Raman scattering, electrical and optical properties of fluorine-doped tin oxide thin films with (200) and (301) preferred orientation

•We coated fluorine-doped tin oxide thin films with preferred orientation of (200) and (301).•We examine changes in the level of electrical and optical properties with the orientation.•(200) preferred orientation showed lower electrical resistivity and optical transmittance.•(200) oriented thin films have higher electron concentrations that are related with IR active modes.

(200) and (301) preferred oriented fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) thin films were fabricated by spray pyrolysis of ethanol-added and water-based FTO precursor solutions, respectively. (200) oriented FTO thin film from ethanol-added solution shows the lower electrical resistivity and visible light transmission than (301) preferred thin film from water-based solution. It is due to the higher carrier concentration and electron mobility in (200) oriented crystals, that is, the lower ionized impurity scattering. The higher electron concentration is related to the higher optical band gap energy, the lower visible light transmission, and the higher IR reflection. For (301) preferred FTO thin films from water-based solution, the lower carrier concentration and electron mobility make the higher electrical resistivity and visible light transmission. Raman scattering analysis shows that IR active modes prominent in (200) oriented FTO thin film are related with the lower electrical resistivity.