Fabrication of SnO₂ thin films using a triblock copolymer assisted sol gel method and temperature dependent analysis

Polycrystalline tin oxide thin films are used for applications such as transparent conductors, semiconductors, and solar cells. This present study articulates the fabrication of polycrystalline Tin Oxide (SnO 2 ) thin films from Tetrakis(dimethylamino)tin (IV) (TDMASn) precursor using a symmetric triblock copolymer in a modified sol-gel method and deposited via the spin-coating process. The effect of temperature variation on the fabricated thin films was also investigated. The Photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL) was employed to investigate band-edge emission and defect-related states in the prepared SnO₂ thin films. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization showed the structure of the fabricated thin films to be SnO 2 , while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analysis revealed the surface morphology and elemental composition of the prepared thin films. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) disclosed the distinct chemical bonds associated with the deposited SnO 2 film, whereas a four-point probe was exploited to map its conductance. The optical bandgap decreased from 3.56 eV to 3.23 eV as the annealing temperature increased from 250 °C to 550 °C, accompanied by improved crystallinity and enhanced electrical conductivity, suggesting that polycrystalline SnO 2 thin films can be obtained above 250 °C.