Study on the doping effect of Sn-doped ZnO thin films

Tin doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Sn) thin films were deposited onto Pyrex glass substrates by chemical spray pyrolysis technique starting from zinc acetate (CH3CO2)(2)Zn center dot 2H(2)O and tin chloride SnCl2. The effect of Sn doping on structural, optical and electrical properties was investigated. The atomic percentages of dopant in ZnO-based solution were y = [Sn4+]/[Zn2+] = 0%, 0.2%, 0.6% and 1%. It was found that all the thin films have a preferential c-axis orientation. With increase of Sn doping, the peak position of the (002) plane was shifted to the high 2 theta values. ZnO:Sn demonstrated obviously improved surface roughness, reduced average crystallite size, enhanced Hall mobility and reduced resistivity. Among all of the tin doped zinc oxide in this study, films doped with 0.6 at.% Sn concentration exhibited the best properties, namely a Hall mobility of 9.22 cm(2) V-1 s(-1), an RMS roughness of 37.15 nm and a resistivity of 832 x 10(-2) Omega cm. Published by Elsevier Ltd.