Effect of Ar/(Ar+O2) ratio on the microstructures and dielectric properties of Zn2SnO4 thin films by RF magnetron sputtering

Abstract

The microstructures and dielectric properties of Zn2SnO4 thin films were investigated. Zn2SnO4 thin films were prepared using the radio frequency magnetron sputtering with various Ar/(Ar+O2) ratios. When the Ar/(Ar+O2) ratio was increased from 0.4 to 0.8, the grain size became larger gradually. The thickness and surface roughness of Zn2SnO4 thin films increased as the Ar/(Ar+O2) ratio increased from 0.4 to 0.8. Dielectric constants (\(\varepsilon_{r}\)) of 15–25 and loss factor of 0.42–0.44 of Zn2SnO4 thin films were measured at 1 MHz with Ar/(Ar+O2) ratio in the range of 0.4–0.8.