Effect of Substrate Surface on the Wide Bandgap SnO2 Thin Films Grown by Spin Coating

TL;DR

This study investigates how substrate surface treatment affects the growth, morphology, and properties of SnO2 thin films prepared by spin coating, revealing that UV-Ozone treatment improves film uniformity and optical transparency.

Contribution

It demonstrates the influence of substrate surface treatment on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of SnO2 thin films grown by spin coating, which is a novel insight for optimizing thin film fabrication.

Findings

UV-Ozone treatment results in more homogeneous films.

Films exhibit high optical transmittance (82-89%).

Electrical resistivity ranges from 2000 to 3000 Ohm-cm.

Abstract

Tin (IV) oxide (SnO2) sols have been synthesized from SnCl2.2H2O precursor solution by applying two different processing conditions. The prepared sols were then deposited on UV-Ozone treated quartz and soda lime glass (SLG) substrates by spin coating. The as-synthesized film was soft-baked at about 100 deg. C. for 10 min. This process was repeated five times to get a compact film, followed by air-annealing at 250 deg. C. for 2 hours. The pristine and annealed films were characterized by UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy, Grazing Incident X-Ray Diffraction (GIXRD), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM). The effect of the substrate surface was investigated by measuring the contact angles with De-Ionized (DI) water. UV-Ozone treatment of substrate provides a cleaner surface to grow a homogeneous film. The electrical resistivity of annealed thin films was carried out by a four-point-collinear probe employing the current reversal technique and found in the range of approx. 2x10^3 to 3x10^3 Ohm-cm. Film thickness was found in the range of approx. 137-285 nm, measured by a stylus profilometer. UV-VIs-NIR Transmission data revealed that all the thin film samples showed maximum (82-89) % transmission in the visible range. The optical bandgap of the thin films was estimated to be approx. 3.75-4.00 eV and approx. 3.78-4.35 eV for the films grown on SLG and quartz substrates, respectively.