Pulsed Laser Ablation for Tin Dioxide: Nucleation, Growth, and Microstructures

Abstract

Pulsed-laser ablation approaches are being developed for the growth of oxide thin films as versatile platform for advanced applications. Semiconducting SnO ₂ thin film is of fundamental importance in the advancement of microdevices. In this review, SnO ₂ thin films of various microstructures have been made using the pulsed-laser deposition method. The microstructural aspects include tetragonal, porous, and orthorhombic structure characteristics. The quantum-dots and dynamic simulations of SnO ₂ nanocrystals have blossomed into a submonolayer regime devoted to the nucleation and growth for these functional films. SnO ₂ thin films with some of the microstructural features may have great implications for the development of novel prototype gas sensors and transparent conduction electrodes.