High figure of merit transparent conducting Sb-doped SnO₂ thin films prepared via ultrasonic spray pyrolysis

Doped tin oxide has been studied extensively because of its potential as a replacement for indium tin oxide in transparent conducting oxide layers. Antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO) is one of the most promising materials in this regard, due to its superior transparency in the visible region and broad scope for electrical property improvements. In this paper, we report the fabrication of highly conductive transparent ATO thin films using a simple, low-cost ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method. A film with a resistivity of 5.8×10⁻⁵ Ω cm, transmittance of 88% at 550 nm, and figure of merit as high as 47.22×10⁻² (Ω/cm²)⁻¹ was produced by tuning the deposition time. The ATO films produced in this experiment may be used as transparent conducting films with performance comparable to that of indium tin oxide.