Photoluminescence in Alkaline Earth Stannate Thin Films Grown by Physical and Chemical Methods

Alkaline earth stannates with perovskite structure (ASnO3, A = Ca, Sr, Ba) have been studied for a long time due to their unique structure and physicochemical properties, but few works in literature have been devoted to their thin films. The technology of thin films makes structuring materials in fettered dimensions very simple, making them useful in electronic devices. Moreover, the possibility of oriented and epitaxial growth allows a better understanding of the surface and interface properties of the films to tailor their functionalities. In this chapter, recent findings on photoluminescent properties of ASnO3-type perovskites are discussed and results on polycrystalline and epitaxial thin films deposited using a physical deposition method (pulsed laser deposition, PLD) and a chemical one (chemical solution deposition, CSD) are presented. In this context, two different series were carefully investigated considering the Sr-site substitution in SrSnO3 perovskite to form the Ca1−xSrxSnO3 solid solution, and the Sn-site substitution giving origin to SrSn1−xTixO3 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1). The structural and microstructural characteristics of all films are first presented. Then, discussion about the influence of composition, method of deposition, type of growth and short-range order/disorder related to photoluminescence properties are shown.