Structure and Electrical Properties of Zirconium-Doped Tin-Oxide Films

Abstract

Thin Zr-stabilized SnO₂ films are fabricated by ion-beam reactive sputtering. The amorphous thin-film SnO₂ samples with various Zr concentrations are synthesized in a single production process. The influence of heat treatment on the structure and electrical properties of the synthesized films is studied. The onset of crystallization in thin-film Sn–Zr–O systems is observed at 673 and 773 K, which is accompanied by the appearance of metastable phases. Being heated to 873 K, these phases are transformed into Sn + Sn₂O₃. It is found that the electrotransfer the film crystallization at temperatures close to room temperature is thermally activated with an activation energy of ~0.78 eV. Tin-oxide films doped with Zr from 0.6 to 3.9 at % manifest the property of hydrogen-gas sensitivity after crystallization.