Effect of Oxidation Temperature on the Structural, Optical and Electrical Properties of SnO2 Films

The synthesis of tin oxide films on glass substrates was carried out using a two-step procedure which involved the deposition of pure metallic tin films on glass substrates using the thermal evaporation technique and the oxidation of the as-prepared tin films at temperatures of 300, 400 and 500 degrees C. The effect of oxidation temperature on the structural, optical and electrical properties was investigated. The X-ray diffraction studies showed that the crystallinity of tin oxide films improved with increase in oxidation temperature with preferential growth along (110) plane. Increase in transmittance and band gap (2.95 eV to 3.23 eV) was observed with increase in oxidation temperature. Hall measurements revealed that the films showed n-type semiconducting behavior and the resistivity of the films increased as the oxidation temperature was increased from 300 degrees C to 500 degrees C.