Thermal treatment stabilization processes in SnO2 thin films catalyzed with Au and Pt

We examined the thermal treatment stabilization processes in SnO ₂-based thin films for gas-sensing applications in order to understand their influence on structural properties and possible relations with functional behavior of the sensors. The films of SnO₂ were deposited by magnetron sputtering, following the rules of the rheothaxial growth and thermal oxidation (RGTO) technique and annealed in humid synthetic air at 600°C. Afterward, a thin overlayer of gold or platinum was deposited on the oxidized films. The samples were characterized soon after catalyzer deposition and after one-hour aging process at 400°C, in order to evaluate stabilization process influence as a function of catalyzer. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) demonstrated that a short aging affects the microstructure of gold-catalyzed samples, while it does not influence platinum catalyzed ones. The results of the microstructural characterization were confirmed by electrical measurements of gas-sensitivity: the short-aging influences the stability of gas-sensing parameters only in gold-catalyzed samples