Influence of substrate temperature and laser wavelength on the structural, optical and electrical properties of laser ablated tin oxide thin films

Abstract

Abstract The pulsed laser deposition (PLD) of tin oxide thin films on glass substrates has been achieved by ablating tin oxide (SnO2) pellet with Nd-YAG laser. The effects of laser wavelength (532nm, 1064nm) on the deposition as well as substrate temperature (room temperature, 250°C, 450°C) were investigated. The XRD studies were carried out and observed the growth of tetragonal rutile structure of SnO2 films. The FESEM micrographs show changes in surface morphology as a function of laser wavelength as well as the deposition temperature. The optical property investigations using UV-Vis spectra reveal an increase in the band gap with increasing temperature. The investigation of electrical properties using four-point probe method revealed the lower electrical resistivity of the SnO2 films. Thus, the as grown optimized SnO2 conducting thin film electrodes find its potential application in supercapacitor devices.