Studying and fabricating p - type transparent conducting antimony - doped SnO2 thin films by magnetron sputtering

Abstract

Sb doped tin oxide films (ATO) were fabricated on Quart glasses from (SnO₂ + Sb₂O₃) mixture ceramic target by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering in Ar ambient gas at working pressure of 2.10^-3 torr. X ray diffraction (XRD), Hall - effect measurements and UV-vis spectra were performed to characterize the deposited films. The substrate temperature of films was investigated for two ways. Films were annealed in Ar ambient gas after deposited at room temperature in one way. They were deposited directly with different temperatures in the other. It is found that the fabricated of ATO films in the first way was easier than the other. Deposited films showed p type electrical property, polycrystalline tetragonal rutile structure and their average transmittance was above 80 % in visible light range at the optimum annealing temperature of 500^oC. The best electrical properties of film were obtained on 10 %wt Sb₂O₃ doped SnO₂ target with its resistivity, hole concentration and Hall mobility are 0.55 Ω.cm, 1.2.10¹⁹ cm^-3 and 0.54 cm²V^-1s^-1, respectively.