O2 + Ar), chamber pressures and post-annealing treatment on the physical properties of SnO2 thin films. It was found that annealing affects the crystal quality of the films as seen from both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. In addition, the surface RMS roughness was measured with atomic force microscopy (AFM). Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) analysis was used to obtain the changes of elemental distribution between tin and oxygen atomic concentration. The electrical property is discussed with attention to the structure factor.

Pulsed Laser Deposited Fe2TiO5 Photoanodes for Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

“…One possible explanation for the pronounced decrease in photocurrent for the film deposited at higher oxygen pressures (for frontside illumination) is a lower electronic conductivity of the films. This can be explained by the improved crystalline quality and lower carrier density that is often found after annealing n-type metal oxides in an oxygen-rich atmosphere. , We also find a negative onset potential shift for films deposited in an oxygen atmosphere, both for frontside and backside illumination. This typically signifies a better hole injection at the semiconductor–electrolyte interface and is attributed to the higher porosity (i.e., internal surface area) of these films.…”

Investigation of the effect of adding a moderate amount of hydrogen on the properties of tin oxide films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering

“…However, the SnO:H (8-8) sample remained amorphous even after annealing at 250 °C (data not presented). This amorphous phase suggests the prevailing form of SnO 2 with a typical crystallization temperature of 400 °C and above, [21][22][23] which is in good agreement with the E g values.…”

Sol-Gel Processed Yttrium-Doped SnO2 Thin Film Transistors

“…Among these, SnO 2 has the highest mobility and the transparency due to its high intrinsic mobility and large bandgap [5]. In addition, SnO 2 is inexpensive and shows good chemical and thermal stability at high temperatures [6]. It have been shown to be a candidate for application in gas sensors due to its high surface to volume ratio [7].…”