Nanostructured thin film of iron tin oxide by aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition using a new ferrocene containing heterobimetallic complex as single-source precursor

Abstract

Aerosol assisted chemical vapour deposition (CVD) is a sophisticated, unique and modern technique which is used to deposit coatings, films, and other related structures from thermally unstable or the involatile precursors at laboratory and large scale productions. A light weight semiconducting and ceramic oxide based coatings on appropriate substrates can be produced at a lower cost by employing chemical vapour deposition method. There is broader choice of chemical precursors and their availability for obtaining high quality thin films at lower cost and the reaction environment is more flexible ranging from low pressure to atmospheric pressure in CVD. New ferrocene containingheterobimetallic precursor, [C₅₈H₈₀Fe₂O₄Sn₂] has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and molecular structure was determined by X-ray single crystal analysis. The heterobimetallic complex was used as a single-source precursor for the growth of iron tin oxide thin film by aerosol assisted chemical vapor deposition. The deposited thin film was characterized by X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy techniques. The average roughness of deposited film at 425 °C from heterobimetallic precursor was in the range of 4.39 nm. The deposited thin film on glass strip was found to have no cracks, excellent adhesion and to be crystalline in nature and free from any carboneous impurities.