Influence of rapid thermal annealing on the properties of SnO2 thin films

The influence of rapid thermal annealing on SnO2 thin film characteristics is studied. The films are deposited on silicon substrates by a spray pyrolytic technique at various substrate temperatures for various deposition times. The as-deposited SnO2 thin films are further annealed in two ways: at 1000 °C in oxygen for times varying from 15 to 90 min as well as by rapid thermal annealing in a vacuum of 6.7 × 10−3 Pa for 1 min at the same annealing temperature. Changes in film characteristics after the thermal treatments are examined. Some features of the film surface morphology after the treatments are investigated. Information on the profiles of in-depth element concentration in the annealed SnO2 films Auger electron spectroscopy is given. Possible mechanisms explaining the experimental results are discussed.