Polycrystalline SnO2 films grown by chemical vapor deposition on quartz glass

Tin dioxide (SnO2) thin films were deposited on quartz glass substrates by chemical vapor deposition using SnI2 and O2 as reactants. The growth experiments were carried out in the substrate temperature range of 300-900 °C. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, spectrophotometry and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the films. The films were polycrystalline with their crystallites having a preferred orientation, which was dependent on the film thickness. The average grain size increased with increasing thickness of the films. The binding energies of Sn 3d5/2 and O 1s for all samples showed the Sn4+ and O-Sn4+ bonding state from SnO2. The absolute average transmittance of SnO2 films exceeded 90% in the visible and infrared range. The obtained SnO2 films had optical band gaps between 3.78 and 3.92 eV.