Effect of ion beam energy on the electrical, optical, and structural properties of indium tin oxide thin films prepared by direct metal ion beam deposition technique

Abstract

Transparent and conducting indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were produced by direct metal ion beam deposition (DMIBD) technique on glass substrate without substrate heating and post annealing treatment. In order to consider the effect of ion beam energy on the structural, electrical, and optical properties of ITO thin films, only secondary ion beam energy changed from 25 to 200 eV. XRD measurements revealed that all ITO films have a polycrystalline structure. For ITO film deposited at 50 eV, a resistivity of 2×10 −4 Ω cm was observed and optical transmittance at 550 nm was 85%. The Hall mobility and carrier concentration were observed to be in the range of 4–12 cm 2 V −1 S −1 and 9×10 19–4.5×10 20 cm −3, respectively. We found that the structural, optical and electrical properties of ITO films can be controlled with ion beam energy, and polycrystalline ITO films produced by DMIBD do not require substrate heating during the film deposition or any post deposition annealing process.