Effect of annealing temperature on the crystalline structure, growth behaviour and properties of SnO2:Sb thin films prepared by radio frequency (RF)-magnetron sputtering

• SnO2 and all ATO films contain only SnO2 phase when annealed between 773–973 K.
• Crystallization and growth of SnO2 were inhibited as Sb amount increased.
• SnO2:xSb (x = 0, 5 and 10) thin films are n-type conductors.
• SnO2:20Sb thin films shows a p-type conduction.

The effect of the annealing temperature on the crystalline structure, growth behaviour and properties of SnO2 thin films doped with x at.% Sb (hereafter SnO2:xSb, x = 0, 5, 10 and 20) was studied using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Hall-effect measurements, and UV-vis spectrophotometry. The XRD results show that all the samples contain only a single phase of SnO2 when the SnO2:xSb thin films are annealed at 973 K for 2 h. The Hall-effect measurement results reveal that the SnO2:xSb (x = 0, 5 and 10) thin films are n-type conductors, whereas the SnO2:20Sb thin films are p-type conductors with carrier concentration, Hall mobility, and resistivity values of +2.548 × 1021 cm−3, 3.311 × 10−1 cm2 V−1 s−1 and 7.400 × 10−3 Ω cm, respectively.

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