Preparation and characterization of SnO_2 and Cu-doped SnO_2 thin films using electrostatic spray deposition (ESD)

摘要

Tin (IV) oxide thin films were deposited on platinum-coated alumina substrates by means of electrostatic spray deposition (ESD) technique usine as precursor solution tin chloride pentahydrate (SnCl_4 centre dot 5H_2O) in ethanol. The influence of the deposition parameters (temperature, time and flow-rate) and copper addition on the morphology and microstructure of the films was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. The tetragonal rutile phase is evidenced by X-ray diffraction (XRD) with no other phases observed. The size of the particles calculated from the XRD peaks are in the nanometer range (7-10 nm) which is in good agreement with the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results. The Raman spectra indeed revealed that the SnO_2 films are crystallized in the rutile tetragonal phase and furthermore a peak shift and a decrease of the peaks intensity can be remarked for the films doped with CuO.