Thermal Annealing Effects on the Characteristics of Transparent Semiconducting Zn2SnO4Thin Films Prepared by RF-Magnetron Sputtering with Powder Target

Abstract

Effects of thermal annealing on the structural, electrical and optical properties of transparent semiconducting Zn2SnO4(ZTO) thin films have been investigated. The ZTO thin film with the thickness of about 100 nm is prepared by the RF-magnetron sputtering technique using powder target. The experimental results show that the ZTO films annealed at above 400 °C possess inverse cubic spinel structure with a preferred grain orientation in the (311) direction. The transmittances of the ZTO films are approximately 80% in visible region regardless annealing temperature. The increasing annealing temperature leads to the increase in Hall mobility and electron concentration, resulting in the decrease of resistivity. The optical band gap of the films increases with the increase of annealing temperature.