LASER DIRECT WRITING OF TIN OXIDE PATTERNS

Tin oxide pattern generation by laser deposition from SnCl4. 5H(2)O in isopropanol is reported. Smooth, even stripes of thicknesses ranging from 20 to 120 nm with sharp, well defined edges and cross-section are deposited by scanning Ar+ laser beam (lambda = 514.5 nm) focused onto the substrate-solution interface with a constant speed of 1 mm s(-1). The linewidth linearly increases from 26 to 42 mu m with increasing t he power from 40 to 120 mW. The reproducibility of pattern generation is extremely good as revealed by SEM-EDXI and mu RBS. The minimum DC r esistivity of 1.7 x 10(-2) Omega cm, measured without any process opti mization, favourably compares with those reported for films prepared b y other techniques. The chemical composition of the film material is S nOx with 1.1 < x < 1.5 as determined by an XPS-XAES study. (C) 1998 El sevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.