Effect of Temperature on Nucleation of Nanocrystalline Indium Tin Oxide Synthesized by Electron-Beam Evaporation

Abstract

Indium tin oxide (ITO) has been widely applied as a transparent conductive layer and optical window in light-emitting diodes, solar cells, and touch screens. In this paper, crystalline nano-sized ITO dendrites are obtained using an electron-beam evaporation technique. The surface morphology of the obtained ITO was studied for substrate temperatures of 25°C, 130°C, 180°C, and 300°C. Nano-sized crystalline dendrites were synthesized only at a substrate temperature of 300°C. The dendrites had a cubic structure, confirmed by the results of x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The growth mechanism of the nano-crystalline dendrites could be explained by a vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) growth model. The catalysts of the VLS process were indium and tin droplets, confirmed by varying the substrate temperature, which further influenced the nucleation of the ITO dendrites.