Optical, structural and electrical properties of tin oxide films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Films with thickness of 150–450 nm were deposited at a rate of 0.5 Å/s in an argon–oxygen atmosphere on polycrystalline corundum, quartz and glass slides. The films were annealed in air at temperature 550 °C for 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 h to stabilize their parameters. A correlation between the electrical resistivity and optical and structural properties of the films was found. Transparent films for wavelengths in the range 200–1200 nm as well as gas-sensitive films for sensors were obtained.