Preparation of Zinc-tin-oxide Thin Film by Using an Atomic Layer Deposition Methodology

A zinc-tin-oxide thin film was prepared by using atomic layer deposition (ALD) with diethyl zinc and tetrakis (ethylmethylamino) tin precursors. The ratios of zinc to tin were formulated to range from 1:1 to 10:1. The average growth rate of the zinc-tin-oxide films was about 1.4 similar to 1.9 A/cycle. The average growth rate increased gradually with increasing zinc-to-tin ratio at a substrate temperature of 150 degrees C. ALD-grown zinc-tin-oxide thin film was characterized using x-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Thermal annealing increased the crystallinity, but not affect the surface roughness much, and increased the amount of zinc in the composition.