Dependence of RF Sputtering Power on Structural and Electrical Properties of SnO₂ Thin Films

SnO₂ thin films were deposited on Si substrates by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering technique, and the effects of different sputtering power (60-90 W) on the structural, surface morphological, and electrical properties of the film were investigated with XRD, Raman, AFM, SEM, and fore point probe. The deposited SnO₂ film at lower RF was amorphous, while well-defined intense XRD signals at higher RF power indicated significant improvement in crystalline nature. E_g and A_1g vibrating modes related to SnO₂ were clearly observed in the Raman spectra. With the increasing RF sputtering power, the surface roughness of the films gradually increased while electrical resistivity revealed sharp decrease.