Studies on Physical Properties of SnSe2 Thin Films Grown by a Two-Stage Process

• Main Authors: Saritha, K., Phaneendra Reddy, G., Ramakrishna Reddy, K.T.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Selenization; SnSe2; Sputtering; Two stage process
• ISSN: 2214-7853; 2214-7853
• DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2016.11.085

Tin diselenide (SnSe2) thin films were prepared on glass substrates by using a two-stage process. It involves the sputtering of tin metallic precursors followed by selenization process using elemental selenium. The selenization was conducted in two-zone furnace at three different temperatures 300°C, 350°C and 400°C. The physical properties of as-deposited thin films were evaluated using appropriate techniques. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the films formed at 350°C had only SnSe2 phase with (001) plane as its preferred orientation, which exhibits hexagonal crystal structure while the thin films formed at other temperatures showed secondary phases also. The scanning electron micrographs revealed uniform and plate like morphology for as-grown layers. The energy dispersive X-ray analysis of the films formed at 350°C confirmed that the compositional ratio of Sn and Se was in stoichoimetry while the other layers showed a deviation. The optical absorbance data obtained from UV-Vis spectrophotometer was used to find out the optical band gap of SnSe2 thin films and was found to be in the range of 1.60 - 1.81 eV. These results are presented and discussed in detail.