Influence of deposition temperature on structure and morphology of nanostructured SnO2 films synthesized by pulsed laser deposition

Nanostructured tin oxide thin films were deposited on the Si (100) substrate using the pulsed laser deposition technique at different substrate temperatures (300, 450 and 600 °C) in an oxygen atmosphere. The structure and morphology of the as-deposited films indicate that the film crystallinity and surface topography are influenced by the deposition temperature by changing from an almost amorphous to crystalline microstructure and smoother topography at a higher substrate temperature. The photoluminescence measurement of the SnO₂ films shows three stable emission peaks centered at respective wavelengths of 591, 554 and 560 nm with increasing deposition temperature, contributed by the oxygen vacancies.