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 SnO2 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.