Structure and properties of transparent conductive Sb2O5-doped SnO2 thin films fabricated by using pulsed laser deposition

Sb2O5-doped tin-oxide (SnO2) thin films were prepared on glass substrates by using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The electrical and the optical properties of these films were investigated by varying the doping amount, oxygen partial pressure, substrate temperature, and film thickness. The electrical properties were studied through the resistivity, the Hall mobility and the number of carriers measured as functions of the conditions. The best value of the resistivity of the films was 7.8 x 10-4 Ω ·cm and the average transmission in the visible region was 84% at a substrate temperature of 500 .deg. C and doping amount of 6 wt.%. The figure of merit was computed from the spectral transmittance and the film-thickness-dependent resistivity. The lowest resistivity (7.8 x 10-4 Ω ·cm) was observed for the annealed film deposited with a doping of 6 wt.%.