IN-SITU HIGH-TEMPERATURE X-RAY-DIFFRACTION STUDIES OF ANTIMONY-DOPED TIN OXIDE THIN-FILMS FORMED BY METALLOORGANIC DECOMPOSITION

Thin films of antimony-doped SnO2 coated on stainless steel were fabri cated by metallo-organic decomposition (MOD) techniques. A novel metho d for thermal fabrication of SnO2 type films utilizing in situ high-te mperature x-ray diffraction (HTXRD) found crystallization onset occurr ed between 400 and 500-degrees-C. Processing at fixed temperatures of 500, 700, and 900-degrees-C provided a high degree of crystallization after approximately 2 hr. The resulting crystallites after 6 hr of hea ting ranged in size from 36 angstrom at 500-degrees-C to 205 angstrom at 900-degrees-C. It has been observed that prolonged thermal processi ng of these samples leads to oxidation of the stainless steel substrat e.