Fabrication and characterization of Sb-doped SnO₂ thin films derived from methacrylic acid modified tin(IV)alkoxides

We report on the fabrication of transparent, conductive and directly photopatternable, pure and Sb-doped tin dioxide thin films. Precursors used were antimony(III)isopropoxide and a photo-reactive tin alkoxide synthesized from tin(IV)isopropoxide and methacrylic acid. The synthesis of methacrylic acid modified tin alkoxide was monitored in-situ using IR- and ESI-TOF mass spectroscopic techniques. Sb-doped organo-tin films were deposited via single layer spin coating. After deposition the films were patterned via photopolymerization, using a mercury I-line UV-lamp. All investigated materials could be patterned with 3 μm features. After development in isopropanol, the films were annealed in air, in order to obtain crystalline and conductive films. The electrical conductivities of the annealed thin films with, and without, UV-irradiation were determined using a linear four-point method. The direct photopatterning process was found to increase the film conductivity for all the Sb-doping levels tested. The mechanisms for the increased conductivity were characterized using AFM, XPS and XRD techniques