Dependence of the structural, the electrical, and the optical properties on the Ar/O-2 flow rate ratios for SnO2 thin films grown on p-InSb (111) substrates

SnO2 thin films on p-InSb (111) substrates were grown at various Ar/O-2 flo w rate ratio by using radio-frequency magnetron sputtering at low temperatu re. Atomic force microscopy images showed that the SnO2 films grown on the InSb (111) substrates at an Ar/O-2 flow rate of 0.667 had the best surface morphologies among the several samples, and X-ray diffraction showed that t he SnO2 thin films were polycrystalline layers. The capacitance-voltage mea surements at room temperature showed that the majority carrier type of the unintentionally doped SnO2 film was n-type and that the carrier concentrati on of the unintentionally doped SnO2 film grown at an Ar/O-2 flow rate of 0 .667 had a minimum value of 4.28 x 10(16) cm(-3). Photoluminescence spectra at 10 K showed that peaks corresponding to the donor acceptor pair transit ions were dominant and that the peak positions changed significantly depend ing on the Ar/O-2 flow rate. These results indicate that the SnO2 epitaxial films grown on p-InSb (111) substrates at low temperature hold promise for potential optoelectronic devices based on InSb substrates. (C) 2001 Elsevi er Science Ltd. Ah rights reserved.