Effect of oxygen pressure on the structural and optical properties of BaSnO3 films prepared by pulsed laser deposition method

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Materials science & processing, 2019-03, Vol.125 (3), p.1-14, Article 155
• Main Authors: John, Jibi, Chalana, S. R., Prabhu, Radhakrishna, Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ambience; Applied physics; Barium stannate; Blue shift; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Condensed Matter Physics; Crystal structure; Crystallinity; Energy gap; Film thickness; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials science; Morphology; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical properties; Optoelectronic devices; Oxidation; Oxygen; Photoluminescence; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Pressure effects; Processes; Pulsed laser deposition; Pulsed lasers; Substrates; Surface roughness; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Transmittance; Valence; X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-019-2432-0

BaSnO 3 thin films were deposited on quartz substrate by pulsed laser deposition technique under different background oxygen pressures and the effects of oxygen pressure on the structural, morphological and optical properties of BaSnO 3 thin films are systematically investigated using different characterization techniques. The BaSnO 3 films deposited without and with oxygen pressures are polycrystalline in nature with cubic crystalline phase. Moderate oxygen ambience favors enhanced crystallinity of the BaSnO 3 films and 0.02 mbar is found to be optimum oxygen pressure for highest crystallinity. The surface morphology of the deposited films was strongly affected by the oxygen pressure in the deposition chamber. A systematic increase of film thickness and decrease of RMS surface roughness is observed with increase in oxygen pressure. XPS analysis reveals that barium is in the + 2 oxidation state and Sn is in the + 4 oxidation state in the film deposited at optimum oxygen pressure of 0.02 mbar. The deposited BaSnO 3 films have photoluminescence emissions in the visible region and have high transmittance in the visible and infrared regions. The BaSnO 3 films deposited at oxygen ambience shows a blue shift in the optical band gap. The optimized film shows high crystallinity, high value of transmittance and wide band gap energy which indicates its suitability for optoelectronic devices.