Radiation treatment of Cd₂SnO₄ thin films prepared by RF sputtering with different preparation conditions

The changes in optical and electrical properties of the Cd₂SnO₄ thin films due to γ-rays irradiation and altering the preparation conditions were measured by different techniques. The thin films were deposited on a glass substrate using RF sputtering technique under Ar and Ar + O₂ mixture atmospheres. Effect of annealing at 500 °C in addition to irradiation on some of the prepared samples was also studied. The structure analysis of irradiated samples using XRD showed partial conversion from amorphous to crystalline phase with variation of the crystallite size as the γ-rays dose increases. The study was performed using three gradual γ-rays doses by ⁶⁰Co source. The envelop method was applied on the measured UV spectra to determine the optical parameters. The results showed that with increasing the irradiation dose, the optical energy gap decreases with different amounts relative to the preparation conditions. The dc current–voltage curves of the samples was measured at room temperature using two probe method. It was noticed that irradiation increases the conductivity of the samples due to decreasing the energy gap which confirms the obtained data for optical parameters. The induced defects due to γ-rays interaction process could be described and correlated with the treatment conditions. The obtained results, from one side, help in tuning the properties of the investigated samples and, from other side, are very promising for using Cd₂SnO₄ thin films for radiation dosimetry with variable sensitivity. - Highlights: • A 300 nm thin films of Cd₂SnO₄ were deposited on a glass substrate. • The XRD spectra showed amorphous peak at 32° (cubic phase of Cd₂SnO₄). • A decreasing in the FWHM at the (222) peak with irradiation (partial crystallinity). • Decrease in the band gap with increasing the absorbed dose at different conditions. • Increasing in the charge carrier and conductivity with irradiation (I–V curves).