Effect of heat treatment on structural, optical and morphology properties of tin-doped ZnO thin film

The sol-gel method was used to obtain ZnO films doped with Sn at different annealing temperatures, 400°C, 500°C and 600°C. As a starting material, zinc acetate dehydrate was used. 2-methoxyethanol and monoethanolamine were used as the solvent and stabilizer, respectively. The dopant source was tin chloride. The atomic percentage of dopant in solution were Zn1-xSnxO, x = 0 and 5 at.%. The proportion between dopant atoms and Zn atoms are not the same in the film as in solution. In the other cases, the dopant proportion in the film is less than that in the solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray (EDX), UV-VIS Spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to study the structural, surface morphology, optical property of the films and the molecular bonding of the ZnO, respectively. We can conclude that the amount as well as the annealing of temperature modifies the film growth process and by consequence the microstructure and surface morphology as well as its optical properties.