Correlation between the structural and electrical transport properties of SnO₂ films

Abstract

Transparent and conducting thin films of tin oxide have been deposited by spray pyrolysis on corning 7059 substrates. The films were investigated by x-ray diffraction and seebeck measurements to study the structural and electrical transport properties. The films were polycrystalline and the oxide phase observed was SnO₂ in cassiterite structure. The films were preferentially oriented along [200]. Trap densities along [310] and [101] have been calculated for the first time. Assigning the traps mainly to the grain boundaries, the grain-boundary barrier height was calculated and compared with that obtained from the seebeck measurements. A good agreement between these values was observed. The agreement was the best for films deposited under optimum deposition conditions.