Electrical and optical properties of SnO2:Sb films prepared on polyimide substrate by r.f. bias sputtering

Antimony-doped tin oxide thin films, with a target composition ranging from 0 to 8 wt.% of Sb2O3 content, were deposited on polyimide (PI) substrates by r.f. bias sputtering. Structural, electrical and optical properties of these films were studied by varying the bias voltage. It was found that the best films with a resistivity as low as 1.8×10−3 Ω cm and an average transmission above 70% in the visible region can be obtained with a Sb2O3 target content of 6 wt.% and substrate temperature of 200 °C, and these performances corresponds to the highest crystallinity level.