Representative tin sulfide compounds, tin monosulfide (SnS) and tin disulfide (SnS) are strong candidates for future nanoelectronic devices, based on non-toxicity, low cost, unique structures and optoelectronic properties. However, it is insufficient for synthesizing of tin sulfide thin films using vapor phase deposition method which is capable of fabricating reproducible device and securing high quality films, and their device characteristics. In this study, we obtained highly crystalline SnS thin films by atomic layer deposition and obtained highly crystalline SnS thin films by phase transition of the SnS thin films. The SnS thin film was transformed into SnS thin film by annealing at 450 °C for 1 h in HS atmosphere. This phase transition was confirmed by x-ray diffractometer and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and we studied the cause of the phase transition. We then compared the film characteristics of these two tin sulfide thin films and their switching device characteristics. SnS and SnS thin films had optical bandgaps of 1.35 and 2.70 eV, and absorption coefficients of about 10 and 10 cm in the visible region, respectively. In addition, SnS and SnS thin films exhibited p-type and n-type semiconductor characteristics. In the images of high resolution-transmission electron microscopy, SnS and SnS directly showed a highly crystalline orthorhombic and hexagonal layered structure. The field effect transistors of SnS and SnS thin films exhibited on-off drain current ratios of 8.8 and 2.1 × 10 and mobilities of 0.21 and 0.014 cm V s, respectively. This difference in switching device characteristics mainly depends on the carrier concentration because it contributes to off-state conductance and mobility. The major carrier concentrations of the SnS and SnS thin films were 6.0 × 10 and 8.7 × 10 cm, respectively, in this experiment.

We report here that SnS2 films deposited at 150 °C and annealed at below 350 °C have good potential for using 2D SnS2 in flexible electronic devices.

We report the effect of zirconium oxide (ZrO2) layers on the electrical characteristics of multilayered tin disulfide (SnS2) formed by atomic layer deposition (ALD) at low temperatures. SnS2 is a two-dimensional (2D) layered material which exhibits a promising electrical characteristics as a channel material for field-effect transistors (FETs) because of its high mobility, good on/off ratio and low temperature processability. In order to apply these 2D materials to large-scale and flexible electronics, it is essential to develop processes that are compatible with current electronic device manufacturing technology which should be conducted at low temperatures. Here, we deposited a crystalline SnS2 at 150 °C using ALD, and we then annealed at 300 °C. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy measurements before and after the annealing showed that SnS2 had a hexagonal (001) peak at 14.9° and A1g mode at 313 cm−1. The annealed SnS2 exhibited clearly a layered structure confirmed by the high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) images. Back-gate FETs with SnS2 channel sandwiched by top and bottom ZrO2 on p++Si/SiO2 substrate were suggested to improve electrical characteristics. We used a bottom ZrO2 layer to increase adhesion between the channel and the substrate and a top ZrO2 layer to improve contact property, passivate surface, and protect from process-induced damages to the channel. ZTZ (ZrO2/SnS2/ZrO2) FETs showed improved electrical characteristics with an on/off ratio of from 0.39×103 to 6.39×103 and a mobility of from 0.0076 cm2/Vs to 0.06 cm2/Vs.

Tin dioxide (SnO2) thin films were deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD) using tetrakis(dimethylamino)tin {[(CH3)2N]4Sn} and various concentrations of ozone (O3) at 200 °C. In order to characterize SnO2 thin films, the growth rate, thin film crystallinity, surface roughness, chemical bonding state, and electrical and optical properties were investigated. The growth rate of SnO2 increased slightly when the O3 concentration was increased. However, the growth rate was almost saturated above 300 g/m3 concentration of O3. Also, the x-ray diffraction patterns of SnO2 thin films become sharper when the O3 concentration increased. Specifically, the (101) and (211) peaks of SnO2 improved. In addition, the defects of the SnO2 thin films such as oxygen vacancy and hydroxyl group are related to the O3 concentration that was observed via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. As the O3 concentration is higher than 300 g/m3, the electrical Hall resistivity and mobility saturated 3.6 × 10−3 Ω cm and 9.58 cm2/V s, respectively. However, the carrier concentration slightly decreased to 3.22 × 1020 cm−3. It is assumed that the oxygen vacancies were filled with a high O3 concentration at ALD reaction. The optical bandgaps were larger than 3.5 eV, and the transmittance of all SnO2 thin films exceeded 90%. The O3 concentration below 200 g/m3 in the ALD process of SnO2 thin films is considered to be one of the factors that can affect the crystallinity, chemical bonding, and electrical properties.