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Annealing of SnO2 thin films by ultra-short laser pulses

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Abstract

Post-deposition annealing by ultra-short laser pulses can modify the optical properties of SnO2 thin films by means of thermal processing. Industrial grade SnO2 films exhibited improved optical properties after picosecond laser irradiation, at the expense of a slightly increased sheet resistance [Proc. SPIE 8826, 88260I (2013)]. The figure of merit ϕ = T10 / Rsh was increased up to 59% after laser processing. In this paper we study and discuss the causes of this improvement at the atomic scale, which explain the observed decrease of conductivity as well as the observed changes in the refractive index n and extinction coefficient k. It was concluded that the absorbed laser energy affected the optoelectronic properties preferentially in the top 100-200 nm region of the films by several mechanisms, including the modification of the stoichiometry, a slight desorption of dopant atoms (F), adsorption of hydrogen atoms from the atmosphere and the introduction of laser-induced defects, which affect the strain of the film.

© 2014 Optical Society of America

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Figures (9)

Fig. 1
Fig. 1 AFM measurements of the three samples. (a) as-deposited SnO2, (b) SnO2 treated at low laser fluence and (c) at high laser fluence.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2 SEM images of the three samples. (a) and (b) show as-deposited SnO2 surface at different magnifications. (c) and (d) show SnO2 treated at low laser fluence sample at different magnifications. (e) and (f) show SnO2 treated at high laser fluence sample at different magnifications.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3 Cross section of SEM images of (a) as-deposited SnO2, (b) SnO2 treated at high laser fluence causing surface melting and the LIPSSs depicted in Figs. 2(e) and (f).
Fig. 4
Fig. 4 (a) and (b): Bright field TEM images of as-deposited SnO2 at two different magnifications. (d) and (e): Bright field TEM images of the sample treated with high laser fluence at two different magnifications. Pictures (c) and (f) show the electron diffraction pattern recorded near the interfaces, respectively corresponding to the as-deposited and high fluence samples.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5 O/Sn ratio from XPS measurements for the as-deposited SnO2 and the sample treated at high fluence.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6 TOF-SIMS results showing the concentrations of different impurities as a function of depth.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7 Williamson Hall plot of the integral breadth versus the reciprocal lattice spacing for various SnO2 reflections. The intercepts of the extrapolation of the line through the integral breadths of the {110} and {220} determine the size contribution to the broadening for the different samples.
Fig. 8
Fig. 8 a) Doppler S-parameter and b) W-parameter as a function of the average positron implantation depth profiles for as-deposited (circles), low fluence laser treated (triangles) and high-fluence laser treated (crosses) SnO2:F films. Lines represent the fits obtained using VEPFIT.
Fig. 9
Fig. 9 Measured optical transmittance for the three samples, reproduced from [1].

Tables (1)

Tables Icon

Table 1 From left to right: (i) Measured electrical properties of the as deposited (AD), low fluence (LF) and high fluence (HF) samples, (ii) Integrated counts of F, H and C from SIMS measurements of signals relative to different impurities found in the three samples, (iii) optical average transmittance T and reflectance R in the wavelength range from 400 to 1100 nm from previous investigation [1] and (iv) figure of merit ϕ [1]. Carrier density ne and electron mobility μe were measured by Hall technique (considering less than 5% instrumental error on the values), while sheet resistance Rsh was measured also by 4 point probe technique [1]. Percentile quantities in parenthesis in the carrier density, electron mobility and figure of merit columns show the relative shifts from the as-deposited layer.

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