INVESTIGATIONS OF OXIDATIONS OF SnOx AND ITS CHANGES OF THE PROPERTIES PREPARED BDEPOSITIONY REACTIVE ION-ASSISTED

Undoped $SnO_x$ thin films were deposited on Si(100) substrate by using reactive ioassisted deposition technique (R-IAD). In order to investigate the effect of initial oxygen content and heat treatment on the oxidation state and crystalline structure of tin oxide films, $SnO_x$ thin films were post-annealed at 400~$600^{\circ}C$ for 1 hr. in a vacuum ~$5 \times 10^{-3}$ -3/ Torr or were directly deposited on the substrate of $400^{\circ}C$ and the relative arrival ration ($Gamma$) of oxygen ion to Sn metal varied from 0.025 to 0.1, i.e., average impinging energy ($E_a$) form 25 to 100 eV/atom. As $E_a$ increased, the composition ratio of $N_ON{sn}$ changed from 1.25 to 1.93 in post-annealing, treatment and 1.21 to 1.87 in in-situ substrate heating. In case of post-annealing, the oxidation from SnO to $SnO_2$ was closely related to initial oxygen contents and post-annealing temperature, and the perfect oxidation of $SnO_2$ in the film was obtained at higher than $E_a$=75 eV/atom and $600^{\circ}C$. The temperature for perfect oxidation of $SnO_2$ was reduced as low as $400^{\circ}C$ through in-situ substrate heating. The variation of the chemical state of $SnO_x$ thin films with changing $E_a$'s and heating method were also observed by Auger electron spectroscopy.