Sputtering Deposition of P-type SnO Films Using Robust Sn/SnO2 Mixed Target

Although SnO is a promising p-type oxide material for thin-film transistors (TFTs), the development of the TFT-industry-compatible deposition technique and materials for p-type SnO films is still an issue. In this work, we demonstrate the preparation of pure and p-type SnO films using the Sn/SnO2 mixed target and the conventional magnetron sputtering technique. By controlling the sputtering conditions, the deposited films can be tuned from pure n-type SnO2 to pure p-type SnO. Compared to other sputtering target materials (e.g., pure SnO and Sn), the Sn/SnO2 mixed targets can be fabricated by the high-temperature high-pressure pressing/sintering technique and have higher density and robustness more suitable for real uses. The p-type mobility of SnO films obtained here is comparable to results of other approaches, showing the feasibility of this method. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.