Study of electrical, optical and structural properties of SnO2:F thin films prepared by spray pyrolisis

A film of SnO
2
:F (FTO) was deposited on a glass substrate using the pyrolytic spray technique. The solution used was composed of tin dichloride (SnCh-2H
2
O) as solution precursor; ammonium fluoride (NH4F); and water and isopropyl alcohol as solvents. The film was deposited at a temperature of 475°C. The influence of using isopropyl alcohol as a solvent was studied. The optical properties of the film were analyzed using the UV-visible spectrum and fitted using the classic Drude-Lorentz dispersion model. The electrical measurements were obtained by the Hall Effect technique. The effects on the structure were studied using X-ray diffraction. The FTO sample was compared with the one with the best figure of merit prepared in a previous investigation at the Pierre et Marie Curie Laboratory in which only water was used as a solvent. The average optical transmission in the visible region was 79.94%. The fit by the Drude-Lorentz model showed that the thickness of the film is 417.57 nm, and the bandgap energy is 4.68 eV. The Hall Effect measurement yielded a conductivity of 14.31 x 10
²
ncm
^{^}
-1 and a figure of merit of 10.91 x 10-3 Ωcm^- 1. Structurally it is of the tetragonal of the cassiterite type and polycrystalline in nature.