Optical and Electrical Properties of Nanocrystalline SnO₂ Thin Films Synthesized by Chemical Bath Deposition Method

Abstract

The chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique was used for the synthesis of the tin oxide (SnO 2 ) thin films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was employed to find the crystallite size by using Debye Scherrer’s formula. The surface morphology of SnO 2 films was analyzed by the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies. The FT-IR spectrum exhibits the strong presence of SnO 2 . The optical properties of the SnO 2 thin films were determined using UV-Visible spectrum. The dielectric studies were carried out at different frequencies and at different temperatures for the prepared SnO 2 thin films. Further, electronic properties, such as valence electron plasma energy, average energy gap or Penn gap, Fermi energy and electronic polarizability of the SnO 2 thin films, were determined. The ac conductivity of the SnO 2 thin films increases with increase in temperature and frequency. The activation energy was determined by using dc electrical conductivity measurement. The Hall properties were also calculated.