In situgrowth of SnO2nanorods by plasma treatment of SnO2thin films

SnO 2 thin films were deposited by RF inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition and then the as-deposited SnO 2 thin films were immersed in the plasma for plasma post-treatment. Uniform SnO 2 nanorods were grown in situ from the SnO 2 thin films during plasma treatment and formed a hybrid structure of SnO 2 nanorod thin films consisting of one-dimensional SnO 2 nanorods embedded in the two-dimensional SnO 2 thin film matrix. The growth of SnO 2 nanorods follows a sputtering redeposition mechanism. Due to the intrinsically small grain size and high surface-to-volume ratios associated with the nanorods, the SnO 2 nanorod thin films showed much higher sensitivity at lower operating temperatures together with faster response and shorter recovery time compared with the as-deposited SnO 2 thin films.