Effect of annealing temperature on the properties of pulsed magnetron sputtered nanocrystalline Ag:SnO2 films

Ag doped SnO2 (Ag:SnO2) films were prepared on glass substrates by pulsed dc magnetron sputtering. The effect of thermal annealing treatments on the physical properties of the films was investigated. Several analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction, electron probe microanalysis, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, four-point probe and double beam spectrophotometer were used to examine the changes in structural, compositional, surface morphology, electrical and optical properties. XRD results showed that the films were grown with (1 1 0) preferential orientation with an average grain size in the range from 4.8 to 8.9 nm. The smoothness of the films increased with annealing temperature. The films annealed at 500 °C presented an electrical resistivity of 0.007 Ω cm. The as deposited films exhibited the highest optical transmittance of 95% with band gap of 3.23 eV.