Preparation and characterisation of tin-doped indium oxide films

Tin-doped In₂O₃ (ITO) thin films were prepared by reactive evaporation from new pulverulent mixture of indium oxide, tin oxide and metallic indium at different partial pressures of oxygen. The films were annealed in a secondary vacuum just after deposition. Under optimal conditions of evaporation, these films are stoichiometric, show a good crystallinity and feature high transmission in visible region (T>90%) and high reflection in near IR region versus oxygen pressure.     

Mesoporous tin-doped indium oxide thin films: effect of mesostructure on electrical conductivity

We present a versatile method for the preparation of mesoporous tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films via dip-coating. Two poly(isobutylene)-b-poly(ethyleneoxide) (PIB-PEO) copolymers of significantly different molecular weight (denoted as PIB-PEO 3000 and PIB-PEO 20000) are used as templates and are compared with non-templated films to clarify the effect of the template size on the crystallization and, thus, on the electrochemical properties of mesoporous ITO films. Transparent, mesoporous, conductive coatings are obtained after annealing at 500 °C; these coatings have a specific resistance of 0.5 Ω cm at a thickness of about 100 nm. Electrical conductivity is improved by one order of magnitude by annealing under a reducing atmosphere. The two types of PIB-PEO block copolymers create mesopores with in-plane diameters of 20–25 and 35–45 nm, the latter also possessing correspondingly thicker pore walls. Impedance measurements reveal that the conductivity is significantly higher for films prepared with the template generating larger mesopores. Because of the same size of the primary nanoparticles, the enhanced conductivity is attributed to a higher conduction path cross section. Prussian blue was deposited electrochemically within the films, thus confirming the accessibility of their pores and their functionality as electrode material.     

Mesoporous tin-doped indium oxide thin films: effect of mesostructure on electrical conductivity

Abstract

We present a versatile method for the preparation of mesoporous tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films via dip-coating. Two poly(isobutylene)-b-poly(ethyleneoxide) (PIB-PEO) copolymers of significantly different molecular weight (denoted as PIB-PEO 3000 and PIB-PEO 20000) are used as templates and are compared with non-templated films to clarify the effect of the template size on the crystallization and, thus, on the electrochemical properties of mesoporous ITO films. Transparent, mesoporous, conductive coatings are obtained after annealing at 500 °C; these coatings have a specific resistance of 0.5 Ω cm at a thickness of about 100 nm. Electrical conductivity is improved by one order of magnitude by annealing under a reducing atmosphere. The two types of PIB-PEO block copolymers create mesopores with in-plane diameters of 20–25 and 35–45 nm, the latter also possessing correspondingly thicker pore walls. Impedance measurements reveal that the conductivity is significantly higher for films prepared with the template generating larger mesopores. Because of the same size of the primary nanoparticles, the enhanced conductivity is attributed to a higher conduction path cross section. Prussian blue was deposited electrochemically within the films, thus confirming the accessibility of their pores and their functionality as electrode material.     

Substitution of transparent conducting oxide thin films for indium tin oxide transparent electrode applications

The present status and prospects for further development of reduced or indium-free transparent conducting oxide (TCO) materials for use in practical thin-film transparent electrode applications such as liquid crystal displays are presented in this paper: reduced-indium TCO materials such as ZnO-In₂O₃, In₂O₃-SnO₂ and Zn-In-Sn-O multicomponent oxides and indium-free materials such as Al- and Ga-doped ZnO (AZO and GZO). In particular, AZO thin films, with source materials that are inexpensive and non-toxic, are the best candidates. The current problems associated with substituting AZO or GZO for ITO, besides their stability in oxidizing environments as well as the non-uniform distribution of resistivity resulting from dc magnetron sputtering deposition, can be resolved. Current developments associated with overcoming the remaining problems are also presented: newly developed AZO thin-film deposition techniques that reduce resistivity as well as improve the resistivity distribution uniformity using high-rate dc magnetron sputtering depositions incorporating radio frequency power. In addition, stability tests of resistivity in TCO thin films evaluated in air at 90% relative humidity and 60 °C have demonstrated that sufficiently moisture-resistant AZO thin films can be produced at a substrate temperature below 200 °C when the film thickness was approximately 200 nm. However, improving the stability of AZO and GZO films with a thickness below 100 nm remains a problem.     

Grazing incidence X-ray scattering study of sol-gel derived indium tin oxide thin films

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film as one of promising transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films has attracted ever increasing attention owing to its special optical, photocatalytic and optoelectronic properties. In this research, ITO films were prepared by sol-gel dip-coating method and annealed at different temperatures subsequently. The lateral and surface structures of ITO films as well as the structural evolution have been assessed by grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS) technique. The films show pore fractal structure when annealed at low temperature (≤ 800 °C) which transforms to a hierarchical fractal structure at high temperature (1000 °C). As the temperature rises, films are densified due to the elimination of small pores on the surface at low temperature and the shrinkage of big pores buried inside at high temperature. However, the surface roughness and porosity near the surface are improved at high annealing temperature.     

Work function measurement of transition metal nitride and carbide thin films

Work functions of rf-magnetron sputter-deposited transition metal nitride and carbide thin films, including TiN, HfN, VN, NbN, TaN, HfC, VC, NbC, TaC, Cr₃C₂, and WC, were measured by Kelvin probe in air. Thin films of the above materials were prepared on (1 0 0)-oriented silicon substrate by rf-magnetron sputtering of a compound target. As a result, it was found that the work function of nitride was similar to or slightly lower than that of carbide. For nitride films, those with heavier metal atoms such as Hf and Ta, showed lower work function. The work function depended upon the Period to which the metal atom belongs in the periodic table.     

Properties of indium tin oxide thin films prepared on the oxygen plasma-treated polycarbonate substrate

We prepared the indium tin oxide thin (ITO) film on the polymer substrate by using facing target sputtering method. To obtain a smooth surface of the ITO thin film for application of OLEDs, before deposition of the ITO thin film, the polymer substrate was given plasma surface treatment. The electrical and surface properties were measured by a Hall Effect measurement and a contact angle measurement. The structural and optical properties were evaluated by an X-ray diffractometer, an atomic force microscope and a UV/VIS spectrometer, respectively. All ITO thin films deposited on plasma-treated polymer substrate showed an average transmittance over 85% in visible range, and the lowest resistivity was 4.17 × 10^− 4 Ω cm.     

Structural properties of indium tin oxide thin films prepared for application in solar cells

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films prepared by rf sputtering were annealed in several temperatures. The electrical, optical and structural properties of these films are systematically investigated. The post annealing of the samples lead to considerably higher electrical conductivity, better optical transparency and larger grain size for the films. In an optimum annealing temperature of 400 °C, we have found that a maximized conductivity of films is achieved without a remarkable loss in their transparency. The sheet resistance of 2.3 Ω/□ and average grain size of 30 nm, are the results of the optimized post processing of films. The investigation for microstructure of films investigated by X-ray diffraction measurement (XRD) shows that a preferential crystal growth toward the (2 2 2) orientation takes place when the annealing temperature increases to 400 °C.     

Crystallization and electrical properties of ITO:Ce thin films for flat panel display applications

ITO and ITO:Ce films were deposited by DC magnetron sputtering using an ITO (SnO₂: 10 wt.%) target and CeO₂ doped ITO (CeO₂: 0.5, 3.0, 4.0 and 6.0 wt.%) ceramic targets, respectively, on unheated non-alkali glass substrates (corning E2000). The as-deposited films were annealed at 200 °C in an Ar atmosphere at a pressure of 1 Pa. The crystallization temperature of the ITO film was increased by introducing Ce atoms because they decrease the level of crystallinity. It was also confirmed that the etching rate, surface morphology and work function were improved by the addition of Ce atoms despite there being increased resistivity. The current voltage (I-V) characteristics of the OLED devices deteriorated with increasing Ce content in the ITO anode, which was attributed to a decrease in carrier density despite there being a high work function. Therefore, the carrier density is one of the most important factors that determine the turn-on voltage for OLED applications.     

Growth and characterization of indium tin oxide thin films deposited on PET substrates

Transparent and conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited onto polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by d.c. magnetron sputtering as the front and back electrical contact for applications in flexible displays and optoelectronic devices. In addition, ITO powder was used for sputter target in order to reduce the cost and time of the film formation processes. As the sputtering power and pressure increased, the electrical conductivity of ITO films decreased. The films were increasingly dark gray colored as the sputtering power increased, resulting in the loss of transmittance of the films. When the pressure during deposition was higher, however, the optical transmittance improved at visible region of light. ITO films deposited onto PET have shown similar optical transmittance and electrical resistivity, in comparison with films onto glass substrate. High quality films with resistivity as low as 2.5 × 10^− 3 Ω cm and transmittance over 80% have been obtained on to PET substrate by suitably controlling the deposition parameters.     

A model of valence electron structure for embrittlement of TiAl

In this paper, the valence electron structure and embrittlement of TiAl are studied theoretically based on the empirical electron theory (EET). From the viewpoint of the EET, a model for the space topographic distribution of valence electron structure is proposed. This model can be used to simply explain the embrittlement of TiAl and could be extended to other intermetallic compounds.     

Growth and characterization of transparent conducting nanostructured zinc indium oxide thin films

Transparent conductive oxide (TCO) films have been widely used in various applications, such as for transparent electrodes in flat-panel displays, and in solar cells, optoelectronic devices, touch panels and IR reflectors. Among these, tin doped zinc oxide (ZTO) and indium doped zinc oxide (ZIO) have attracted considerable attention. Particularly, IZO thin film is the best candidate for high-quality transparent conducting electrodes in OLEDs and flexible displays. In this work zinc indium oxide (ZIO) thin films were deposited on glass substrate with varying concentration (ZnO:In₂O₃ — 100:0, 90:10, 70:30 and 50:50 wt.%) at room temperature by flash evaporation technique. These deposited ZIO films were annealed in vacuum to study the thermal stability and to see the effects on the physical properties. The XRF spectra revealed the presence of zinc and indium with varying concentration in ZIO thin films, while the surface composition and oxidation state were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The core level spectra were deconvoluted to see the effect of chemical changes, while the valance band spectra manifest the electronic transitions. The surface morphology studies of the films using atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed the formation of nanostructured ZIO thin films. The optical band gap was also found to be decreased for both types of films with increasing concentration of In₂O₃.     

Structural and opto-electrical properties of the tin-doped indium oxide thin films fabricated by the wet chemical method with different indium starting materials

Tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films were fabricated by the sol-gel spin-coating method with different indium precursor solutions synthesized from In(NO₃)₃ or InCl₃ (denoted as N-ITO and Cl-ITO, respectively). For both N-ITO and Cl-ITO thin films, the increase of mobility/conductivity and the reduction of carrier concentration with increasing annealing temperatures from 400 to 700 °C are related to the increase of crystallization/densification and the annihilation of oxygen vacancies. The refractive index (1.84 at λ = 550 nm), packing density (0.83), conductivity [(234 (Ω-cm)^− 1], and optical band gap (3.95 eV) of N-ITO thin films are higher than that of Cl-ITO thin films, which can be attributed to the higher densification, lower crystallinity, and more free charge carriers of N-ITO thin films. These properties make the indium nitrate-derived ITO thin films have better potential applications for some commercial products.     

Inkjet-printing of indium tin oxide (ITO) films for transparent conducting electrodes

Indium-tin-oxide (ITO) films have been prepared by inkjet-printing using ITO nanoparticle inks. The electrical and optical properties of the ITO films were investigated in order to understand the effects of annealing temperatures under microwave. The decrease in the sheet resistance and resistivity of the inkjet-printed ITO films was observed as the annealing temperature increases. The film annealed at 400 °C showed the sheet resistance of 517 Ω/sq with the film thickness of ∼580 nm. The optical transmittance of the films remained constant regardless of their annealing temperatures. In order to further reduce the sheet resistance of the films, Ag-grid was printed in between two layers of inkjet-printed ITO. With 3 mm Ag-grid line-to-line pitch, the Ag-grid inserted ITO film has the sheet resistance of 3.4 Ω/sq and the transmittance of 84% after annealing at 200 °C under microwave.     

Temperature effect on structure and surface morphology of indium tin oxide films deposited by reactive ion-beam sputtering

Indium tin oxide (ITO) films were deposited by reactive ion-beam sputtering. The relationship among the surface morphology, the resistivity ρ of the films, the substrate temperature T_S and the film thickness t_F was investigated. The heat power from the ion source during the sputtering was 265 W. T_S increased from 30 to 145 °C with an increase of t_F. The films thinner than 187 nm at T_S lower than 120 °C were amorphous, the film surface was as smooth as the substrate. The films deposited at T_S in the range between 135 and 145 °C were polycrystalline. So, the films thicker than 375 nm were in a multilayer structure of a polycrystalline layer on an amorphous layer. The surface of the polycrystalline films became rough. ρ of the films suddenly decreased at t_F of 375 nm, where the structure of the films changed. Next, the amorphous films with t_F of 39 nm were annealed in the atmosphere. The film structure changed to a polycrystalline structure at annealing temperature T_A of 350 °C. However, the surface roughness of all the films was almost same. As a result, the substrate temperature during the sputtering was important for the deposition of the films with a very smooth surface.     

Electrical and optical properties of amorphous indium zinc oxide films

Valence electron control and electron transport mechanisms on the amorphous indium zinc oxide (IZO) films were investigated. The amorphous IZO films were deposited by dc magnetron sputtering using an oxide ceramic IZO target (89.3 wt.% In₂O₃ and 10.7 wt.% ZnO). N-type impurity dopings, such as Sn, Al or F, could not lead to the increase in carrier density in the IZO. Whereas, H₂ introduction into the IZO deposition process was confirmed to be effective to increase carrier density. By 30% H₂ introduction into the deposition process, carrier density increased from 3.08 × 10²⁰ to 7.65 × 10²⁰ cm^− 3, which must be originated in generations of oxygen vacancies or interstitial Zn²⁺ ions. Decrease in the transmittance in the near infrared region and increase in the optical band gap were observed with the H₂ introduction, which corresponded to the increase in carrier density. The lowest resistivity of 3.39 × 10^− 4 Ω cm was obtained by 10% H₂ introduction without substrate heating during the deposition.     

Optical properties of amorphous-like indium zinc oxide and indium gallium zinc oxide thin films

The paper presents the optical properties of amorphous-like indium zinc oxide and indium gallium zinc oxide thin films with various In/(In + Zn) ratios obtained by Pulsed Laser Deposition. Thickness results obtained from simulations of X-ray Reflectivity and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry data were very similar. The dependence of density on stoichiometry resembles the corresponding dependence of the refractive index in the transparency range. A free carrier absorption was noted in the visible spectral range, leading to a weak absorbing thin transparent conductive oxide. On the other hand, the refractive index is smaller than those of based oxides (ZnO and In₂O₃), and counterbalance therefore the weak light absorption.     

The influence of dispersing and stabilizing of indium tin oxide nanoparticles upon the characteristic properties of thin films

Stable suspensions of indium tin oxide nanoparticles were prepared by dispersing for 1 h in ethanol and stabilizing with 2-[2-(2-Methoxyethoxy)ethoxy]acetic acid. Particle size, morphology, and structure were characterized by a combination of dynamic light scattering, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Spin coating of the stable suspensions resulted in densely packed films with a high transparency. Dispersing times exceeding 1 h led to a significant “overdispersing” effect, i.e. an increasing aggregate size of the suspensions was observed. Zeta-potential, pH, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements were conducted to achieve a detailed understanding of the effect of “overdispersing”. With an increasing time of dispersion, i.e. with a decreasing stability of the suspensions, the thin films fabricated by spin coating displayed an increasing pore size distribution and surface roughness. In addition a strong decrease in transmittance and in conductivity was observed.