As a promising transparent semiconducting oxide (TSO) candidate, zinc-tin-oxide (ZTO) thin films were fabricated by combining solution coating and ultraviolet (UV) laser annealing. Instead of external heating, an intense UV laser was applied to transform sol-gel coatings via surface heating and photoexcited dissociation into oxide films. The laser-induced phase transformation was extensively investigated with synchrotron-based X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). The chemical states and microscopic distributions of oxygen, zinc, and tin were significantly modified during the laser irradiation. Relative oxidation and surface migration between zinc and tin gradually evolved toward a combination of ZnO 1−x host and SnO 2−y grains. Our results present deeper insight into the use of UV laser annealing for developing a room temperature (RT) fabrication method of TSO thin films and other relevant solution coatings.

中文翻译：

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室温紫外激光退火溶液基氧化锌锡薄膜的显微和化学分析

作为一种有前途的透明半导体氧化物 (TSO) 候选者，锌锡氧化物 (ZTO) 薄膜是通过结合溶液涂层和紫外 (UV) 激光退火制备的。使用强紫外激光代替外部加热，通过表面加热和光激发解离将溶胶-凝胶涂层转化为氧化膜。使用基于同步加速器的 X 射线光电子能谱 (XPS)、透射电子显微镜 (TEM) 和电子能量损失能谱 (EELS) 广泛研究了激光诱导的相变。在激光照射过程中，氧、锌和锡的化学状态和微观分布发生了显着变化。锌和锡之间的相对氧化和表面迁移逐渐向 ZnO 1-x 主体和 SnO 2-y 晶粒的组合发展。