Electrical properties of Sb-doped epitaxial SnO2 thin films prepared using excimer-laser-assisted metal–organic deposition

Abstract

Excimer-laser-assisted metal–organic deposition (ELAMOD) was used to prepare Sb-doped epitaxial (001) SnO2 thin films on (001) TiO2 substrates at room temperature. The effects of laser fluence, the number of shots with the laser, and Sb content on the electrical properties such as resistivity, carrier concentration, and carrier mobility of the films were investigated. The resistivity of the Sb-doped epitaxial (001) SnO2 thin film prepared using an ArF laser was lower than that of the film prepared using a KrF laser. The van der Pauw method was used to measure the resistivity, carrier concentration, and carrier mobility of the Sb-doped epitaxial (001) SnO2 thin films in order to determine the effect of Sb content on the electrical resistivity of the films. The lowest resistivity obtained for the Sb-doped epitaxial (001) SnO2 thin films prepared using ELAMOD with the ArF laser and 2 % Sb content was 2.5 × 10−3 Ω cm. The difference between the optimal Sb concentrations and resistivities of the films produced using either ELAMOD or conventional thermal MOD was discussed.