AFM study of the surface morphology of L-CVD SnO2 thin films

In this paper we present the results of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) characterisation of the surface morphology of the L-CVD SnO2 thin films prepared by L-CVD technology and studied after exposure to air, dry air oxidation, and ion beam profiling. The L-CVD SnO2 thin films after air exposure have a very smooth surface morphology with an average surface roughness (RMS) smaller than 0.5 nm, and average and maximal grain heights of about 1 and 2 nm, respectively. After dry air oxidation the L-CVD SnO2 thin films exhibit an average surface roughness (RMS), as well as the average and maximal grain height, increased by one order of magnitude. Finally, after the ion beam profiling the L-CVD SnO2 thin films exhibit an evidently disordered structure with a lot of craters. These experiments showed that the L-CVD SnO2 thin films exhibit a very high quality surface morphology, what can be useful for solar cells and gas sensors application.