Experimental studies of O2-SnO2 surface interaction using powder, thick films and monocrystalline thin films

Oxygen adsorption-desorption kinetics at the SnO2 surface is studied experimentally using O2-temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) method together with conductance measurements in the case of SnO2 powder and polycrystalline thick films made from the powder. In addition, CO-TPD is studied and the transient behaviour of various oxygen species is considered. Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was also used to fabricate polycrystalline and monocrystalline thin films with the SnO2(101) face on single crystal sapphire substrate. Simultaneous surface potential and conductance measurements during heating and cooling in different ambient atmospheres were used to characterize the monocrystalline SnO2(101) surface after various surface treatments.