Effects of plasma treatment on the growth of SnO₂ nanorods from SnO₂ thin films

SnO₂ thin films have been deposited by radio-frequency inductively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition using dibutyltin diacetate as the precursor. The as-deposited SnO₂ thin films were post-treated in the inductively coupled plasma. After plasma treatment, uniform SnO₂ nanorods were grown on the SnO₂ thin films. The nanorods were formed by a sputtering-redeposition mechanism. The effects of the conditions of the plasma treatment on the morphology of plasma-treated SnO ₂ thin films were studied. The plasma power and the gaseous composition of the plasma had a great effect on the growth of SnO₂ nanorods from SnO₂ thin films. The type of plasma was also very critical, and no nanorods were grown on the SnO₂ thin films treated in capacitively coupled plasma.