Gangwar, Amit Kumar and Godiwal, Rahul and Jaiswal, Jyoti and Baloria, Vishal and Pal, Prabir and Gupta, Govind and Singh, Preetam (2020) Magnetron configurations dependent surface properties of SnO2 thin films deposited by sputtering process. Vacuum, 177. pp. 109353-109361. ISSN 0042-207X

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Abstract

The effect of balanced magnetron (BM) and unbalanced magnetron (UBM) configurations, in RF sputtering process, on the surface properties of SnO2 thin films has been investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) Sn3d and O1s core spectra reveal that the films deposited at RF power of 250 W under BM configuration consist of Sn4+ oxidation states, while those deposited under UBM configuration consist of Sn4+ and Sn2+ oxidation states. This has been attributed to the migration of oxygen atoms from SnO2, resulting in the formation of Sn interstitial and oxygen vacancies. The contact angle (theta) recordings reveal that the UBM configuration results in more hydrophobic surface (140.6 degrees) of SnO2 thin films than that under BM configuration (129.6 degrees). Further, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) results indicate that the SnO2 thin films deposited under UBM configuration have better density with granular grains in comparison to that under BM configuration. The present studies establish the fact that magnetron configurations in sputtering process have significant impact on the surface properties of SnO2 thin films.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to M/s Elsevier.
Subjects:	Multidisciplinary Materials Science Applied Physics/Condensed Matter
Divisions:	UNSPECIFIED
Depositing User:	Mr. Yogesh Joshi
Date Deposited:	25 Mar 2022 10:12
Last Modified:	25 Mar 2022 10:12
URI:	http://npl.csircentral.net/id/eprint/4801

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