Preparation of TiO2/SnO2 Thin Films by Sol-Gel Method and Periodic B3LYP Simulations

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films are grown by the sol-gel dip-coating technique, in conjunction with SnO2 in the form of a heterostructure. It was found that the crystalline structure of the most internal layer (TiO2) depends on the thermal annealing temperature and the substrate type. Films deposited on glass substrate submitted to thermal annealing until 550 degrees C present anatase structure, whereas films deposited on quartz substrate transform to rutile structure at much higher temperatures, close to 1000 degrees C, unlike powder samples where the phase transition takes place at about 780 degrees C. When structured as rutile, the oxide semiconductors TiO2/SnO2 have very dose lattice parameters, making the heterostructure assembling easier. The SnO2 and TiO2 have their electronic properties evaluated by first-principles calculations by means of DFT/B3LYP. Taking into account the calculated band structure diagram of these materials, the TiO2/SnO2 heterostructure is qualitatively investigated and proposed to increase the detection efficiency as gas sensors. This efficiency can be further improved by doping the SnO2 layer with Sb atoms. This assembly may be also useful in photoelectrocatalysis processes.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Growth of Al2O3 thin film by oxidation of resistively evaporated Al on top of SnO2, and electrical properties of the heterojunction SnO2/Al2O3

Aiming for the investigation of insulating properties of aluminum oxide (Al2O3) layers, as well as the combination of this oxide with tin dioxide (SnO2) for application in transparent field effect transistors, Al thin films are deposited by resistive evaporation on top of SnO2 thin films deposited by sol-gel dip-coating process. The oxidation of Al films to Al2O3 are carried out by thermal annealing at 500 A degrees C in room conditions or oxygen atmosphere. X-ray diffraction data indicate that tetragonal Al2O3 is indeed obtained. A simple device and electric circuit is proposed to measure the insulating properties of aluminum oxide and the transport properties of SnO2 as well. Results indicate a fair insulation when four layers or Al2O3 are grown on the tin dioxide film, concomitant with thermal annealing between each layer. The current magnitude through the insulating layer is only 0.2% of the current through the semiconductor film, even though the conductivity of the SnO2 alone is not very high (the average resistivity is 2 Omega cm), because no doping is used. The presented results are a good indication that this combination may be useful for transparent devices.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Characterization of metallic electrical contacts to SnO2 thin films lightly doped with Eu3+ ions, and photo-induced resistivity

Lightly Eu3+-doped (0.05%) SnO2 thin films are deposited by the sol-gel-dip-coating technique, topped by alternative metallic layers of Al, Sn or In, arranged in a parallel layout on the thin film surface, and deposited by the resistive evaporation technique. Electrical characterization results show that the sort of deposited metal strongly modifies the device resistance, besides thermally treated metallic layers decreases the device resistivity, which may be associated with increased tunneling probability. Current as function of applied voltage show a good linear symmetry contacts for a large temperature range (30-320 K). However, this feature is due to the MSM (metal-semiconductor-metal) structure of the device, because the conduction through the reversed-biased junction is the main mechanism of electrical transport at Schottky potential barriers. The barrier height evaluation is also presented, considering that the dominant mechanism is the thermionic emission through the reversed-biased junction, yielding values in the range 124 meV for annealed In contacts to 187 meV for untreated Sn contacts. This paper also shows results of photo-induced electrical characteristics under irradiation with below bandgap (450 nm) as well as above bandgap (266 nm) light on the SnO2 thin films, where the surface is coupled with untreated Sn contacts. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Evaluation of bulk and surfaces absorption edge energy of sol-gel-dip-coating SnO2 thin films

The absorption edge and the bandgap transition of sol-gel-dip-coating SnO2 thin films, deposited on quartz substrates, are evaluated from optical absorption data and temperature dependent photoconductivity spectra. Structural properties of these films help the interpretation of bandgap transition nature, since the obtained nanosized dimensions of crystallites are determinant on dominant growth direction and, thus, absorption energy. Electronic properties of the bulk and (110) and (101) surfaces are also presented, calculated by means of density functional theory applied to periodic calculations at B3LYP hybrid functional level. Experimentally obtained absorption edge is compared to the calculated energy band diagrams of bulk and (110) and (101) surfaces. The overall calculated electronic properties in conjunction with structural and electro-optical experimental data suggest that the nature of the bandgap transition is related to a combined effect of bulk and (101) surface, which presents direct bandgap transition