Electrostatic spray assisted vapour deposition of fluorine doped tin oxide

Dense and adherent fluorine doped tin oxide films were successfully deposit ed onto glass substrates using a novel, cost-effective electrostatic spray assisted vapour deposition process. A mixture of tin acetate in the presenc e of HF in methanol was used as the precursor for deposition onto float gla ss at 550 degreesC. The influence of substrate temperature on deposition wa s established. The microstructure of the film was established by a combinat ion of XRD, SEM and AFM measurements. Raman spectroscopy was used to examin e the prepared film in comparison with a commercial sample. The results sho w that the films are polycrystalline, highly conductive (electrical resisti vity of 2 x 10(-4) Omega cm) and have a high transmission of 78% in the vis ible range.(C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.