Transparent Sb-doped tin oxide (ATO) thin films were fabricated on quartz glass substrates via a mixed (SnO2+ Sb2O3) ceramic target using direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering in ambient Ar gas at a working pressure of 2 × 10−3 torr. X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Hall-effect, and UV-vis spectra measurements were performed to characterize the deposited films. The substrate temperature of the films was investigated in two ways: (1) films were annealed in Ar ambient gas after being deposited at room temperature or (2) they were deposited directly at different temperatures. The first process for fabricating the ATO films was found to be easier than the second process. The deposited films showed p-type electrical properties, a polycrystalline tetragonal rutile structure, and their average transmittance was greater than 80% in the visible light range at the optimum annealing temperature of 500°C. The best electrical properties of the film were obtained on a 10 wt% Sb2O3-doped SnO2target with a resistivity, hole concentration, and Hall mobility of 0.55 Ω·cm, 1.2 × 1019 cm−3, and 0.54 cm2V−1s−1, respectively.
Effect of substrate rotation speed and off-center deposition on the structural, optical, and electrical properties of AZO thin films fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering