Achievements of high figure of merit and infra-red reflectivity in SnO2:F thin films using spray pyrolysis technique

Here we first studied the effect of different stannous chloride (SnCl2 center dot 2H(2)O) precursor volumes (20, 50 and 80 ml) on physical properties of pure SnO2 thin films deposited on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique. It is found that all thin layers have a tetragonal rutile structure; and the one with the lowest spray volume has the highest figure of merit (Phi) among other samples. We then followed this sample deposition recipe and studied the effect of F-doping with different NH4F weight percentages (3, 5 and 10 wt%). It was revealed that sample with 10 wt% doping concentration has the highest Phi-value (13.1 x 10(-3) Omega(-1)) ever reported using economical stannous chloride precursor. Further investigations showed this thin layer also has an impressive calculated IR reflectivity of similar to 83%. These characteristics are useful in transparent heat-reflecting films and thin film solar cell applications.