A Comparison between the Properties of SnO2:F Thin Films Prepared by using Different Doping Compounds: HF and NH4F

"Nanocrystalline fluorine doped tin oxide (Sn02:F) thin films were produced by the spray pyrolysis technique (SP) on glass substrates at a substrate temperature T, = 450 ° C. The hydrated stannous chloride (SnClz.2H20) was used as a precursor and ammonium fluoride (NH4F) and hydrofluoric acid (HF) were used as the doping compounds. A comparison between the compositional, morphological and optical properties of the films obtained by using the two doping compounds was performed by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations, energy dispersive spectroscopy by X-rays (EDAX) and transmittance measurements. It is found that the films prepared by using HF have larger grain size, and higher fluorine content than the films prepared by using ~- In addition these films have higher transmittance and higher direct optical bandgap energy. These results are interesting for the use of Sn02:F as a forecontact in CdS/CdTe solar cells.IntroductionTin dioxide is an n-type, wide bandgap semiconductor (about 3.5 eV) and in the form of thin films, it is a transparent conducting material, characterized by high optical transmission (80- 90%) [l]. Sn02:F is the most widely used transparent-conducting oxide material. The transparent-conducting thin films of this oxide are used as electrodes in a variety of optoelectronic devices, as heat mirror coatings in 'smart windows' for buildings, in automobile and airplane windshields, in incandescent light bulbs, in flat-plate and concentrating solar collectors. Tin oxide and zinc oxide, in thin film configuration are technologically important materials because of their applications in photovoltaic cells [2].Among various dopants for Sn02, fluorine is often preferred, because fluorine doping results in films with high transparency and good conductivity [3]. By exploring the literatures, it was found that different sources of fluorine were used to produce Sn02:F thin fihns, among which are ammonium fluoride (NH4F) and hydrofluoric acid (HF) are the most used. Some researchers used~ [2, 4-7] and others used HF [3, 6-8] for doping Sn02 films. Gordillo et al.[7] used both of NH4F and HF and showed that the resistivity of thin films obtained by using HF was lower than that of similar films obtained by using NH4F by a factor of 2.2. They also found that the films obtained by using HF have more random orientations."