The production of tin oxide (SnO2) films by physical vapor deposition (PVD) method and investigation on mechanical properties

Semiconductor technology also has an important use in gas sensors and tin oxide is a semiconductor and its the most important site is the applications in the field of gas sensor as a thin film due to the suitability of its structure. In this project, often preferred Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) method utilized in order to produce homogeneous and stable and tin oxide thin films and these films were aimed to increase with improving of structural, electrical and mechanical properties. In addition, this technique is used to create thin films and called target, which have specific diameter and thickness of the disk shaped, has been produced in the form of the pellet by pressing of the powder. By this aimed, pure and element doped tin oxide powders were synthesized via sol-gel processing successfully. These powders were formed pellets in molds with a certain diameter with cold isostatic pressing (CIP), hot isostatic pressing (HIP), automatic hydrolic presses pressed. In addition, thin films manufactured in the DC and RF Sputtering machine using commercially purchased tin metal target and tin oxide target films are made thermal oxidation in oxygen tube furnace to the tin films transformed into semiconductor tin oxide films. The obtained tin oxide powders, pellet and films characterizations were investigated using X-ray difractometer (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and Differential Thermal Analysis (DTA-TGA), Zeta Potential Particle Size Analysis, Surface Roughness and Nanoindentation testing devices are used.