Facile Route to the Controlled Synthesis of Tetragonal and Orthorhombic SnO2 Films by Mist Chemical Vapor Deposition

Two types of tin dioxide (SnO2) films were grown by mist chemical vapor deposition (Mist-CVD), and their electrical properties were studied. A tetragonal phase is obtained when methanol is used as the solvent, while an orthorhombic structure is formed with acetone. The two phases of SnO2 exhibit different electrical properties. Tetragonal SnO2 behaves as a semiconductor, and thin-film transistors (TFTs) incorporating this material as the active layer exhibit n-type characteristics with typical field-effect mobility (μ(FE)) values of approximately 3-4 cm(2)/(V s). On the other hand, orthorhombic SnO2 is found to behave as a metal-like transparent conductive oxide. Density functional theory calculations reveal that orthorhombic SnO2 is more stable under oxygen-rich conditions, which correlates well with the experimentally observed solvent effects. The present study paves the way for the controlled synthesis of functional materials by atmospheric pressure growth techniques.