Synthesis of nano-sized antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) particles using a DC arc plasma jet

Nano-sized antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) particles were synthesized using DC arc plasma jet. The precursors SnCl₄ and SbCl₅ were injected into the plasma flame in the vapor phase. ATO powder could conveniently be synthesized without any other post-treatment in this study. To control the doping amount of antimony in the ATO particles, the Sb/Sn molar ratio was used as an operating variable. To study the effect of carrier gas on the particle size, argon and oxygen gases were used. The results of XRD and TGA show that all Sb ions penetrated the SnO₂ lattice to substitute Sn ions. With the increased SbCl₅ concentration in source material, the Sb doping level was also increased. The size of the particles synthesized using the argon carrier gas was much smaller than that of the particles prepared using the oxygen carrier gas. For the argon gas, PSA results and SEM images reveal that the average particle size was 19 nm. However, for the oxygen gas, the average particle size was 31 nm.     

Optical and electrical properties of SnO2:Sb thin films deposited by oblique angle deposition

The antimony doped tin oxide (SnO₂:Sb) (ATO) thin films were prepared by oblique angle electron beam evaporation technique. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer and four-point probe resistor were employed to characterize the structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties. The results show that oblique angle deposition ATO thin films with tilted columns structure are anisotropic. The in-plane birefringence of optical anisotropy is up to 0.035 at α = 70°, which means that it is suitable as wave plate and polarizer. The electrical anisotropy of sheet resistance shows that the sheet resistance parallel to the deposition plane is larger than that perpendicular to the deposition plane and it can be changed from 900 Ω/□ to 3500 Ω/□ for deposition angle from 40° to 85°, which means that the sheet resistance can be effectively tuned by changing the deposition angle. Additionally, the sandwich structure of SiO₂ buffer layer plus normal ATO films and oblique angle deposition ATO films can reduce the resistance, which can balance the optical and electrical anisotropy. It is suggested that oblique angle deposition ATO thin films can be used as transparent conductive thin films in solar cell, anti-foggy windows and multifunctional carrier in liquid crystal display.     

Structural, optical and electrical characterization of antimony-substituted tin oxide nanoparticles

Antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) nanostructures were prepared using chemical precipitation technique starting from SnCl₂, SbCl₃ as precursor compounds. The antimony composition was varied from 5 to 20 wt%. The lower resistance was observed at composition of Sn:95 and Sb:05, when compared with undoped and higher doping concentration of antimony. The average crystalline size of undoped and doped tin oxide was calculated from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and found to be in the range of 30-11 nm and it was further confirmed from the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the nanoparticles agglomerates forming spherical-shaped particles of few hundreds nanometers. The samples were further analyzed by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and electrical resistance measurements.     

Studies on the structural and electrical properties of spray deposited SnO2:Sb thin films as a function of substrate temperature

Thin films of antimony doped tin oxide (SnO₂:Sb) were prepared by spray pyrolysis technique using SnCl₂ as precursor with the various antimony doping levels ranging from 1 to 4 wt%. The XRD analysis showed that the undoped SnO₂ films grow in (211) preferred orientation whereas the Sb doped films grow in (200) plane. Scanning electron microscopy studies indicated that the surface of the films prepared with lower doping level (1 wt%) consists of larger grains whereas those prepared with higher doping levels (>1 wt%) consist of smaller grains. The sheet resistance has been found to be reduced considerably (2.17 Ω/□) for Sb doped films. To the best of our knowledge this is the lowest sheet resistance obtained for Sb doped SnO₂ thin films.     

Highly thermal stable transparent conducting SnO2:Sb epitaxial films prepared on α-Al2O3 (0 0 0 1) by MOCVD

Antimony-doped tin oxide (SnO₂:Sb) single crystalline films have been prepared on α-Al₂O₃ (0 0 0 1) substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The antimony doping was varied from 2% to 7% (atomic ratio). Post-deposition annealing of the SnO₂:Sb films was carried out at 700-1100 °C for 30 min in atmosphere ambient. The effect of annealing on the structural, electrical and optical properties of the films was investigated in detail. All the SnO₂:Sb films had good thermal stability under 900 °C, and the 5% Sb-doped SnO₂ film exhibited the best opto-electrical properties. Annealed above 900 °C, the 7% Sb-doped SnO₂ film still kept high thermal stability and showed good electrical and optical properties even at 1100 °C.     

W doped SnO2 growth via sol–gel routes and characterization: Nanocubes

The effects of W doping on the characteristical properties of SnO₂ thin films prepared by sol–gel spin coating method were investigated. The SnO₂ thin films were deposited at various W doping ratios and characterized by various measurements. XRD studies indicated that the undoped and W doped SnO₂ films had cubic and tetragonal phases. The SEM images of WTO thin films showed cubic shaped nanocubes corresponding to cubic phase and the smaller particles corresponding to tetragonal phase were formed on the film surfaces, and their distributions and sizes were dependent on the W doping ratio. EDX spectroscopy analyses showed that the calculated and participated atomic ratios of W/(W + Sn) (at.%) in the starting solution and in the WTO thin films were almost close. It was found that the sheet resistance depended on W doping ratio and 2.0 at.% W doped SnO₂ (WTO) exhibited lowest value of sheet resistance (7.11 × 10³ Ω/cm²).     

Transparent and conducting Zn-Sn-O thin films prepared by combinatorial approach

Zn-Sn-O (ZTO) films with continuous compositional gradient of Sn 16-89 at.% were prepared by co-sputtering of two targets of ZnO and SnO₂ in a combinatorial method. The resistivities of the ZTO films were severely dependent on oxygen content in sputtering gas and Zn/Sn ratio. Except for the films with Sn 16 at.%, all the as-prepared films were amorphous and maintaining the stable amorphous states up to the annealing temperature of 450 °C. Annealing at 650 °C resulted in crystallization for all the composition, in which ZnO, Zn₂SnO₄, ZnSnO₃, and SnO₂ peaks were appeared successively with increasing Sn content. Above Sn 54 at.%, the ZTO films were deduced to have a local structure mixed with ZnSnO₃ and SnO₂ phases which were more conductive and stable in thermal oxidation than ZnO and Zn₂SnO₄ phases. The lowest resistivity of 1.9 × 10⁻³ Ω cm was obtained for the films with Sn 89 at.% when annealed at 450 °C in a vacuum. The carrier concentrations of the amorphous ZTO films that contained Sn contents higher than 36 at.% and annealed at 450 °C in a vacuum were proportional to the Sn contents, while the Hall mobilities were insensitive to Sn contents and leveling in the range of 23-26 cm²/V s.     

Property enhancement of transparent conducting zinc oxide thin films—Effect of simultaneous (Sn+F) doping

Undoped and simultaneously (Sn+F) doped ZnO thin films were fabricated using a simplified spray pyrolysis technique and the effects of Sn doping level on their electrical, structural, optical and surface morphological properties were studied. The XRD patterns confirmed the hexagonal wurtzite structure of ZnO. The minimum electrical resistivity of 0.45×10⁻² Ω cm was obtained for ZnO films having Sn+F doping levels of 8+20 at%. All the films exhibited average optical transmittance of 85% in the visible region, suitable for transparent electrode applications. The overall quality of the fabricated films was confirmed from photoluminescence (PL) studies. The PL and surface morphological studies along with the elemental analysis showed the increase of Sn diffusion into the ZnO lattice which was consistent with the concentration of Sn in the starting solution. The results of the analysis of physical properties of simultaneously doped ZnO films proved that these films might be considered as promising candidates for solar cells and other opto-electronic applications.     

Structural and photoluminescence characters of SnO2:Sb films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering

The Antimony-doped tin oxide (SnO₂:Sb) films have been prepared on glass substrates by RF magnetron sputtering method. The prepared samples are polycrystalline films with rutile structure of pure SnO₂ and have preferred orientation of (1 1 0) direction. XRD measurement did not detect the existence of Sb₂O₃ phase and Sb₂O₅ phase; Sb ions occupy the site of Sn ions and form the substitution doping. An intensive UV-violet luminescence peak near 392 nm is observed at room temperature. Photoluminescence (PL) properties influenced by sputtering power and annealing for the SnO₂:Sb films are investigated in detail and corresponding PL mechanism is discussed.     

Studies on the structural and electrical properties of F-doped SnO2 film prepared by APCVD

Fluorine-doped tin oxide films (SnO₂:F, FTO) were deposited by atmosphere pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) on Na-Ca-Si glass coated with a diffusion barrier layer of SiO_xC_y. The effects of post-heating time at 700 °C on the structural and electrical properties of SnO₂:F films were investigated. The results showed that SnO₂:F films were polycrystalline with tetragonal SnO₂ structure, SnO phase was present in SnO₂ film, and abnormal grain growth was observed. The element distribution in the film depth was measured with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and revealed that when the heating time increased from 202 s to 262 s, the oxygen content in the surface increased from 78.63% to 83.38%. The resistivity increased from 3.13 × 10⁻⁴ for as-deposited films to 4.73 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm when post-heated for 262 s. Hall mobility is limited by the ionized impurity scattering rather than the grain boundary scattering.