Crystalline structure and surface morphology of tin oxide films grown by DC reactive sputtering

Abstract

Tin oxide thin films were deposited by direct current (DC) reactive sputtering at gas pressures of 0.015 mbar–0.15 mbar. The crystalline structure and surface morphology of the prepared SnO2 films were introduced by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). These films showed preferred orientation in the (110) plane. Due to AFM micrographs, the grain size increased non-uniformly as the working gas pressure increased.