Structural and gas response characterization of nano-size SnO2 films deposited by SILD method

The possibilities of successive ionic layer deposition (SILD) technology for deposition of nano-scalled SnO2 films are discussed in this article. SnO2 films deposited using this technology contain porous agglomerated structures consisting of nano-size crystallites. Even after annealing at Tan=800 °C, the average size of crystallites does not exceed 6–7 nm. The average size of agglomerates depends on film thickness, and ranges from 20 to 80 nm. These SnO2 films have good gas response especially to ozone and H2. However, the rate of response to these gases is different. The response to ozone is fast, while the response to exposure to reducing gas, such as H2, is slow. It is assumed that inter-crystallite gas diffusion in agglomerates limits the rate of response to reducing gases.