Effect of swift heavy ion irradiation on structural, optical and electrical properties of Cd2SnO4 thin films

Transparent conducting cadmium stannate thin films were prepared by spray pyrolysis method on Corning substrate at a temperature of 525 °C. The prepared films are irradiated using 120 MeV swift Ag⁹⁺ ions for the fluence in the range 1 × 10¹² to 1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻² and the structural, optical and electrical properties were studied. The intensity of the film decreases with increasing ion fluence and amorphization takes place at higher fluence (1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻²). The transmittance of the films decreases with increasing ion fluence and also the band gap value decreases with increasing ion fluence. The resistivity of the film increased from 2.66 × 10⁻³ Ω cm (pristine) to 5.57 × 10⁻³ Ω cm for the film irradiated with 1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻². The mobility of the film decreased from 31 to 12 cm²/V s for the film irradiated with the fluence of 1 × 10¹³ ions cm⁻².