Stannous-based perovskite
oxide materials are regarded as an important
class of transparent conductive oxides for various fields of application.
Enhancing the properties of such materials and facilitating the synthesis
process are considered major challenging aspects for proper device
applications. In the present paper, a comprehensive and detailed study
of the properties of spray-coated CaSnO3 thin films onto
the Si(100) substrate is reported. In addition, the substrate effect
and the incorporation of rare-earth Nd3+ on engineering
the characteristics of CaSnO3 thin films annealed at 800
°C are included. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis results revealed
the orthorhombic structure of all the samples with an expansion of
lattice spacing as the substitution of Nd at the Ca site increased.
The Raman and FT-IR analysis further confirmed the structural results
collected via the XRD analysis. Surface scanning using field-emission
scanning electron microscopy revealed the formation of quasi-orthorhombic
CaSnO3 grains with an increase in size as dopant content
increased. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis allowed quantification
of the elements, while atomic mapping permitted visualizing their
distribution along the surfaces. UV–visible spectroscopy and
first-principles calculations using density functional theory (DFT)
were conducted, and a thorough investigation of the optical and electronic
properties of the pure material upon Nd3+ insertion was
provided. Electrical properties collected at room temperature revealed
a growing conductivity upon doping ratio increase with a simultaneous
enhancement in the carrier concentrations and mobility. The findings
of the present work will help facilitate the synthesis procedure of
large-area stannous-based perovskite oxide thin films through simple
and efficient chemical solution methods for optoelectronic device
applications.