Effect of substrate temperature on electrical, structural, optical and cathodoluminescent properties of In2O3-Sn thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis

Tin doped indium oxide thin films In2O3-Sn, have been deposited on glass substrate at various temperatures (723, 748 and 773 K), using spray pyrolysis techniques. The optimal substrate temperature to obtain films of high crystallographic quality was 773 K. For this temperature, the electrical resistivity is in the order of 3 X 10(-4) Omega cm and the average optical transmission in the visible region is larger than 95%. The films were polycrystalline, crystallize in a cubic structure of the bixbyite Mn2O3 (I) type, and are preferentially orientated along the (400) direction. The cathodoluminescence spectra of In2O3-Sn thin films taken at room temperature, present two emission peaks, the first one at 410 nm corresponding to indirect band gap emission and the second one at 650 nm is related to oxygen deficiencies acting as defects. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.