Preparation and characterization of single crystalline In2O3 films deposited on MgO (110) substrates by MOCVD

Epitaxial indium oxide (In₂O₃) films have been prepared on MgO (110) substrates by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The deposition temperature varies from 500 °C to 700 °C. The films deposited at each temperature display a cube-on-cube orientation relation with respect to the substrate. The In₂O₃ film deposited at 600 °C exhibits the best crystalline quality. A clear epitaxial relationship of In₂O₃ (110)|MgO (110) with In₂O₃ [001]|MgO [001] has been observed from the interface area between the film and the substrate. The average transmittance of the prepared films in the visible range is over 95%. The band gap of the obtained In₂O₃ films is about 3.55–3.70 eV.     

Preparation of indium oxide powders by microwave plasma dehydration of indium hydroxide powders

Indium oxide was prepared from the dehydration of indium hydroxide using atmospheric-pressure microwave air plasma. Compared with the conventional thermal plasma processing that was performed with the vapor phase reaction, the solid-state reaction was attempted in this study because microwave plasma has an intermediate temperature that is comparable to the melting temperature of inorganic materials and between those of the electric furnace and the thermal plasma. The results were compared with those with the electric furnace and the thermal plasma. With both the microwave plasma and the electric furnace, the macro-morphologies of the raw material were maintained, which indicates successful dehydration. However, the micro-morphologies differed. The product of the microwave plasma had a smooth surface, whereas the product of the electric furnace had a cracked and rough surface. The cracks were regarded as the results of the poor diffusion of the dissociated water. In the microwave plasma, the high temperature and the fast heating rate enhanced the diffusion and controlled the formation of cracks. With the application of the thermal plasma, the nanoparticles were prepared due to the vaporization of the dehydrated material. Thus, the microwave plasma is considered applicable to the solid-state reaction accompanying degassing, without a change in the microstructure of the raw material.     

Photoanode Activity of ZnO Nanotube Based Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Vertical ZnO nanotube (ZNT) arrays were synthesized onto an indium doped tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate by a simple electrochemical deposition technique followed by a selective etching process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed formation of well-faceted hexagonal ZNT arrays spreading uniformly over a largearea. X-ray diffraction (XRD) of ZNT layer showed substantially higher intensity for the (0002) diffractionpeak, indicating that the ZnO crystallites were well aligned with their c-axis. Profilometer measurements ofthe ZNT layer showed an average thickness of ～7 μm. Diameter size distribution (DSD) analysis showedthat ZNTs exhibited a narrow diameter size distribution in the range of 65–120 nm and centered at ～75nm. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum measurement showed violet and blue luminescence peaks thatwere centered at 410 and 480 nm, respectively, indicating the presence of internal defects. Ultra-violet (UV)spectroscopy showed major absorbance peak at ～348 nm, exhibiting an increase in energy gap value of 3.4 eV.By employing the formed ZNTs as the photo-anode for a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), a full-sun conversion efficiency of 1.01% was achieved with a fill factor of 54%. Quantum efficiency studies showed the maximumof incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency in a visible region located at 520–550 nm range.     

Tin doping in spray pyrolysed indium sulfide thin films for solar cell applications

This paper presents studies carried out on tin-doped indium sulfide films prepared using Chemical Spray Pyrolysis (CSP) technique. Effect of both in-situ and ex-situ doping were analyzed. Ex-situ doping was done by thermal diffusion, which was realized by annealing Sn/In₂S₃ bilayer films. In-situ doping was accomplished by introducing Sn into the spray solution by using SnCl₄·5H₂O. Interestingly, it was noted that by ex-situ doping, conductivity of the sample enhanced considerably without affecting any of the physical properties such as crystallinity or band gap. Analysis also showed that higher percentage of doping resulted in samples with low crystallinity and negative photosensitivity. In-situ doping resulted in amorphous films. In contrast to ex-situ doping, ‘in- situ doping’ resulted in widening of optical band gap through oxygen incorporation; also it gave highly photosensitive films.     

Preliminary studies of In surface diffusion on the W(1 1 0) surface

The growth of In onto W(1 1 0) was observed at room temperature by means of low-energy electron diffraction and photoemission from core levels and valence levels. Surface diffusion of In onto the W(1 1 0) surface was studied by using ESCA imaging property of SCIENTA ESCA200 instrument at the temperature range of 400-550 K.     

次氧化锌渣浸出液中铟与砷、锑、锡的分离

用硫化沉淀法有效地从次氧化锌渣酸浸液中实现了铟与砷、锑、锡的分离。研究了初始酸度、硫化物的选择及用量,反应时间等因素对分离过程的影响。试验表明:室温条件下,起始酸度为2.0 mol/L的酸浸液,按理论值1.3倍摩尔比加入ZnS,搅拌10 min,锑、砷、锡沉淀率分别达100%、98%、93%,铟的损失率小于2%。     

A novel solvothermal method to synthesize one-dimensional chains of indium tin oxide nanoparticles

One-dimensional conductive chains of indium tin oxide (ITO) nanoparticles with high specific surface areas of about 65 m² g^− 1 were synthesized from indium, tin acetylacetone complexes using isopropanol as solvent by a novel solvothermal method and post heat-treatment. When isopropanol was replaced with water as solvent, the non-conductive individual In₂SnO₅ nanoparticles were obtained.     

Optical and electrical characterization of r.f. sputtered ITO films developed as art protection coatings

Transparent and conductive tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) films have been prepared by r.f. plasma sputtering technique in Ar and Ar + O₂ gas mixture. The influence of the deposition conditions, film thickness, and substrate heating, as well as the post-annealing treatment on the optical and electrical properties of the ITO films has been investigated.The present study has extended the optical behaviour characterization of the ITO films in a wide UV-VIS-IR spectral region in addition to the comprehensive optical studies of this material at shorter wavelengths.The optical constants: refractive index (n), extinction (k) and absorption (α) coefficient, and the optical band gap (E_go) have been calculated for the ITO films in the spectral range between 350 and 2500 nm. A combination of several well-known theoretical models has been applied to describe precisely the complex optical behaviour of ITO films in separate spectral parts. In this approach, a good overlapping between the experimental and the simulated spectra in the whole investigated spectral region has been achieved.The deposition conditions and the optical and electrical properties of the ITO films have been optimized with respect to the requirements for their applications in art protection coatings.     

Extraction of the refractive index profile of thin transparent conductive oxide films from the analysis of reflectance optical spectra

In the direction of growth of fabricated films, the material near the free surface as well as the interface with the substrate exhibits properties which are different from those of the material in the bulk. The resulting spatial inhomogeneity of the refractive index influences positions and values of the extrema of optical spectra. We exploit this to derive the profile of the refractive index by developing a theoretical approach. In the calculations, taking the derived profile into account, we attain a good reproduction of the experimental Transmittance and Reflectance spectra from approximately 1 to 4 eV, the region of relatively weak refractive-index dispersion.     

Transparent conducting indium oxide thin films grown by low-temperature metal organic chemical vapor deposition

We have grown indium oxide thin films on silicon substrates at low temperature by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Polycrystalline film growth could only be obtained at temperatures below 400 °C. Above 400 °C, metallic indium deposition dominated. We have investigated the effect of substrate temperature and reactor pressure on the film growth and structural properties in the range of 250-350 °C and 5 ^? 10³-4 ^? 10⁴ Pa. The film grown at 300 °C exhibited a resistivity of about 3.6 × 10^− 3 Ω cm and a maximal optical transmittance of more than 95% in the visible range. The film showed an optical band gap of about 3.6 eV.