SlideShare ist ein Scribd-Unternehmen logo
1 von 6
Downloaden Sie, um offline zu lesen
ISSN (online) 2583-455X
BOHR International Journal of Computer Science
2022, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 124–129
https://doi.org/10.54646/bijcs.018
www.bohrpub.com
Measurement of the Surface Electrical Resistance of SnO2:F
Thin Films
C. S. de Souza, J. R. R. Bortoleto, P. L. Sant’Ana∗ and S. F. Durrant
Technological Plasmas Laboratory, State University of Sao Paulo – UNESP, Sorocaba City,
Sao Paulo State, Brazil
∗Corresponding author: drsantanapl@gmail.com
Abstract. In this work, thin films of tin oxide doped with fluorine and of nominal surface resistance between 30 Ω
and 40 Ω were deposited by RF sputtering in a plasma deposition system and their surface electrical resistances
were evaluated for different conditions. To measure the resistivity of the fluorine-doped tin oxide film using an
aluminum PAD with the same thickness and the same width as the film, a Minipa digital multimeter acting as an
ammeter, a DC voltage source, and wires with banana-alligator connectors were used at six intervals (between the
aluminum measuring tips and the PADs). Thus, a linear approximation and verification of the resistance value for
each measured distance were undertaken. Resistances ranging from 44.10 Ω/ to 88.10 Ω/ for separations of 6 and
1 cm, respectively, were found. With the values obtained, the respective graphs were plotted for the six separations.
The four-point method was employed to obtain four measurements (M1 to M4), and the curves of voltage as a
function of the current were obtained. Values of resistance ranged from 11.4 Ω (M4) to 29.1 Ω (M3).
Keywords: RF sputtering, tin oxide thin films, surface electrical resistance.
INTRODUCTION
Sputtering began to be used in the early 1970s with the
use of radiofrequency sources. The magnetron sputtering
technique consists of the use of a magnet assembly, placed
strategically in relation to the cathode to generate a mag-
netic field with a closed path. The magnetron RF sputtering
technique presents advantages such as good adhesion of
the deposited films to the substrates; density of deposited
films equivalent to the substrate density; and deposition
of films from insulating, refractory, or multicomponent tar-
gets. The magnetic field functions as an electron trap near
the surface of the target in the plasma regime. Electrons
are confined in the magnetic field, causing the plasma
density to increase close to the target surface, thereby
increasing the concentration of ions of the inert gas and
providing a much more effective and localized bombard-
ment [1]. Since RF sputtering is very useful for deposition
of oxide thin films in plasma reactors, this kind of film
finds many applications in the energy and microelectronics
industries, such as the frontal contacts for solar cells, liquid
crystal dials, image sensors, OLEDs, and others. In fact,
at present, numerous applications, such as touch panels,
light-emitting diodes, and solar cells, require transparent,
conductive coatings [2–4]. Thus far, materials belonging to
the transparent conducting oxide (TCO) family have been
frequently used for this purpose. Most of the industry stan-
dard TCOs are n-type wide bandgap oxides (e.g., 3.1 eV),
such as In2O3, SnO2, and ZnO, whose conductivity can be
further tuned by aliovalent doping or the formation of oxy-
gen vacancies [5]. More specifically, tin oxide-doped thin
films are used in photo-converters, efficient electrodes for
the transport of free charges, in transparent thin film tran-
sistors, gas sensors, and the conductivity of SnO2 is highly
dependent on the pressure of some gaseous compounds
on its surface and in optical sensors [6]. In most cases,
electrical measurements represent the key to the analysis of
a wide range of semiconductor transport properties based
on oxide thin films. In fact, among these classes of films,
tin oxide thin films present a wide energy gap, ≈3.6 eV;
they have good electrical conductivity, good transparency
(average over 80% of the visible spectrum), reflect infrared
radiation, are chemically inert, and show good adhesion to
glass, and their more common dopants are Sb (antimony),
124
Electrical Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films 125
F (fluorine), Zn (zinc), or In (indium), which decrease the
resistivity of the films (from 10−3 to up to 10−4 Ω·cm) and
increase the reflection coefficient in the infrared region [7].
METHODS
Initially, glass substrates of 1.5 cm × 2.5 cm were ultrason-
icated three times for 20 min using pure water, industrial
detergent “Detlimp,” and isopropyl alcohol, respectively.
Then, the glass was positioned in the center of the upper
electrode in an RF sputtering deposition system. The exper-
imental setup consists of a stainless-steel vacuum chamber
(30 cm in height and 25 cm in diameter) with two horizon-
tal circular internal electrodes of equal dimension (11 cm
in diameter), and the system was evacuated by a rotary
pump (18 m3/h) down to 0.1 Pa. A tin target of 5 cm
in diameter was fixed inside the reactor. Needle valves
were employed to control the oxygen gas feed (of high
purity: up to 99.9995%) at 50 sccm. Glass substrates were
exposed directly to the plasma environment established
by the application of radiofrequency power (13.56 MHz)
at 100 W for 30 min. Figure 1 shows the principle of the
RF sputtering system used for tin oxide thin film deposi-
tion [1] with the permission of Scholar’s Press.
To measure the resistivity of the fluorine-doped tin oxide
film using an aluminum PAD with the same thickness and
width as the film, a Minipa digital multimeter was used
as an ammeter together with a DC voltage source and
wires with banana-alligator connectors. After the circuit of
Figure 2(a) was assembled, measurements were taken from
six different points on the film, using the distance between
the aluminum measuring tips and the PADs as a reference.
Then, the respective graph (V-I) was plotted for the six
distances of the PADs. Moreover, for the four parallel tips
method, two digital multimeters were used, one as an
ammeter and the other as a voltmeter simultaneously, a DC
voltage source, a perforated copper plate connected to the
wires, and the scheme of the measurements can be seen in
Figure 2(b).
Figure 1. Scheme of tin oxide thin film deposition method by
Magnetron Sputtering [1].
Figure 2. (a) Scheme for measuring surface resistance using PADs.
Rc indicates the resistance of the contacts (PAD, cables, and
multimeter), and surface resistance Rs = R W/L. (b) Four parallel
tips method: For a film of infinite width and length L with respect
to distances Sn, it is possible to calculate the resistivity ρ. Courtesy
of Dr. Jose Roberto R. Bortoleto: Technological Plasmas Laboratory,
State University of Sao Paulo, UNESP, Brazil.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Table 1 presents the voltage and current values of the six
distances of the tips for the test with the fluorine-doped tin
oxide film. From the data of Table 1, the respective graphs
(V-I) were plotted for the six distances of the PADs as seen
in Figure 3.
Linear relationships were observed for all distances. As
the distance increases, the slope of the lines increases,
which indicates that for higher values of distance, the
surface resistance tends to decrease. From Figure 3, a linear
approximation can be obtained and the resistance value for
each measured distance can be evaluated. Table 2 presents
the parameters and surface resistance for each distance of
the PADs.
Table 1. Fluorine-doped tin oxide film voltage and current data
obtained from measurements using PADs.
V (V) I1 – 6.1 cm I2 – 5 cm I3 – 4 cm I4 – 3 cm I5 – 2 cm I6 – 1 cm
0.5 4.7 4.7 5.7 6.5 8.2 12.2
0.8 7.4 8.8 10.5 11.7 15 18.9
1 9.8 11.3 13.3 16.4 20.2 24.7
1.3 12.4 15.7 18 20.4 26.4 33.6
1.5 14.3 17.6 20.4 23.9 31.1 39.1
1.7 17.1 20.2 23.3 27.9 35.4 44.7
2 19.7 23.9 28.1 33.5 42 52.9
2.3 23.1 27.6 31.9 37.5 47.3 60.9
2.5 25.3 30.7 34.9 41.1 51.7 69
2.8 28.1 34 39.1 46.6 58.7 76.6
3 29.6 36.1 41.1 49 62.9 83.1
3.4 34.2 40.7 46.4 56.5 71.2 94.6
3.7 36.6 44.8 50.3 62 78.8 104.1
4 38.9 49.1 54.5 66.3 84 111.5
4.5 45 55.6 63.7 74.2 96.1 126.7
5 50.8 61.4 71.1 84.7 105.1 139.4
5.5 56.6 66.9 78.9 93.8 118.5 153.2
6 59.6 73.1 86 101.9 130.8 165.7
126 C. S. de Souza et al.
Figure 3. Linear V vs. I curves of the six measured distances for
the tin oxide film:F.
Table 2. Values of the parameters of the linear approximations
of the curves in graph from Figure 3, as well as their respective
surface resistances.
Linear Approximation Results
Y = A + BX - V = A + B.I w = 2.5 cm
Error Error B Error RS
L A (V) A (V) B (Ω × 10−3) (Ω × 10−3) RS (Ω/) (Ω/)
1 cm 0.09 0.019 0.03 2.15 E-04 88.10 0.54
2 cm 0.09 0.019 0.05 2.87 E-04 57.43 0.36
3 cm 0.08 0.019 0.06 3.49 E-04 48.63 0.30
4 cm 0.08 0.025 0.07 5.70 E-04 43.55 0.35
5 cm 0.06 0.015 0.08 3.89 E-04 40.40 0.20
6 cm 0.05 0.024 0.10 7.44 E-04 41.09 0.31
The width of the film was about 2.5 cm, and, for the lin-
ear approximations, the linear coefficient A was neglected
owing to its low value and high error. In addition, it is
worth mentioning that to find the values of surface resis-
tances, as well as their respective errors, Equation (1) was
used, and this relation was deduced from the equation in
Figure 2(a) and elucidated as a function of the dimensions
W and L.
RS =
ρ
t
= R ·
W
L
(1)
Moreover, concerning the surface resistance results using
the four-point method in Figure 2(b), the data-reliable
results from four measurements were performed, one at
each point of the film with different distances between the
tips. The first and second measurements (M1) and (M2)
were made in the center of the film with the connectors on
the edge. The distances between connectors and edges of
the film are given in Table 3. The third measurement (M3)
was undertaken on top of the film edge, while the fourth
measurement (M4) was made on the left side of the film.
The distances between the connectors and the edges of the
film are also given in Table 3.
Table 3. Distances between the connectors and the edges of the
film for the four measurements (M1 to M4). Top and bottom
represents superior and inferior parts of the film, respectively.
Top Bottom Right Left
S1 (m) S2 (m) S3 (m) (m) (m) Side (m) Side (m)
M1 0.023 0.02 0.020 0.011 0.014 0 0
M2 0.010 0.01 0.007 0.011 0.014 0.02 0.02
M3 0.024 0.02 0.02 0 0.025 0 0
M4 0.007 0.007 0.01 0 0 0.06 0
Figure 4. Measurements of voltage V (mV) as function of current
I (mA) for the four attempts (M1 to M4) using the four-point
parallel method.
Table 4. Parameters of V and R of linear approximations of the
plots in the graphs of Figure 4 with their error.
Y = A + B.X - V = A + B.I
Measurements A (mV) Error A (mV) B (Ω) Error B (Ω)
M1 0.234 0.025 24.42 0.008
M2 0.7694 0.059 13.03 0.012
M3 0.1983 0.041 29.12 0.018
M4 0.49738 0.026 11.40 0.007
Then, it was possible to obtain the curves (V-I) for
the four measurements (M1 to M4) using the four-point
parallel method, as seen in the graph in Figure 4.
The plots are linear to about 1800 mV (M1) and to a
current of ∼95 mA (M2). The slopes of the lines were
different for each measurement, and condition M4 was
resulted from the lower values of S1, S2, and S3. For
greater values of S, the inclinations increase; this indicates
that for greater values of distance, the surface resistance
changes. From Figure 4, it was possible to calculate the
linear approximations of the curves of each measurement
and thus obtain the intercepts and slopes. Table 4 presents
the parameters of the linear approximations of the plots in
the graph in Figure 4.
With the values of B (V/I) of the linear approximations,
it is possible to determine the resistivity of the film for the
Electrical Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films 127
Table 5. Parameters of distances and its relationship between
these distances and the thin film measurements, the resistivities,
and its respective error for the four measurements.
S̄ (m) S/w L/S C RS (Ω/) Error RS (Ω/)
M1 0.021 0.820 3.000 1.214 29.65 0.009
M2 0.010 0.400 6.142 2.351 30.65 0.029
M3 0.023 0.911 2.700 1.089 31.73 0.019
M4 0.007 0.289 8.516 2.968 33.84 0.020
four measurements. Table 5 presents the mean values of
the distances between the tips, the relationships between
these distances and the thin film measurements, and the
resistivities and their respective errors for each of the
measurement procedures.
The surface resistance of the film ranged from 29.6 to 33.8
Ω/, which corresponds to a nominal surface resistance
of 30–40 Ω/. A small difference between the practical
and nominal values can be attributed to the imprecision in
measuring the distances. The length (L) and width (w) of
the thin film tested were 63 mm and 26 mm, respectively,
and the distances between the measuring tips approxi-
mated the average distance. The values of the geometric
correction factor, C, and resistivity were obtained through
Equations (2) and (3), respectively.
C =
π
(
πs
w

+ ln

1 − e− 4πs
w

− ln

1 − e− 2πs
w

+

e−
2π( L
s −2)s
w

1−e− 6πs
w

1−e− 2πs
w


1+e− 2πL
w

!# )
(2)
RS =
ρ
t
=
V
I
· C (3)
Making the distances Sn equal to S and taking into
account the geometric correction factor, for a rectangular
sample with length L, width w, and thickness t, we have
the following simplification (Equation (4)) to obtain the
electrical resistivity (Ω cm) of the film.
ρ =
V
I
· C · t (4)
TCOs are materials that display both high transparency
(80%) in the visible spectrum and low electrical resistivity
(10−3 Ω·cm). The increase in carrier concentration with
the amount of dopants results in a reduction in the resis-
tivity [8]. This is important when this film is applied to
resistive or capacitive touchscreen panels. An example of
such a panel is shown in Figure 5.
In addition, TCO serves as an electron pathway, which
connects the films with an external circuit and determines
the overall transmittance of the devices [10]. Moreover, the
TCO can be used for photocatalysis applications owing
to its advantageous electronic properties and conductivity
[11–14]. Typical TCO materials have been studied owing
Figure 5. Scheme of application of (a) resistive touchscreen panel
and (b) capacitive touchscreen panel. In both systems, a fluorinated
tin oxide film can be applied over a glass (rigid) substrate.
Touchscreens are prominently employed in smartphones, personal
computers, televisions, and car navigation due to their compact-
ness, reliability, and low power consumption. Reproduced from
Ref. [9] with permission from Caio Simons.
to their superior visible light transmittance (80%), low
resistivity (10−3 Ω cm), and relatively large band gap
(3 eV) [15, 16]. Fluorinated tin oxide was recently pro-
posed as a substitute material for indium tin oxide owing
to its low cost and excellent mechanical and chemical dura-
bility. To achieve high transmittance while maintaining the
electrical conductivity of tin oxide films, various methods
and processes have been suggested [17, 18] for doped SnO2
film fabrication. Consonni et al. [19] reported the electrical
properties of F-doped SnO2 films as a function of the film
thickness. Hence, the film thickness was not a determinant
factor to calculate the surface electrical resistance by the
methods used in this study, and thus, the resistivity of the
films was expressed as a function of t (film thickness), since
t was not evaluated. Even though all measurements made
here rely on a good approximation of Rs.
To understand how resistive or conductive a semicon-
ductor is, we must consider that the number of electrons
to be allocated to its bands is determined by its atomic
number Z and also by the geometry of the system. The
most important point to be highlighted here is that a
completely full band is “frozen,” that is, with or without
the application of an external electric field, the electrons in
this band do not contribute to the electric current. Only
an energy gain, greater than about 1 eV, could make an
electron jump from a full band to an empty band; this
then responds to the application of an electric field. In
contrast, electrons that are in a partially occupied band
respond easily to the application of external fields. These
have empty quantum states to which they can undergo
transitions produced by a small energy gain. These state
changes can also be caused by a thermal energy gain of the
order of kT, that is, by collisions with other particles [20].
This could explain why the temperature influences the sur-
face electrical resistance. However, this parameter was not
studied here because, in plasma deposition systems, the
128 C. S. de Souza et al.
kinetics of charged particles is not well known nor easily
measured. When a sample is removed from the reactor, the
sample holder is cooled and the temperature of the glass
substrate is also influenced. Two processes, the increase
in the number of carriers and the increase in the number
of collisions (with increasing temperature), occur in any
material. The competition between them will determine
whether, in a given temperature range, the conductivity
increases or decreases with temperature. Both methods for
measurement of surface electrical resistance used here are
sufficient to determine R (Ω/) with a small standard
deviation (1 Ω/) using the aluminum PADs method
and (0.02 Ω/) using the four tips method.
CONCLUSION
Both methods (using aluminum PADs and four tips) were
consistent and useful to obtain the surface resistance of
a tin oxide thin film deposited by RF sputtering in a
plasma system. Applying the first method (PADs), values
of surface resistance changed as a function of the distance
between the aluminum measuring tips and the PADs.
Then, applying a linear approximation and checking the
resistance value for each measured distance, resistances
ranged from 44.10 Ω/ at 6 cm to 88.10 Ω/ at 1 cm of
separation. Applying the second method (four tips), the
values of surface electrical resistance reveal the nominal
value for the SnO2:F thin film, which ranged from ∼29.66
to 33.84 Ω/, and a minor error can be observed and
attributed to inaccuracy of the measurements of the dis-
tances. The calculations of the surface electrical resistance
are the key parameters for the requested applications of
these films, such as in the frontal contacts of solar cells,
liquid crystal dials, image sensors, and OLEDs, and are
essential for failure analysis and quality control of semi-
conductor materials and devices. For future studies, the
Van der Pauw method or concentric rings to measure the
surface resistivity of oxide thin films may be applied.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Sant’Ana P. L. contributed with experimental, plasma, and
the writing of the first draft. De Souza C.S. contributed
with surface measurements, and he is the owner of the
results. Bortoleto J.R.R. contributed as coordinator, concep-
tualization andreviewer, and with facilities. Durrant S.F.
contributed as reviewer of the text in all drafts.
FUNDING
This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de
Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil
(CAPES) – Finance Code 001.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The author is very thankful to the Technological Plasmas
Laboratory from UNESP for all support and opportunities.
REFERENCES
[1] Sant’Ana, P. L. (2018). Polymers Treated by Plasma for Optical
Devices and Food Packaging, (1), pp.128. ISNB 13: 978-613-8-50737-6.
[2] Wang, K.C., Shen, P.S., Li, M.H., Chen, S., Lin, M.W., Chen, P.,
Guo, T.F. (2014). Low-temperature sputtered nickel oxide com-
pact thin film as effective electron blocking layer for mesoscopic
NiO/CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite heterojunction solar cells. ACS Appl.
Mater. Interfaces. 6, 11851–11858. https://doi.org/10.1021/am503610
u
[3] Zeng, H., Xu, X., Bando, Y. (2009). Template deformation-tailored
ZnO nanorod/nanowire arrays: Full growth control and optimiza-
tion of field-emission. Adv. Functional Mater. 19, 3165–3172. https:
//doi.org/10.1002/adfm.200900714
[4] Song, J., He, Y., Chen, J. (2012). Bicolor light-emitting diode based
on zinc oxide nanorod arrays and poly(2-methoxy,5-octoxy)-1,4-
phenylenevinylene. J. Electron. Mater. 41, 431–436. https://doi.org/
10.1007/s11664-011-1783-x
[5] Dixon, S.C., Scanlon, D.O., Carmalt, C.J., Parkin, I.P. (2016). n-Type
doped transparent conducting binary oxides: An overview. J. Mater.
Chem. C. 4, 6946–6961. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6TC01881E
[6] Sze, S.M. and Ng, Kwok K. (2007). Physics of Semiconductor Devices,
(3) Ed., Wiley, New York. ISBN 978-0-47 1-1 4323-9
[7] Magalhães, E. C. S. (2006). Optical Properties of Pure and Fluorine
Doped Tin Dioxide Thin Films. Dissertation (Master’s) – Institute of
Physics – Federal University of Bahia, Brazil.
[8] Ponja, S.D., Sathasivam, S., Parkin, I.P. et al. (2020). Highly con-
ductive and transparent gallium doped zinc oxide thin films via
chemical vapor deposition. Sci Rep. 10, 638. https://doi.org/10.1
038/s41598-020-57532-7
[9] Ramarajan, R., Nandarapu, P., Reshma K. D., M. et al. (2020). Large-
area spray deposited Ta-doped SnO2 thin film electrode for DSSC
application. Solar Energy. (211), pp. 547–559. https://doi.org/10.101
6/j.solener.2020.09.042
[10] Jeong, S.-J., Kim, K.-H., Ahn, H.-J. (2021). Net-Patterned Fluorine-
Doped Tin Oxide to Accelerate the Electrochromic and Photocat-
alytic Interface Reactions. Catalysts. (11), 249. https://doi.org/10
.3390/catal11020249
[11] Sathasivam, S., Bhachu, D.S., Lu, Y., Chadwich, N., Althabaiti, S.A.,
Alyoubi, A.O., Basahel, S.N., Carmalt, C.J., Parkin, I.P. (2015). Tung-
sten Doped TiO2 with Enhanced Photocatalytic and Optoelectrical
Properties via Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition. Sci. Rep.
(5), 10952. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep10952
[12] Zhang, X., Chen, Y., Zhang, S., Qiu, C. (2017). High photocatalytic
performance of high concentration Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Sep.
Purif. Technol. 172, 236–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2016.
08.016
[13] Dinh, N.N., Quyen, N.M., Chung, D.N., Zikova, M., Truong, V.-V.
(2011). Highly-efficient electrochromic performance of nanostruc-
tured TiO2 films made by doctor blade technique. Sol. Energy Mater.
Sol. Cells. (95), 618–623. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211511
633.pdf
Electrical Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films 129
[14] Wang, B., Man, W., Yu, H., Li, Y., Zheng, F. (2018). Fabrication of
Mo-Doped WO3 Nanorod Arrays on FTO Substrate with Enhanced
Electrochromic Properties. Materials. 11, 1627. https://doi.org/10.3
390/ma11091627
[15] Kim, H., Kushto, G.P., Auyeung, R.C.Y., Piqué, A. (2008). Optimiza-
tion of F-doped SnO2 electrodes for organic photovoltaic devices.
Appl Phys. A Mater. Sci. Process. (93), 521–526. https://doi.org/10
.1007/s00339-008-4756-z
[16] Kim, K.-H., Koo, B.-R., Ahn, H.-J. (2019). Effects of Sb-doped SnO2–
WO3 nanocomposite on electrochromic performance. Ceram. Int. 45,
15990–15995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.05.109
[17] Jo, M.-H., Koo, B.-R., Ahn, H.-J. (2020). Fe co-doping effect on
fluorine-doped tin oxide transparent conducting films accelerating
electrochromic switching performance. Ceram. Int. 46, 10578–10584.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.01.061
[18] Kawashima, T., Ezure, T., Okada, K., Matusi, H., Goto, K., Tan-
abe, N. (2004). FTO/ITO double layered transparent conductive
oxide for dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Photochem. Photobiol. A Chem.
164, 199–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2003.12.028
[19] Consonni, V., Rey, G., Roussel, H., Bellet, D. (2012). Thickness effects
on the texture development of fluorine-doped SnO2 thin films: The
role of surface and strain energy, Journal of Applied Physics. 111,
033523. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3684543
[20] Sant’Ana, P. L. (2020). Abordagem teórica sobre junções e dispos-
itivos semicondutores e sua utilização em painéis fotovoltaicos.
Revista Brasileira de Aplicaçoes a Vacuo, Campinas. (39) 2, pp. 193–203.
https://doi.org/10.17563/rbav.v39i2.1170

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Ähnlich wie Measurement of Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films

Three Dimensional Modelling of MISFET
Three Dimensional Modelling of MISFETThree Dimensional Modelling of MISFET
Three Dimensional Modelling of MISFETIJERA Editor
 
DC Conductivity of Composite Silicon Thin Films
DC Conductivity of Composite Silicon Thin FilmsDC Conductivity of Composite Silicon Thin Films
DC Conductivity of Composite Silicon Thin FilmsScientific Review SR
 
Iisrt divyasettu(6 8)
Iisrt divyasettu(6 8)Iisrt divyasettu(6 8)
Iisrt divyasettu(6 8)IISRT
 
Scattering Regimes for Underwater Optical Wireless Communications using Monte...
Scattering Regimes for Underwater Optical Wireless Communications using Monte...Scattering Regimes for Underwater Optical Wireless Communications using Monte...
Scattering Regimes for Underwater Optical Wireless Communications using Monte...IJECEIAES
 
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...IKHIOYA IMOSOBOMEH LUCKY
 
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...IKHIOYA IMOSOBOMEH LUCKY
 
Some Aspects of Stress Distribution and Effect of Voids Having Different Gase...
Some Aspects of Stress Distribution and Effect of Voids Having Different Gase...Some Aspects of Stress Distribution and Effect of Voids Having Different Gase...
Some Aspects of Stress Distribution and Effect of Voids Having Different Gase...IOSR Journals
 
Synthesis and characterisation of k doped zno 1
Synthesis and characterisation of k doped zno 1Synthesis and characterisation of k doped zno 1
Synthesis and characterisation of k doped zno 1Jeslin Mattam
 
Yutong Liu - Poster - ACF-PEDOT Supercap
Yutong Liu - Poster - ACF-PEDOT SupercapYutong Liu - Poster - ACF-PEDOT Supercap
Yutong Liu - Poster - ACF-PEDOT SupercapYutong Liu
 
Accurate Dielectric Capacitance Determination from MetalInsulator-Semiconduct...
Accurate Dielectric Capacitance Determination from MetalInsulator-Semiconduct...Accurate Dielectric Capacitance Determination from MetalInsulator-Semiconduct...
Accurate Dielectric Capacitance Determination from MetalInsulator-Semiconduct...IOSRJEEE
 
A wideband hybrid plasmonic fractal patch nanoantenn
A wideband hybrid plasmonic fractal patch nanoantennA wideband hybrid plasmonic fractal patch nanoantenn
A wideband hybrid plasmonic fractal patch nanoantennIAEME Publication
 
Metallization techniques for high efficiency solar cells
Metallization techniques for high efficiency solar cellsMetallization techniques for high efficiency solar cells
Metallization techniques for high efficiency solar cellsMehul Raval
 

Ähnlich wie Measurement of Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films (20)

De35589591
De35589591De35589591
De35589591
 
Three Dimensional Modelling of MISFET
Three Dimensional Modelling of MISFETThree Dimensional Modelling of MISFET
Three Dimensional Modelling of MISFET
 
DC Conductivity of Composite Silicon Thin Films
DC Conductivity of Composite Silicon Thin FilmsDC Conductivity of Composite Silicon Thin Films
DC Conductivity of Composite Silicon Thin Films
 
n-p-p Silicon solar Cells.PDF
n-p-p Silicon solar Cells.PDFn-p-p Silicon solar Cells.PDF
n-p-p Silicon solar Cells.PDF
 
Iisrt divyasettu(6 8)
Iisrt divyasettu(6 8)Iisrt divyasettu(6 8)
Iisrt divyasettu(6 8)
 
Scattering Regimes for Underwater Optical Wireless Communications using Monte...
Scattering Regimes for Underwater Optical Wireless Communications using Monte...Scattering Regimes for Underwater Optical Wireless Communications using Monte...
Scattering Regimes for Underwater Optical Wireless Communications using Monte...
 
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
 
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
ELECTRICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF ZnSe THIN FILMS BY ELECTRODEPOSITION ...
 
Some Aspects of Stress Distribution and Effect of Voids Having Different Gase...
Some Aspects of Stress Distribution and Effect of Voids Having Different Gase...Some Aspects of Stress Distribution and Effect of Voids Having Different Gase...
Some Aspects of Stress Distribution and Effect of Voids Having Different Gase...
 
Scientific_Publication
Scientific_PublicationScientific_Publication
Scientific_Publication
 
Synthesis and characterisation of k doped zno 1
Synthesis and characterisation of k doped zno 1Synthesis and characterisation of k doped zno 1
Synthesis and characterisation of k doped zno 1
 
Yutong Liu - Poster - ACF-PEDOT Supercap
Yutong Liu - Poster - ACF-PEDOT SupercapYutong Liu - Poster - ACF-PEDOT Supercap
Yutong Liu - Poster - ACF-PEDOT Supercap
 
Accurate Dielectric Capacitance Determination from MetalInsulator-Semiconduct...
Accurate Dielectric Capacitance Determination from MetalInsulator-Semiconduct...Accurate Dielectric Capacitance Determination from MetalInsulator-Semiconduct...
Accurate Dielectric Capacitance Determination from MetalInsulator-Semiconduct...
 
Aq4101243247
Aq4101243247Aq4101243247
Aq4101243247
 
Aq36257262
Aq36257262Aq36257262
Aq36257262
 
A wideband hybrid plasmonic fractal patch nanoantenn
A wideband hybrid plasmonic fractal patch nanoantennA wideband hybrid plasmonic fractal patch nanoantenn
A wideband hybrid plasmonic fractal patch nanoantenn
 
OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PULSE PLATED CuInS2 FILMS
OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PULSE PLATED CuInS2 FILMSOPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PULSE PLATED CuInS2 FILMS
OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PULSE PLATED CuInS2 FILMS
 
Final Paper
Final PaperFinal Paper
Final Paper
 
666.full
666.full666.full
666.full
 
Metallization techniques for high efficiency solar cells
Metallization techniques for high efficiency solar cellsMetallization techniques for high efficiency solar cells
Metallization techniques for high efficiency solar cells
 

Mehr von BOHR International Journal of Computer Science (BIJCS)

Mehr von BOHR International Journal of Computer Science (BIJCS) (9)

Object Detection and Ship Classification Using YOLOv5
Object Detection and Ship Classification Using YOLOv5Object Detection and Ship Classification Using YOLOv5
Object Detection and Ship Classification Using YOLOv5
 
A Comprehensive Study on Online Teaching–Learning (OTL) System and Platforms
A Comprehensive Study on Online Teaching–Learning (OTL) System and PlatformsA Comprehensive Study on Online Teaching–Learning (OTL) System and Platforms
A Comprehensive Study on Online Teaching–Learning (OTL) System and Platforms
 
Proposed Arrangements and Cyber Security Challenges in Nuclear Domain: An Exp...
Proposed Arrangements and Cyber Security Challenges in Nuclear Domain: An Exp...Proposed Arrangements and Cyber Security Challenges in Nuclear Domain: An Exp...
Proposed Arrangements and Cyber Security Challenges in Nuclear Domain: An Exp...
 
Disease Prediction Using Machine Learning
Disease Prediction Using Machine LearningDisease Prediction Using Machine Learning
Disease Prediction Using Machine Learning
 
Do US Government and Commercial Media Concern Similar Topics? A Text-mining (...
Do US Government and Commercial Media Concern Similar Topics? A Text-mining (...Do US Government and Commercial Media Concern Similar Topics? A Text-mining (...
Do US Government and Commercial Media Concern Similar Topics? A Text-mining (...
 
Weed Detection Using Convolutional Neural Network
Weed Detection Using Convolutional Neural NetworkWeed Detection Using Convolutional Neural Network
Weed Detection Using Convolutional Neural Network
 
Virtualization in Distributed System: A Brief Overview
Virtualization in Distributed System: A Brief OverviewVirtualization in Distributed System: A Brief Overview
Virtualization in Distributed System: A Brief Overview
 
Reframing the Possibilities in Healthcare Using Blue Brain Technology
Reframing the Possibilities in Healthcare Using Blue Brain TechnologyReframing the Possibilities in Healthcare Using Blue Brain Technology
Reframing the Possibilities in Healthcare Using Blue Brain Technology
 
Implementation ofWeb Application for Disease Prediction Using AI
Implementation ofWeb Application for Disease Prediction Using AIImplementation ofWeb Application for Disease Prediction Using AI
Implementation ofWeb Application for Disease Prediction Using AI
 

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Introduction to Machine Learning Unit-3 for II MECH
Introduction to Machine Learning Unit-3 for II MECHIntroduction to Machine Learning Unit-3 for II MECH
Introduction to Machine Learning Unit-3 for II MECHC Sai Kiran
 
Software and Systems Engineering Standards: Verification and Validation of Sy...
Software and Systems Engineering Standards: Verification and Validation of Sy...Software and Systems Engineering Standards: Verification and Validation of Sy...
Software and Systems Engineering Standards: Verification and Validation of Sy...VICTOR MAESTRE RAMIREZ
 
Electronically Controlled suspensions system .pdf
Electronically Controlled suspensions system .pdfElectronically Controlled suspensions system .pdf
Electronically Controlled suspensions system .pdfme23b1001
 
Sachpazis Costas: Geotechnical Engineering: A student's Perspective Introduction
Sachpazis Costas: Geotechnical Engineering: A student's Perspective IntroductionSachpazis Costas: Geotechnical Engineering: A student's Perspective Introduction
Sachpazis Costas: Geotechnical Engineering: A student's Perspective IntroductionDr.Costas Sachpazis
 
CCS355 Neural Network & Deep Learning UNIT III notes and Question bank .pdf
CCS355 Neural Network & Deep Learning UNIT III notes and Question bank .pdfCCS355 Neural Network & Deep Learning UNIT III notes and Question bank .pdf
CCS355 Neural Network & Deep Learning UNIT III notes and Question bank .pdfAsst.prof M.Gokilavani
 
Application of Residue Theorem to evaluate real integrations.pptx
Application of Residue Theorem to evaluate real integrations.pptxApplication of Residue Theorem to evaluate real integrations.pptx
Application of Residue Theorem to evaluate real integrations.pptx959SahilShah
 
Correctly Loading Incremental Data at Scale
Correctly Loading Incremental Data at ScaleCorrectly Loading Incremental Data at Scale
Correctly Loading Incremental Data at ScaleAlluxio, Inc.
 
TechTAC® CFD Report Summary: A Comparison of Two Types of Tubing Anchor Catchers
TechTAC® CFD Report Summary: A Comparison of Two Types of Tubing Anchor CatchersTechTAC® CFD Report Summary: A Comparison of Two Types of Tubing Anchor Catchers
TechTAC® CFD Report Summary: A Comparison of Two Types of Tubing Anchor Catcherssdickerson1
 
Call Girls Narol 7397865700 Independent Call Girls
Call Girls Narol 7397865700 Independent Call GirlsCall Girls Narol 7397865700 Independent Call Girls
Call Girls Narol 7397865700 Independent Call Girlsssuser7cb4ff
 
Comparative Analysis of Text Summarization Techniques
Comparative Analysis of Text Summarization TechniquesComparative Analysis of Text Summarization Techniques
Comparative Analysis of Text Summarization Techniquesugginaramesh
 
Artificial-Intelligence-in-Electronics (K).pptx
Artificial-Intelligence-in-Electronics (K).pptxArtificial-Intelligence-in-Electronics (K).pptx
Artificial-Intelligence-in-Electronics (K).pptxbritheesh05
 
Gfe Mayur Vihar Call Girls Service WhatsApp -> 9999965857 Available 24x7 ^ De...
Gfe Mayur Vihar Call Girls Service WhatsApp -> 9999965857 Available 24x7 ^ De...Gfe Mayur Vihar Call Girls Service WhatsApp -> 9999965857 Available 24x7 ^ De...
Gfe Mayur Vihar Call Girls Service WhatsApp -> 9999965857 Available 24x7 ^ De...srsj9000
 
Concrete Mix Design - IS 10262-2019 - .pptx
Concrete Mix Design - IS 10262-2019 - .pptxConcrete Mix Design - IS 10262-2019 - .pptx
Concrete Mix Design - IS 10262-2019 - .pptxKartikeyaDwivedi3
 
Oxy acetylene welding presentation note.
Oxy acetylene welding presentation note.Oxy acetylene welding presentation note.
Oxy acetylene welding presentation note.eptoze12
 
Heart Disease Prediction using machine learning.pptx
Heart Disease Prediction using machine learning.pptxHeart Disease Prediction using machine learning.pptx
Heart Disease Prediction using machine learning.pptxPoojaBan
 
INFLUENCE OF NANOSILICA ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
INFLUENCE OF NANOSILICA ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETEINFLUENCE OF NANOSILICA ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
INFLUENCE OF NANOSILICA ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETEroselinkalist12
 

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Introduction to Machine Learning Unit-3 for II MECH
Introduction to Machine Learning Unit-3 for II MECHIntroduction to Machine Learning Unit-3 for II MECH
Introduction to Machine Learning Unit-3 for II MECH
 
Software and Systems Engineering Standards: Verification and Validation of Sy...
Software and Systems Engineering Standards: Verification and Validation of Sy...Software and Systems Engineering Standards: Verification and Validation of Sy...
Software and Systems Engineering Standards: Verification and Validation of Sy...
 
Electronically Controlled suspensions system .pdf
Electronically Controlled suspensions system .pdfElectronically Controlled suspensions system .pdf
Electronically Controlled suspensions system .pdf
 
Sachpazis Costas: Geotechnical Engineering: A student's Perspective Introduction
Sachpazis Costas: Geotechnical Engineering: A student's Perspective IntroductionSachpazis Costas: Geotechnical Engineering: A student's Perspective Introduction
Sachpazis Costas: Geotechnical Engineering: A student's Perspective Introduction
 
CCS355 Neural Network & Deep Learning UNIT III notes and Question bank .pdf
CCS355 Neural Network & Deep Learning UNIT III notes and Question bank .pdfCCS355 Neural Network & Deep Learning UNIT III notes and Question bank .pdf
CCS355 Neural Network & Deep Learning UNIT III notes and Question bank .pdf
 
Application of Residue Theorem to evaluate real integrations.pptx
Application of Residue Theorem to evaluate real integrations.pptxApplication of Residue Theorem to evaluate real integrations.pptx
Application of Residue Theorem to evaluate real integrations.pptx
 
Correctly Loading Incremental Data at Scale
Correctly Loading Incremental Data at ScaleCorrectly Loading Incremental Data at Scale
Correctly Loading Incremental Data at Scale
 
TechTAC® CFD Report Summary: A Comparison of Two Types of Tubing Anchor Catchers
TechTAC® CFD Report Summary: A Comparison of Two Types of Tubing Anchor CatchersTechTAC® CFD Report Summary: A Comparison of Two Types of Tubing Anchor Catchers
TechTAC® CFD Report Summary: A Comparison of Two Types of Tubing Anchor Catchers
 
🔝9953056974🔝!!-YOUNG call girls in Rajendra Nagar Escort rvice Shot 2000 nigh...
🔝9953056974🔝!!-YOUNG call girls in Rajendra Nagar Escort rvice Shot 2000 nigh...🔝9953056974🔝!!-YOUNG call girls in Rajendra Nagar Escort rvice Shot 2000 nigh...
🔝9953056974🔝!!-YOUNG call girls in Rajendra Nagar Escort rvice Shot 2000 nigh...
 
Call Girls Narol 7397865700 Independent Call Girls
Call Girls Narol 7397865700 Independent Call GirlsCall Girls Narol 7397865700 Independent Call Girls
Call Girls Narol 7397865700 Independent Call Girls
 
Comparative Analysis of Text Summarization Techniques
Comparative Analysis of Text Summarization TechniquesComparative Analysis of Text Summarization Techniques
Comparative Analysis of Text Summarization Techniques
 
Exploring_Network_Security_with_JA3_by_Rakesh Seal.pptx
Exploring_Network_Security_with_JA3_by_Rakesh Seal.pptxExploring_Network_Security_with_JA3_by_Rakesh Seal.pptx
Exploring_Network_Security_with_JA3_by_Rakesh Seal.pptx
 
Artificial-Intelligence-in-Electronics (K).pptx
Artificial-Intelligence-in-Electronics (K).pptxArtificial-Intelligence-in-Electronics (K).pptx
Artificial-Intelligence-in-Electronics (K).pptx
 
9953056974 Call Girls In South Ex, Escorts (Delhi) NCR.pdf
9953056974 Call Girls In South Ex, Escorts (Delhi) NCR.pdf9953056974 Call Girls In South Ex, Escorts (Delhi) NCR.pdf
9953056974 Call Girls In South Ex, Escorts (Delhi) NCR.pdf
 
Call Us -/9953056974- Call Girls In Vikaspuri-/- Delhi NCR
Call Us -/9953056974- Call Girls In Vikaspuri-/- Delhi NCRCall Us -/9953056974- Call Girls In Vikaspuri-/- Delhi NCR
Call Us -/9953056974- Call Girls In Vikaspuri-/- Delhi NCR
 
Gfe Mayur Vihar Call Girls Service WhatsApp -> 9999965857 Available 24x7 ^ De...
Gfe Mayur Vihar Call Girls Service WhatsApp -> 9999965857 Available 24x7 ^ De...Gfe Mayur Vihar Call Girls Service WhatsApp -> 9999965857 Available 24x7 ^ De...
Gfe Mayur Vihar Call Girls Service WhatsApp -> 9999965857 Available 24x7 ^ De...
 
Concrete Mix Design - IS 10262-2019 - .pptx
Concrete Mix Design - IS 10262-2019 - .pptxConcrete Mix Design - IS 10262-2019 - .pptx
Concrete Mix Design - IS 10262-2019 - .pptx
 
Oxy acetylene welding presentation note.
Oxy acetylene welding presentation note.Oxy acetylene welding presentation note.
Oxy acetylene welding presentation note.
 
Heart Disease Prediction using machine learning.pptx
Heart Disease Prediction using machine learning.pptxHeart Disease Prediction using machine learning.pptx
Heart Disease Prediction using machine learning.pptx
 
INFLUENCE OF NANOSILICA ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
INFLUENCE OF NANOSILICA ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETEINFLUENCE OF NANOSILICA ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
INFLUENCE OF NANOSILICA ON THE PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE
 

Measurement of Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films

  • 1. ISSN (online) 2583-455X BOHR International Journal of Computer Science 2022, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 124–129 https://doi.org/10.54646/bijcs.018 www.bohrpub.com Measurement of the Surface Electrical Resistance of SnO2:F Thin Films C. S. de Souza, J. R. R. Bortoleto, P. L. Sant’Ana∗ and S. F. Durrant Technological Plasmas Laboratory, State University of Sao Paulo – UNESP, Sorocaba City, Sao Paulo State, Brazil ∗Corresponding author: drsantanapl@gmail.com Abstract. In this work, thin films of tin oxide doped with fluorine and of nominal surface resistance between 30 Ω and 40 Ω were deposited by RF sputtering in a plasma deposition system and their surface electrical resistances were evaluated for different conditions. To measure the resistivity of the fluorine-doped tin oxide film using an aluminum PAD with the same thickness and the same width as the film, a Minipa digital multimeter acting as an ammeter, a DC voltage source, and wires with banana-alligator connectors were used at six intervals (between the aluminum measuring tips and the PADs). Thus, a linear approximation and verification of the resistance value for each measured distance were undertaken. Resistances ranging from 44.10 Ω/ to 88.10 Ω/ for separations of 6 and 1 cm, respectively, were found. With the values obtained, the respective graphs were plotted for the six separations. The four-point method was employed to obtain four measurements (M1 to M4), and the curves of voltage as a function of the current were obtained. Values of resistance ranged from 11.4 Ω (M4) to 29.1 Ω (M3). Keywords: RF sputtering, tin oxide thin films, surface electrical resistance. INTRODUCTION Sputtering began to be used in the early 1970s with the use of radiofrequency sources. The magnetron sputtering technique consists of the use of a magnet assembly, placed strategically in relation to the cathode to generate a mag- netic field with a closed path. The magnetron RF sputtering technique presents advantages such as good adhesion of the deposited films to the substrates; density of deposited films equivalent to the substrate density; and deposition of films from insulating, refractory, or multicomponent tar- gets. The magnetic field functions as an electron trap near the surface of the target in the plasma regime. Electrons are confined in the magnetic field, causing the plasma density to increase close to the target surface, thereby increasing the concentration of ions of the inert gas and providing a much more effective and localized bombard- ment [1]. Since RF sputtering is very useful for deposition of oxide thin films in plasma reactors, this kind of film finds many applications in the energy and microelectronics industries, such as the frontal contacts for solar cells, liquid crystal dials, image sensors, OLEDs, and others. In fact, at present, numerous applications, such as touch panels, light-emitting diodes, and solar cells, require transparent, conductive coatings [2–4]. Thus far, materials belonging to the transparent conducting oxide (TCO) family have been frequently used for this purpose. Most of the industry stan- dard TCOs are n-type wide bandgap oxides (e.g., 3.1 eV), such as In2O3, SnO2, and ZnO, whose conductivity can be further tuned by aliovalent doping or the formation of oxy- gen vacancies [5]. More specifically, tin oxide-doped thin films are used in photo-converters, efficient electrodes for the transport of free charges, in transparent thin film tran- sistors, gas sensors, and the conductivity of SnO2 is highly dependent on the pressure of some gaseous compounds on its surface and in optical sensors [6]. In most cases, electrical measurements represent the key to the analysis of a wide range of semiconductor transport properties based on oxide thin films. In fact, among these classes of films, tin oxide thin films present a wide energy gap, ≈3.6 eV; they have good electrical conductivity, good transparency (average over 80% of the visible spectrum), reflect infrared radiation, are chemically inert, and show good adhesion to glass, and their more common dopants are Sb (antimony), 124
  • 2. Electrical Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films 125 F (fluorine), Zn (zinc), or In (indium), which decrease the resistivity of the films (from 10−3 to up to 10−4 Ω·cm) and increase the reflection coefficient in the infrared region [7]. METHODS Initially, glass substrates of 1.5 cm × 2.5 cm were ultrason- icated three times for 20 min using pure water, industrial detergent “Detlimp,” and isopropyl alcohol, respectively. Then, the glass was positioned in the center of the upper electrode in an RF sputtering deposition system. The exper- imental setup consists of a stainless-steel vacuum chamber (30 cm in height and 25 cm in diameter) with two horizon- tal circular internal electrodes of equal dimension (11 cm in diameter), and the system was evacuated by a rotary pump (18 m3/h) down to 0.1 Pa. A tin target of 5 cm in diameter was fixed inside the reactor. Needle valves were employed to control the oxygen gas feed (of high purity: up to 99.9995%) at 50 sccm. Glass substrates were exposed directly to the plasma environment established by the application of radiofrequency power (13.56 MHz) at 100 W for 30 min. Figure 1 shows the principle of the RF sputtering system used for tin oxide thin film deposi- tion [1] with the permission of Scholar’s Press. To measure the resistivity of the fluorine-doped tin oxide film using an aluminum PAD with the same thickness and width as the film, a Minipa digital multimeter was used as an ammeter together with a DC voltage source and wires with banana-alligator connectors. After the circuit of Figure 2(a) was assembled, measurements were taken from six different points on the film, using the distance between the aluminum measuring tips and the PADs as a reference. Then, the respective graph (V-I) was plotted for the six distances of the PADs. Moreover, for the four parallel tips method, two digital multimeters were used, one as an ammeter and the other as a voltmeter simultaneously, a DC voltage source, a perforated copper plate connected to the wires, and the scheme of the measurements can be seen in Figure 2(b). Figure 1. Scheme of tin oxide thin film deposition method by Magnetron Sputtering [1]. Figure 2. (a) Scheme for measuring surface resistance using PADs. Rc indicates the resistance of the contacts (PAD, cables, and multimeter), and surface resistance Rs = R W/L. (b) Four parallel tips method: For a film of infinite width and length L with respect to distances Sn, it is possible to calculate the resistivity ρ. Courtesy of Dr. Jose Roberto R. Bortoleto: Technological Plasmas Laboratory, State University of Sao Paulo, UNESP, Brazil. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Table 1 presents the voltage and current values of the six distances of the tips for the test with the fluorine-doped tin oxide film. From the data of Table 1, the respective graphs (V-I) were plotted for the six distances of the PADs as seen in Figure 3. Linear relationships were observed for all distances. As the distance increases, the slope of the lines increases, which indicates that for higher values of distance, the surface resistance tends to decrease. From Figure 3, a linear approximation can be obtained and the resistance value for each measured distance can be evaluated. Table 2 presents the parameters and surface resistance for each distance of the PADs. Table 1. Fluorine-doped tin oxide film voltage and current data obtained from measurements using PADs. V (V) I1 – 6.1 cm I2 – 5 cm I3 – 4 cm I4 – 3 cm I5 – 2 cm I6 – 1 cm 0.5 4.7 4.7 5.7 6.5 8.2 12.2 0.8 7.4 8.8 10.5 11.7 15 18.9 1 9.8 11.3 13.3 16.4 20.2 24.7 1.3 12.4 15.7 18 20.4 26.4 33.6 1.5 14.3 17.6 20.4 23.9 31.1 39.1 1.7 17.1 20.2 23.3 27.9 35.4 44.7 2 19.7 23.9 28.1 33.5 42 52.9 2.3 23.1 27.6 31.9 37.5 47.3 60.9 2.5 25.3 30.7 34.9 41.1 51.7 69 2.8 28.1 34 39.1 46.6 58.7 76.6 3 29.6 36.1 41.1 49 62.9 83.1 3.4 34.2 40.7 46.4 56.5 71.2 94.6 3.7 36.6 44.8 50.3 62 78.8 104.1 4 38.9 49.1 54.5 66.3 84 111.5 4.5 45 55.6 63.7 74.2 96.1 126.7 5 50.8 61.4 71.1 84.7 105.1 139.4 5.5 56.6 66.9 78.9 93.8 118.5 153.2 6 59.6 73.1 86 101.9 130.8 165.7
  • 3. 126 C. S. de Souza et al. Figure 3. Linear V vs. I curves of the six measured distances for the tin oxide film:F. Table 2. Values of the parameters of the linear approximations of the curves in graph from Figure 3, as well as their respective surface resistances. Linear Approximation Results Y = A + BX - V = A + B.I w = 2.5 cm Error Error B Error RS L A (V) A (V) B (Ω × 10−3) (Ω × 10−3) RS (Ω/) (Ω/) 1 cm 0.09 0.019 0.03 2.15 E-04 88.10 0.54 2 cm 0.09 0.019 0.05 2.87 E-04 57.43 0.36 3 cm 0.08 0.019 0.06 3.49 E-04 48.63 0.30 4 cm 0.08 0.025 0.07 5.70 E-04 43.55 0.35 5 cm 0.06 0.015 0.08 3.89 E-04 40.40 0.20 6 cm 0.05 0.024 0.10 7.44 E-04 41.09 0.31 The width of the film was about 2.5 cm, and, for the lin- ear approximations, the linear coefficient A was neglected owing to its low value and high error. In addition, it is worth mentioning that to find the values of surface resis- tances, as well as their respective errors, Equation (1) was used, and this relation was deduced from the equation in Figure 2(a) and elucidated as a function of the dimensions W and L. RS = ρ t = R · W L (1) Moreover, concerning the surface resistance results using the four-point method in Figure 2(b), the data-reliable results from four measurements were performed, one at each point of the film with different distances between the tips. The first and second measurements (M1) and (M2) were made in the center of the film with the connectors on the edge. The distances between connectors and edges of the film are given in Table 3. The third measurement (M3) was undertaken on top of the film edge, while the fourth measurement (M4) was made on the left side of the film. The distances between the connectors and the edges of the film are also given in Table 3. Table 3. Distances between the connectors and the edges of the film for the four measurements (M1 to M4). Top and bottom represents superior and inferior parts of the film, respectively. Top Bottom Right Left S1 (m) S2 (m) S3 (m) (m) (m) Side (m) Side (m) M1 0.023 0.02 0.020 0.011 0.014 0 0 M2 0.010 0.01 0.007 0.011 0.014 0.02 0.02 M3 0.024 0.02 0.02 0 0.025 0 0 M4 0.007 0.007 0.01 0 0 0.06 0 Figure 4. Measurements of voltage V (mV) as function of current I (mA) for the four attempts (M1 to M4) using the four-point parallel method. Table 4. Parameters of V and R of linear approximations of the plots in the graphs of Figure 4 with their error. Y = A + B.X - V = A + B.I Measurements A (mV) Error A (mV) B (Ω) Error B (Ω) M1 0.234 0.025 24.42 0.008 M2 0.7694 0.059 13.03 0.012 M3 0.1983 0.041 29.12 0.018 M4 0.49738 0.026 11.40 0.007 Then, it was possible to obtain the curves (V-I) for the four measurements (M1 to M4) using the four-point parallel method, as seen in the graph in Figure 4. The plots are linear to about 1800 mV (M1) and to a current of ∼95 mA (M2). The slopes of the lines were different for each measurement, and condition M4 was resulted from the lower values of S1, S2, and S3. For greater values of S, the inclinations increase; this indicates that for greater values of distance, the surface resistance changes. From Figure 4, it was possible to calculate the linear approximations of the curves of each measurement and thus obtain the intercepts and slopes. Table 4 presents the parameters of the linear approximations of the plots in the graph in Figure 4. With the values of B (V/I) of the linear approximations, it is possible to determine the resistivity of the film for the
  • 4. Electrical Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films 127 Table 5. Parameters of distances and its relationship between these distances and the thin film measurements, the resistivities, and its respective error for the four measurements. S̄ (m) S/w L/S C RS (Ω/) Error RS (Ω/) M1 0.021 0.820 3.000 1.214 29.65 0.009 M2 0.010 0.400 6.142 2.351 30.65 0.029 M3 0.023 0.911 2.700 1.089 31.73 0.019 M4 0.007 0.289 8.516 2.968 33.84 0.020 four measurements. Table 5 presents the mean values of the distances between the tips, the relationships between these distances and the thin film measurements, and the resistivities and their respective errors for each of the measurement procedures. The surface resistance of the film ranged from 29.6 to 33.8 Ω/, which corresponds to a nominal surface resistance of 30–40 Ω/. A small difference between the practical and nominal values can be attributed to the imprecision in measuring the distances. The length (L) and width (w) of the thin film tested were 63 mm and 26 mm, respectively, and the distances between the measuring tips approxi- mated the average distance. The values of the geometric correction factor, C, and resistivity were obtained through Equations (2) and (3), respectively. C = π ( πs w + ln 1 − e− 4πs w − ln 1 − e− 2πs w + e− 2π( L s −2)s w 1−e− 6πs w 1−e− 2πs w 1+e− 2πL w !# ) (2) RS = ρ t = V I · C (3) Making the distances Sn equal to S and taking into account the geometric correction factor, for a rectangular sample with length L, width w, and thickness t, we have the following simplification (Equation (4)) to obtain the electrical resistivity (Ω cm) of the film. ρ = V I · C · t (4) TCOs are materials that display both high transparency (80%) in the visible spectrum and low electrical resistivity (10−3 Ω·cm). The increase in carrier concentration with the amount of dopants results in a reduction in the resis- tivity [8]. This is important when this film is applied to resistive or capacitive touchscreen panels. An example of such a panel is shown in Figure 5. In addition, TCO serves as an electron pathway, which connects the films with an external circuit and determines the overall transmittance of the devices [10]. Moreover, the TCO can be used for photocatalysis applications owing to its advantageous electronic properties and conductivity [11–14]. Typical TCO materials have been studied owing Figure 5. Scheme of application of (a) resistive touchscreen panel and (b) capacitive touchscreen panel. In both systems, a fluorinated tin oxide film can be applied over a glass (rigid) substrate. Touchscreens are prominently employed in smartphones, personal computers, televisions, and car navigation due to their compact- ness, reliability, and low power consumption. Reproduced from Ref. [9] with permission from Caio Simons. to their superior visible light transmittance (80%), low resistivity (10−3 Ω cm), and relatively large band gap (3 eV) [15, 16]. Fluorinated tin oxide was recently pro- posed as a substitute material for indium tin oxide owing to its low cost and excellent mechanical and chemical dura- bility. To achieve high transmittance while maintaining the electrical conductivity of tin oxide films, various methods and processes have been suggested [17, 18] for doped SnO2 film fabrication. Consonni et al. [19] reported the electrical properties of F-doped SnO2 films as a function of the film thickness. Hence, the film thickness was not a determinant factor to calculate the surface electrical resistance by the methods used in this study, and thus, the resistivity of the films was expressed as a function of t (film thickness), since t was not evaluated. Even though all measurements made here rely on a good approximation of Rs. To understand how resistive or conductive a semicon- ductor is, we must consider that the number of electrons to be allocated to its bands is determined by its atomic number Z and also by the geometry of the system. The most important point to be highlighted here is that a completely full band is “frozen,” that is, with or without the application of an external electric field, the electrons in this band do not contribute to the electric current. Only an energy gain, greater than about 1 eV, could make an electron jump from a full band to an empty band; this then responds to the application of an electric field. In contrast, electrons that are in a partially occupied band respond easily to the application of external fields. These have empty quantum states to which they can undergo transitions produced by a small energy gain. These state changes can also be caused by a thermal energy gain of the order of kT, that is, by collisions with other particles [20]. This could explain why the temperature influences the sur- face electrical resistance. However, this parameter was not studied here because, in plasma deposition systems, the
  • 5. 128 C. S. de Souza et al. kinetics of charged particles is not well known nor easily measured. When a sample is removed from the reactor, the sample holder is cooled and the temperature of the glass substrate is also influenced. Two processes, the increase in the number of carriers and the increase in the number of collisions (with increasing temperature), occur in any material. The competition between them will determine whether, in a given temperature range, the conductivity increases or decreases with temperature. Both methods for measurement of surface electrical resistance used here are sufficient to determine R (Ω/) with a small standard deviation (1 Ω/) using the aluminum PADs method and (0.02 Ω/) using the four tips method. CONCLUSION Both methods (using aluminum PADs and four tips) were consistent and useful to obtain the surface resistance of a tin oxide thin film deposited by RF sputtering in a plasma system. Applying the first method (PADs), values of surface resistance changed as a function of the distance between the aluminum measuring tips and the PADs. Then, applying a linear approximation and checking the resistance value for each measured distance, resistances ranged from 44.10 Ω/ at 6 cm to 88.10 Ω/ at 1 cm of separation. Applying the second method (four tips), the values of surface electrical resistance reveal the nominal value for the SnO2:F thin film, which ranged from ∼29.66 to 33.84 Ω/, and a minor error can be observed and attributed to inaccuracy of the measurements of the dis- tances. The calculations of the surface electrical resistance are the key parameters for the requested applications of these films, such as in the frontal contacts of solar cells, liquid crystal dials, image sensors, and OLEDs, and are essential for failure analysis and quality control of semi- conductor materials and devices. For future studies, the Van der Pauw method or concentric rings to measure the surface resistivity of oxide thin films may be applied. CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS Sant’Ana P. L. contributed with experimental, plasma, and the writing of the first draft. De Souza C.S. contributed with surface measurements, and he is the owner of the results. Bortoleto J.R.R. contributed as coordinator, concep- tualization andreviewer, and with facilities. Durrant S.F. contributed as reviewer of the text in all drafts. FUNDING This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) – Finance Code 001. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author is very thankful to the Technological Plasmas Laboratory from UNESP for all support and opportunities. REFERENCES [1] Sant’Ana, P. L. (2018). Polymers Treated by Plasma for Optical Devices and Food Packaging, (1), pp.128. ISNB 13: 978-613-8-50737-6. [2] Wang, K.C., Shen, P.S., Li, M.H., Chen, S., Lin, M.W., Chen, P., Guo, T.F. (2014). Low-temperature sputtered nickel oxide com- pact thin film as effective electron blocking layer for mesoscopic NiO/CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite heterojunction solar cells. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 6, 11851–11858. https://doi.org/10.1021/am503610 u [3] Zeng, H., Xu, X., Bando, Y. (2009). Template deformation-tailored ZnO nanorod/nanowire arrays: Full growth control and optimiza- tion of field-emission. Adv. Functional Mater. 19, 3165–3172. https: //doi.org/10.1002/adfm.200900714 [4] Song, J., He, Y., Chen, J. (2012). Bicolor light-emitting diode based on zinc oxide nanorod arrays and poly(2-methoxy,5-octoxy)-1,4- phenylenevinylene. J. Electron. Mater. 41, 431–436. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s11664-011-1783-x [5] Dixon, S.C., Scanlon, D.O., Carmalt, C.J., Parkin, I.P. (2016). n-Type doped transparent conducting binary oxides: An overview. J. Mater. Chem. C. 4, 6946–6961. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6TC01881E [6] Sze, S.M. and Ng, Kwok K. (2007). Physics of Semiconductor Devices, (3) Ed., Wiley, New York. ISBN 978-0-47 1-1 4323-9 [7] Magalhães, E. C. S. (2006). Optical Properties of Pure and Fluorine Doped Tin Dioxide Thin Films. Dissertation (Master’s) – Institute of Physics – Federal University of Bahia, Brazil. [8] Ponja, S.D., Sathasivam, S., Parkin, I.P. et al. (2020). Highly con- ductive and transparent gallium doped zinc oxide thin films via chemical vapor deposition. Sci Rep. 10, 638. https://doi.org/10.1 038/s41598-020-57532-7 [9] Ramarajan, R., Nandarapu, P., Reshma K. D., M. et al. (2020). Large- area spray deposited Ta-doped SnO2 thin film electrode for DSSC application. Solar Energy. (211), pp. 547–559. https://doi.org/10.101 6/j.solener.2020.09.042 [10] Jeong, S.-J., Kim, K.-H., Ahn, H.-J. (2021). Net-Patterned Fluorine- Doped Tin Oxide to Accelerate the Electrochromic and Photocat- alytic Interface Reactions. Catalysts. (11), 249. https://doi.org/10 .3390/catal11020249 [11] Sathasivam, S., Bhachu, D.S., Lu, Y., Chadwich, N., Althabaiti, S.A., Alyoubi, A.O., Basahel, S.N., Carmalt, C.J., Parkin, I.P. (2015). Tung- sten Doped TiO2 with Enhanced Photocatalytic and Optoelectrical Properties via Aerosol Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition. Sci. Rep. (5), 10952. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep10952 [12] Zhang, X., Chen, Y., Zhang, S., Qiu, C. (2017). High photocatalytic performance of high concentration Al-doped ZnO nanoparticles. Sep. Purif. Technol. 172, 236–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2016. 08.016 [13] Dinh, N.N., Quyen, N.M., Chung, D.N., Zikova, M., Truong, V.-V. (2011). Highly-efficient electrochromic performance of nanostruc- tured TiO2 films made by doctor blade technique. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells. (95), 618–623. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211511 633.pdf
  • 6. Electrical Surface Resistance SnO2:F Films 129 [14] Wang, B., Man, W., Yu, H., Li, Y., Zheng, F. (2018). Fabrication of Mo-Doped WO3 Nanorod Arrays on FTO Substrate with Enhanced Electrochromic Properties. Materials. 11, 1627. https://doi.org/10.3 390/ma11091627 [15] Kim, H., Kushto, G.P., Auyeung, R.C.Y., Piqué, A. (2008). Optimiza- tion of F-doped SnO2 electrodes for organic photovoltaic devices. Appl Phys. A Mater. Sci. Process. (93), 521–526. https://doi.org/10 .1007/s00339-008-4756-z [16] Kim, K.-H., Koo, B.-R., Ahn, H.-J. (2019). Effects of Sb-doped SnO2– WO3 nanocomposite on electrochromic performance. Ceram. Int. 45, 15990–15995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2019.05.109 [17] Jo, M.-H., Koo, B.-R., Ahn, H.-J. (2020). Fe co-doping effect on fluorine-doped tin oxide transparent conducting films accelerating electrochromic switching performance. Ceram. Int. 46, 10578–10584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.01.061 [18] Kawashima, T., Ezure, T., Okada, K., Matusi, H., Goto, K., Tan- abe, N. (2004). FTO/ITO double layered transparent conductive oxide for dye-sensitized solar cells. J. Photochem. Photobiol. A Chem. 164, 199–202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphotochem.2003.12.028 [19] Consonni, V., Rey, G., Roussel, H., Bellet, D. (2012). Thickness effects on the texture development of fluorine-doped SnO2 thin films: The role of surface and strain energy, Journal of Applied Physics. 111, 033523. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3684543 [20] Sant’Ana, P. L. (2020). Abordagem teórica sobre junções e dispos- itivos semicondutores e sua utilização em painéis fotovoltaicos. Revista Brasileira de Aplicaçoes a Vacuo, Campinas. (39) 2, pp. 193–203. https://doi.org/10.17563/rbav.v39i2.1170