Scaling aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition: Exploring the relationship between growth rate and film properties

•Growth rates of 100 nm min-1 achieved, 8 times faster than current lab based aerosol assisted CVD methodologies•Resistivity of 5.1 Ω□-1 demonstrated for best performing film, superior to common commercial standards•High quality TCO materials can be synthesised in under 5 minutes, cf. 30-60 mins for other literature reports•Shows the potential of scaling aerosol assisted CVD for industrial applications

Thin films of fluorine doped tin oxide were deposited, by an aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition route, to study the effect of scaling the growth rate. The effect of precursor concentration on the growth rate of the films and the properties of deposited films were compared. The films were characterised by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, UV/vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Hall effect measurements. A maximum film growth rate of ca. 100 nm min− 1 was observed, which is significantly faster than previously reported aerosol assisted studies. This method shows the ability of aerosol assisted methods to deliver high growth rates whilst maintaining the ease of doping and control over stoichiometry.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (98KB)Download full-size image