Effect of temperature on the growth rate of tin dioxide whiskers formed by physical vapor deposition

The effect of temperature on the vertical growth rate of functional tin dioxide nanostructures formed by physical vapor deposition from a gas phase is studied. A model is proposed to describe the formation of tin dioxide nanocrystals. This model adequately describes the experimentally detected effect of the deposition zone temperature on the nanocrystal growth rate in the temperature range under study. An analytical relation between the growth rate of a nanowhisker, its geometric parameters, the nanowhisker material, the substrate material, and the technological parameters of its formation is revealed. The crystal growth rate is found to increase with the deposition zone temperature, which can be caused by an activation character of nucleation processes and precursor mass transport along the substrate surface and the lateral nanocrystal surface.