Characteristics of electron beam evaporated nanocrystalline SnO2 thin films annealed in air

Tin oxide (SnO2) thin films (about 200 nm thick) have been deposited by electron beam evaporation followed by annealing in air at 350–550 °C for two hours. Optical, electrical and structural properties were studied as a function of annealing temperature. The as-deposited film is amorphous, while all other annealed films are crystalline (having tetragonal structure). XRD suggest that the films are composed of nanoparticles of 5–10 nm. Raman analysis and optical measurements suggest quantum confinement effects that are enhanced with annealing temperature. For instance, Raman peaks of the as-deposited films are blue-shifted as compared to those for bulk SnO2. Blue shift becomes more pronounced with annealing temperature. Optical band gap energy of amorphous SnO2 film is 3.61 eV, which increases to about 4.22 eV after crystallization. Two orders of magnitude decrease in resistivity is observed after annealing at 350–400 °C due to structural ordering and crystallization. The resistivity, however, increases slightly with annealing temperature above 400 °C, possibly due to improvement in stoichiometry and associated decrease in charge carrier density.