Correlation between the structural and electrical transport properties of SnO2 films

Transparent and conducting thin films of tin oxide have been deposited by spray pyrolysis on Corning 7059 substrates. The films were investigated by X-ray diffraction and Seebeck measurements to study the structural and electrical transport properties. The films were polycrystalline and the oxide phase observed was SnO₂ in cassiterite structure. The films were preferentially oriented along [200]. Trap densities along [310] and [101] have been calculated for the first time. Assigning the traps mainly to the grain boundaries, the grain-boundary barrier height was calculated and compared with that obtained from the Seebeck measurements. A good agreement between these values was observed. The agreement was the best for films deposited under optimum deposition conditions.