Hydrophilic Surface of SnO2 Doped SiO2 Film by Facing Target Sputtering Process

Abstract

To improve the hydrophilicity of SiO2 and SnO2 binary metal oxide nano-composite films, the effect of the deposition rate and composition ratio during facing target sputtering was investigated. The wettability of the SiO2 and SnO2 films was measured by water contact angle, because wettability affects self-cleaning and anti-fog properties. A (SiO2)(30)(SnO2)(70) film fabricated with optimized processing conditions showed a high transmittance over 85% in the visible range, which is an important parameter for industrial applications such as for automobiles, windows, and mobile phones. We confirmed that the composition ratio and oxygen content are independent of the material's hydrophilicity, which instead is highly dependent on the deposition ratio.