Effect of the amount of the starting solution on physical properties of SnO2:F thin films

Abstract The effect of the amount of the starting solution on the structural and electrical properties of fluorine-doped tin oxide (SnO 2 :F) films was studied. The films were deposited by the pneumatic pulsed spray pyrolysis method onto glass substrates at 500 °C. It was studied the relationship between the structural, optical and electrical properties of SnO 2 :F thin films as a function of the films thicknesses which in turn are related to the amount of the solution. The optical characterization was carried out by UV–visible spectroscopy and the electrical properties were derived using the van der Pauw four-point method. The microstructure of the films was measured using XRD and electron microscopy techniques. The results show that the particle size increases almost linearly with the film thickness and the sheet resistance decreases from 6.1 to 4.23 Ω/square with the solvent volume which may be attributed to the increase in the carrier concentration.