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Nanocrystalline transparent SnO 2 ‐ZnO films fabricated at lower substrate temperature using a low‐cost and simplified spray technique
Author(s) -
Ravichandran K.,
Sakthivel B.,
Philominathan P.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
crystal research and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.377
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1521-4079
pISSN - 0232-1300
DOI - 10.1002/crat.200900594
Subject(s) - nanocrystalline material , materials science , crystallite , crystallinity , substrate (aquarium) , band gap , sheet resistance , transmittance , figure of merit , thin film , optoelectronics , chemical engineering , composite material , nanotechnology , metallurgy , layer (electronics) , oceanography , geology , engineering
Nanocrystalline and transparent conducting SnO 2 ‐ ZnO films were fabricated by employing an inexpensive, simplified spray technique using a perfume atomizer at relatively low substrate temperature (360±5 °C) compared with conventional spray method. The structural studies reveal that the SnO 2 ‐ZnO films are polycrystalline in nature with preferential orientation along the (101) plane. The dislocation density is very low (1.48×10 15 lines/m 2 ), indicating the good crystallinity of the films. The crystallite size of the films was found to be in the range of 26–34 nm. The optical transmittance in the visible range and the optical band gap are 85% and 3.6 eV respectively. The sheet resistance increases from 8.74 kΩ/□ to 32.4 kΩ/□ as the zinc concentration increases from 0 to 40 at.%. The films were found to have desirable figure of merit (1.63×10 –2 (Ω/□) –1 ), low temperature coefficient of resistance (–1.191/K) and good thermal stability. This simplified spray technique may be considered as a promising alternative to conventional spray for the massive production of economic SnO 2 ‐ ZnO films for solar cells, sensors and opto‐electronic applications. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)