Abstract

In this study, we investigated the deposition time effects on structural, morphological and optical properties of electrodeposited SnO₂ thin films. Tin oxide thin films were deposited at 10, 15 and 20 min deposition times and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX) and UV-VIS spectrometer. XRD results showed that SnO₂ thin films were polycrystalline with tetragonal crystal structure and increasing the deposition time improved the crystallinity of SnO₂. From SEM images, there were particles on the surface of SnO₂ and particle size depended on deposition time. EDX analysis confirmed that the amount of Sn and O elements increased with increasing deposition time. From the optical studies, it was found that the transmittance values in visible region varied between 69.53 and 86.27%. These findings showed that SnO₂ films can be electrodeposited without oxygen rich environment at room temperature. Also, the films obtained can be used in many devices such as solar cells and gas sensors.

Key words: SnO₂, electrodeposition, deposition time.