Properties of cadmium-doped tin oxide thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis method

Abstract

Cadmium doped Tin Oxide Thin Films have been prepared by Spray Pyrolysis Method on glass substrates at 350°C. Structural, electrical and optical properties have been measured. From XRD it is found that films deposited are crystalline in nature with tetragonal structure having lattice constant a=b=3.86 A° and c=5.62A°. Hall effect measurements show that films prepared are of n-type and the carrier concentration (≈10¹⁸ cm^-3) and room temperature conductivity decreases with the increases in cadmium concentration in the films. Activation energy has been calculated from conductivity measurements and it was found that conduction within the temperature range we have measured is due to hoping of carriers through the spectrum of localized states. Band gap of the un-doped films calculated from transmission spectrum is about 3.1 eV and the value decrease slightly with the addition of cadmium. The refractive index, extinction coefficient, real and imaginary parts of the dielectric constant have been calculated from the optical spectra. The refractive index decreases with photon energy and also decreases slightly with cadmium concentration while extinction coefficient increases with photon energy.