Zakaria Y, Aïssa B, Fix T, Ahzi S, Samara A, Mansour S, Slaoui A
Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Qatar Foundation, P.O. Box 34110, Doha, Qatar.
Laboratoire ICube - CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67000, Strasbourg, France.
Sci Rep. 2022 Sep 12;12(1):15294. doi: 10.1038/s41598-022-19270-w.
In the present work, we report on the microstructural and optoelectronic properties of SnO thin films deposited by a reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering. After SnO growth by sputtering under O/Ar flow, we have used three different treatment methods, namely (1) as deposited films under O/Ar, (2) vacuum annealed films ex-situ, and (3) air annealed films ex-situ. Effects of the O/Ar ratios and the growth temperature were investigated for each treatment method. We have thoroughly investigated the structural, optical, electrical and morphology of the different films by several advanced techniques. The best compromise between electrical conductivity and optical transmission for the use of these SnO films as an n-type TCO was the conditions O/Ar = 1.5% during the growth process, at 250 °C, followed by a vacuum post thermal annealing performed at 5 × 10 Torr. Our results pointed out clear correlations between the growth conditions, the microstructural and optoelectronic properties, where highly electrically conductive films were found to be associated to larger grains size microstructure. Effects of O/Ar flow and the thermal annealing process were also analysed and discussed thoroughly.
在本工作中，我们报道了通过反应射频磁控溅射沉积的SnO薄膜的微观结构和光电性能。在O/Ar气流下通过溅射生长SnO之后，我们使用了三种不同的处理方法，即（1）在O/Ar气氛下的沉积态薄膜，（2）非原位真空退火薄膜，以及（3）非原位空气退火薄膜。针对每种处理方法研究了O/Ar比率和生长温度的影响。我们通过几种先进技术全面研究了不同薄膜的结构、光学、电学和形貌。对于将这些SnO薄膜用作n型透明导电氧化物（TCO）而言，电导率和光传输之间最佳的折衷条件是在250°C的生长过程中O/Ar = 1.5%，随后在5×10托下进行真空后热退火。我们的结果指出了生长条件、微观结构和光电性能之间的明确相关性，其中发现高导电薄膜与更大晶粒尺寸的微观结构相关。还对O/Ar气流和热退火过程的影响进行了全面分析和讨论。
