Optical properties of non-stoichiometric tin oxide films obtained by reactive sputtering

Abstract Films of tin oxide were producedby r.f. reactive sputtering. Structural and optical properties were investigated in relation to the oxygen content in the sputtering gas. Structural measurements suggest that the excess tin atoms locate in interstitial positions of the tetragonal lattice of SnO2. The deviation from stoichiometry strongly affects the optical transmittance of the films and also changes the values of their refractive indices.

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