Abstract. Results of thin Zn2SnO4 films study are presented. Samples of zinc orthostannate are obtained by the sol-gel method; the gel has been applied by centrifugation on glass substrates. The samples were air dried and annealed to form a crystal structure and remove the solvent. The surface resistance of the samples is measured by the four-probe method, the thickness of the films is measured using a microinterferometer, and the resistivity is obtained by the calculation method. The surface of the samples has been examined using scanning electron microscopy at various stages of annealing. The elemental composition of the films is obtained using X-ray phase analysis. The zinc-to-tin ratio agrees with the theoretical data and is 2:1; a large amount of chlorine is also found in the films due to insufficient annealing time. The transmission spectra of the samples are obtained using a spectrophotometer. In the visible range, the transmittance is 48–75 %. The transmission spectra are used to obtain the data of the band gap of the samples by the graphical method (the intersection of the straight section of the curve with the abscissa axis). The band gap of the samples is 3.72–3.75 eV. Research results show that the Zn2SnO4 material is suitable for use in transparent electronics.

Keywords: sol-gel technology, metal oxide thin films, zinc orthostannate, transparent electronics, elemental composition, transparency, band gap

References:

1. Brinker C.J., Scherer G.W. Sol-Gel Science. The Physics and Chemistry of Sol-Gel Processing, San Diego, Academic Press, Inc., 1990, 909 p.
2. Levy D., Zayat M. The Sol-Gel Handbook: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications, Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2015, 1616 p.
3. Levy D., Castellon E. Transparent Conductive Materials: Materials, Synthesis, Characterization, Applications, Hoboken, NJ, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2019.
4. Maksimov A.I., Moshnikov V.A., Tairov Yu.M., Shilova O.A. Osnovy zol'-gel' tekhnologii nanokompozitov (Fundamentals of Sol-Gel Nanocomposite Technology), St. Petersburg, 2007, 255 р. (in Russ.)
5. Moshnikov V.A. Alexandrova O.A., Aleshin A.N. et al. Novyye nanomaterialy. Sintez. Diagnostika. Modelirovaniye (New Nanomaterials. Synthesis. Diagnostics. Modeling), St. Petersburg, 2015, 248 р. (in Russ.)
6. Evstropiev S.K., Nikonorov N.V. Zhidkostnyye metody polucheniya opticheskikh nanomaterialov (Liquid Methods for Obtaining Optical Nanomaterials), St. Petersburg, 2018, 84 р. (in Russ.)
7. Rembeza S.I., Nosov A.A., Venevtsev S.M., Belykh M.A., Polkovnikov V.E. Tverdotel'naya elektronika, mikroelektronika i nanoelektronika (Solid State Electronics, Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics), Interuniversity collection of scientific papers, 2017, no. 16, pp. 85–90. (in Russ.)
8. Nosov A.A., Polkovnikov V.E., Belousov S.A., Venevtsev S.M. Tverdotel'naya elektronika, mikroelektronika i nanoelektronika (Solid State Electronics, Microelectronics and Nanoelectronics), Interuniversity collection of scientific papers, 2018, no. 17, pp. 138–142. (in Russ.)
9. Lapshinov B.A. Tekhnologiya litograficheskikh protsessov (Lithographic Process Technology), Moscow, 2011, 95 р. (in Russ.)
10. Rembeza S.I. Sinelnikov B.M., Rembeza E.S., Kargin N.I. Fizicheskiye metody issledovaniya materialov tverdotel'noy elektroniki (Physical Research Methods of Materials for Solid-State Electronics), Stavropol, 2002, 432 р. (in Russ.)
11. Batavin V.V. Kontsevoy Yu.A., Fedorovich Yu.V. Izmereniye parametrov poluprovodnikovykh materialov i struktur (Measurement of Parameters of Semiconductor Materials and Structures), Moscow, 1985, 264 р. (in Russ.)
12. Sidorak A.V., Shubin A.A., Ivanov V.V., Nikolayeva N.S. Zhurnal Sibirskogo Federal'nogo Universiteta, 2011, no. 3(4), pp. 285–293. (in Russ.)
13. Hass G. and Thun R.E., ed., Physics of thin films. Advances in Research and Development, NY, London, Academic Press, 1964.
14. Singh S., Singh A., Wan M., Yadav R.R. et al. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2014, vol. 205, рр. 102–110, DOI: 10.1016/j.snb.2014.08.026.
15. Al-Shahrani A.A.Sh. Preparation and characterization of ceramic and thin film Zn2SnO4, Doct. thesis, Durham, University of Durham, 1993, 151 p.
16. Belousov S.A., Nosov A.A., Rembeza S.I., Kosheleva N.N. Izvestiya SFedU. Engineering Sciences, 2016, no. 10(183), pp. 19–27, DOI: 10.18522/2311-3103-2016-10-2740 (in Russ.)
17. Barquinha P., Martins R., Pereira L., Fortunato E. Transparent Oxide Electronics: From Materials to Devices, John Wiley and Sons Inc., 2012, 360 p.