Stannic oxide thin film growth via ion-beam-sputtering

•Polycrystalline SnO2 thin films were grown on sapphire by ion beam sputtering.•Self-designed ion thrusters can be used as ion sources in material processing.•Precise control of heater temperature is crucial to attain transparent SnO2 films.•Higher heater temperature enhances film quality indicated by smaller FWHM in XRD.

Stannic oxide (SnO2) is of great technological interest as a member of the important family of oxide materials that combine low electrical resistance with high optical transparency in the visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum.Tin oxide thin films are grown on sapphire substrates by ion beam sputtering method with varying heater temperature from 100 to 750 °C at constant gas flux. Enhancement of crystallinity of thin films with temperature is observed from X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies. Morphological studies by atomic force microscopy reveal changes in grain size with variation in substrate temperature.