Microstructure study of indium tin oxide thin films by optical methods

摘要

ITO (Indium-tin-oxide) thin films were obtained by a DC magnetron sputtering for different thicknesses at room temperature. The thickness, microstructure, surface roughness (6), refractive index (n), energy band gap (E,) and the sheet resistance of the ITO films were investigated by the transmission, absorption, specular and diffuse reflection spectra in the range of UV-Vis-NIR. The surface roughness was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and by spectra data calculation. The film microstructure and thickness were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The delta was in the range of 11.3-12.4 nm. The calculated E-g values explained that the ultra-fine particles within the film changed with deposition conditions. The investigation showed that initially the obtained ITO film grows preferably in a packed particle structure with an average grain size of 50 nm. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. [References: 24]