Nitrogen incorporation in SnO2thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition

The influence of nitrogen incorporation in high concentrations on the structural properties and morphology of SnO2–xNx thin films grown by chemical vapor deposition is studied. A decrease in crystallite size and a lattice expansion in SnO2–xNx films with increasing x are found by X-ray diffraction analysis and Raman spectroscopy. Substitutional nitrogen with a binding energy of 397.15 eV was detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, attributed to the N3− ion in the SnN bond. The increase of the N atomic concentration x in SnO2–xNx films from 0 to 7.9 at.% without phase separation with increasing NH3 flow rate during the deposition is accompanied by a decrease of O atomic concentration.