SnO coatings can be applied using chemical vapor deposition, vapour deposition techniques that employ SnCl or organotin trihalides e.g. butyltin trichloride as the volatile agent. This technique is used to coat glass bottles with a thin (, which helps to adhere a subsequent, protective polymer coating such as polyethylene to the glass.
Thicker layers doped with Sb or F ions are electrically conducting and used in electroluminescent devices and photovoltaics.