Investigation of structural and optical properties of spray deposited Sb and F doped SnO2 thin films at different substrate temperatures

The fluorine and antimony doped tin oxide SnO2:Sb:F (AFTO) thin films were prepareded by using cost-effective spray pyrolysis technique. In this study, AFTO thin films at different substrate temperatures were deposited on the glass substrates. UV/VIS spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope (AFM) and Hall effect studies were performed on AFTO films coated on glass substrates and it was investigated the effect of different substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties. X-ray diffraction pattern reveals the presence of cassiterite structure with (110) and (200) preferential orientation at 320 - 420 °C. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) study reveals the surface of the films to be made of nanocrystalline particles. The transmittance of the films in the visible range is 70 - 80%. High conductivity and transparency of the films suggest these films are likely to be useful as electrical contacts in various electronic and energy harvest applications