The effect of the deposition rate on microstructural and opto-electronic properties of β-Sn layers

Abstract

Microstructural and opto-electronic properties of thin films strongly depend on the deposition conditions (e.g. temperature, deposition rate). The 30 nm tin (Sn) layers were prepared using the physical vapor deposition technique. The tin layers were deposited on the Al2O3 - coated Si substrates at five different deposition rates in the range from 0.05 Å/s up to 5.00 Å/s. The influence of the deposition rate on the microstructure of the surface was investigated using atomic force microscope and scanning electron microscope. Changes in the microstructure of the Sn layers cause variations in its opto-electronic properties. These features were examined using spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements.